Have your children been to Beach Ed yet?

Close to 1400 school kids will have been to “Beach Ed” at the Pāpāmoa Surf Club this summer to learn essential water safety messages from our fully qualified lifeguards who have also completed a course on safeguarding children. Local schools can book students in for these interactive sessions which are a fun way for our kids to learn how to be safe in and around the ocean, as well as learn how to spot and escape from rip currents.

It is not only the children that benefit from these sessions, the parent helpers that come along are often surprised by how much they learn, particularly around spotting rips. It’s great to hear that kids are also passing this knowledge on to other family members.

New Zealand has the ninth longest coastline of any nation in the world at nearly 15,000km in length. During the last 10 years, New Zealand has had a 44% higher beach and coastal drowning rate per capita, compared to Australia! Sadly, over the last 10 years, 38% of beach and coastal drownings occurred at a surf beach in NZ. Nearly three in 10 kiwis cannot swim or float in the ocean for more than a few minutes.

We can help to reverse these trends by teaching our kids as early as possible about the dangers of the water and how to be safe at the beach and around rivers and lakes.

Beach Ed is booked through Surf Life Saving New Zealand (SLSNZ). They are accepting bookings for next summer now so make sure your school is taking up this opportunity.

For more information visit the website: https://www.surflifesaving.org.nz/stay-safe/surf-education/beach-education or email: education.eastern@surflifesaving.org.nz