water safety

I started interning at Safe Kids Worldwide about three weeks ago. Since then I’ve learned many things. I’ve learned that drinking one 20 ounce bottle of Coke is equivalent to eating 18 cookies – so it’s not the best way to hydrate when playing sports. I’ve learned that the Starbucks Baristas in our building will write down whatever they think they heard when they ask for your name. My name is Kendall Reed but based on my frappuccino order, you can call me “Q.” And I’ve learned that knowing how “not to drown” is not good enough when it comes to water safety.

Whatever your plans are for this Memorial Day and into summer fun, here are a few tips to keep your adventures as safe as they are enjoyable.

With people still talking about the Nationwide Super Bowl ad that brought dramatic attention to the number one killer of kids, preventable injuries, we’re releasing new research that reveals the scope of the problem in a place most parents assume is safe: the home. Every day, six children die from an injury in the home, and 10,000 go to the emergency department for the kinds of injuries that commonly happen in homes.

Just because I’m fearless on the court doesn’t mean that I’m fearless in my everyday life. In fact, even something fun and seemingly harmless like a swimming pool can scare me. The truth is—I never learned to swim as a child. I may be able to score a career playoff high of 27 points for the Boston Celtics, but if you threw me into the ocean, I’d drown.

My dad is an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, and although we’ve moved several times I can’t remember ever living more than 50 miles from the ocean. One would think that having a father in the Coast Guard and living so close to the water would mean that I have plenty of experience with the ocean, but in fact the opposite is true.

One of my favorite things about being a dad is watching my kids play and discover the world around them; their imagination is entertaining and inspiring and my wife and I do not want to stifle it. So, when it comes to our parenting style, we try to create an environment where our kids can have as much fun as possible, explore, take chances and still be safe.

The calendar tells us that summer starts on June 21. But for me, summer starts on Memorial Day weekend, when I join aunts, uncles and cousins at the beach to open our old family cottage for the season.