26 Jun Swimming between the flags

Norfolk has beautiful unspoilt beaches.  The glistening water, waves breaking on your feet, and sand squelching between your toes all sounds like classic family fun time.  It’s no wonder it is so magical for the kids. Having a good time on the beach and learning water safety is a serious must do in parenting life and many a parent will have been reassured by the presence of beach and pool lifeguards from the RNLI or Royal Life Saving Society.  The end of June is the Royal Society’s Water Safety campaign and Tots Town want to play our part in helping parents keep children safe this Summer near water.

So this Summer, Tots Town is helping children learn water safety rules by allowing them to role play different watery scenarios. Summer Time in Tots Town brings boats, permanently blue skies, and even an ice cream seller. Most importantly, little ones can role play being a hero lifeguard.  Children love to take control of their play whether it be teacher, police officer, doctor, parent or for now, Lifeguard – the change in roles from child to authoritative figure often force children to consider what the rules are (even if they seem to be made up on the spot!), and they often relish making sure they are being followed. Talking to them about beach safety and then making them responsible for enforcing the rules on the Tots Town beach is a great way of seeing if they really understand how to stay safe near the water.

To help them prepare for their first day on the job, make sure they know the RLSS beach safety rules:

• Only swim at lifeguarded beaches.
• Read safety signs at the entrance to the beach.
• Learn the meanings of the lifeguard flags.
• Check when the tide will be low or high and make sure that you won’t be cut off from the beach by the rising tide

Lets all keep Water Safe this summer!

You can read more of our blogs at https://tots-town.co.uk/diary/   and discover more about how we work with brilliant people to open and grow their own role play venues here.