Expert tells parents to set example and wear a life jacket

With daytime highs creeping back into the 70s and 80s, Iowans will soon be enjoying the lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. One safety expert reminds parents to keep a very close eye on their kids whenever water is involved. Alan Korn of the National Safe Kids campaign says life jackets and supervision are two keys. Korn says “That does not mean sitting on the beach lifting your head up from your book every couple of seconds or having a soda or a beer and talking with friends, that means watching your children in the water, and the younger they are, the closer you need to be to them.” Korn says adults need to set a good example for the kids by wearing life jackets themselves. He says “Before you throw the lure in the water, before you put the paddle in the water, make sure you have a life jacket on and you watch how easily and quickly the kids role model and follow that behavior, mimic that behavior.” Korn says drowning is the second-leading cause of accidental injury-related death among children between the ages of one and 14.