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Healthwatch

Swimming Lessons Save Lives: What Parents Should Know
~4.0 mins read

Before going any further, here's the main thing parents should know about swimming lessons: all children should have them.
Every year, over 4,500 people die from drowning in the United States — and, in fact, drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4. Swimming lessons can't prevent all of those deaths, but they can prevent a lot of them. A child doesn't need to be able to swim butterfly or do flip turns, but the ability to get back to the surface, float, tread water, and swim to where they can stand or grab onto something can save a life.
10 things parents should know about swimming lessons
As you think about swimming lessons, it's important to know:
1. Children don't really have the cognitive skills to learn to swim until they are around 4 years old. They need to be able to listen, follow directions, and retain what they've learned, and that's usually around 4 years old, with some kids being ready a little earlier.
2. That said, swim lessons between 1 and 4 years old can be useful. Not only are some kids simply ready earlier, younger children can learn some skills that can be useful if they fall into the water, like getting back to the side of a pool.
3. The pool or beach where children learn must be safe. This sounds obvious, but safety isn't something you can assume; you need to check it out for yourself. The area should be clean and well maintained. There should be lifeguards that aren't involved in teaching (since teachers can't be looking at everyone at all times). There should be something that marks off areas of deeper water, and something to prevent children from getting into those deeper areas. There should be lifesaving and first aid equipment handy, and posted safety rules.
4. The teachers should be trained. Again, this sounds obvious — but it's not always the case. Parents should ask about how teachers are trained and evaluated, and whether it's under the guidelines of an agency such as the Red Cross or the YMCA.
5. The ratio of kids to teachers should be appropriate. Preferably, it should be as low as possible, especially for young children and new swimmers. In those cases, the teacher should be able to have all children within arm's reach and be able to watch the whole group. As children gain skills the group can get a bit bigger, but there should never be more than the teacher can safely supervise.
6. There should be a curriculum and a progression — and children should be placed based on their ability. In general, swim lessons progress from getting used to the water all the way to becoming proficient at different strokes. There should be a clear way that children are assessed, and a clear plan for moving them ahead in their skills.
7. Parents should be able to watch for at least some portion. You should be able to see for yourself what is going on in the class. It's not always useful or helpful for parents to be right there the whole time, as it can be distracting for children, but you should be able to watch at least the beginning and end of a lesson. Many pools have an observation window or deck.
8. Flotation devices should be used thoughtfully. There is a lot of debate about the use of "bubbles" or other flotation devices to help children learn to swim. They can be very helpful with keeping children safe at the beginning, and helping them learn proper positioning and stroke mechanics instead of swimming frantically to stay afloat, but if they are used, the lessons should be designed to gradually decrease any reliance on them.
9. Being scared of the water isn't a reason not to take, or to quit, swimming lessons. It's common and normal to be afraid of the water, and some children are more afraid than others. While you don't want to force a child to do something they are terrified of doing, giving up isn't a good idea either. Start more gradually, with lots of positive reinforcement. The swim teacher should be willing to help.
10. Just because a child can swim doesn't mean he can't drown. Children can get tired, hurt, trapped, snagged, or disoriented. Even strong swimmers can get into trouble. While swimming lessons help save lives, children should always, always be supervised around water, and should wear life jackets for boating and other water sports.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has helpful information on preventing drowning. The American Red Cross offers an online water safety course for caregivers and parents and water safety videos for children. Many public pools and organizations like Boys & Girls Clubs and the YMCA offer swimming classes for all ages.
Source: Harvard Health Publishing
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News_Naija

Lagos Sweepers Deserve Better Pay
~2.7 mins read
THE paltry pay faceoff between the Lagos State Government and its street sweepers is beyond a trade dispute. It shows how the Nigerian society treats the masses. The ordinary people seem to matter only when their vote is desperately needed. When the election is over, they are left to sink or swim. In Nigeria, the rich do not suffer the harsh effects of fuel subsidy removal or the consequences of naira flotation and devaluation, all of which have been choking the poor. At least, the ruling class should show empathy. Ordinarily, the sweepers do not expect to be on the same salary structure as graduates, but they perform critical tasks, especially keeping the highways free of refuse and silt. Therefore, they should be paid a sustainable wage and treated well. Before most Lagosians wake up, the sweepers are out on the streets. They work hard under dangerous conditions. Residents rely on them to clean up not just garbage carelessly dumped on the road, but even human waste left there overnight. Some sweepers have been run over by reckless drivers. Yet they have no pension or gratuity. Lagos should review the sweepers’ welfare package. The sweepers were quietly working under these inhuman conditions until one of them launched a protest, complaining, among other things, that some of them earned below N40,000 a month, which is not even paid regularly. Lagos smelled so much from the heaps of rubbish when President Bola Tinubu was governor (1999-2007) that he was forced to make a video, appealing, “Lagosians, we cannot continue like this.” But Babatunde Fashola cleaned up the system. The sweepers ensure that Lagos residents do not turn up their noses when walking or driving through the streets. They ought to be adequately remunerated and appreciated for doing their four-hour shifts. On Monday, the Managing Director of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, Muyiwa Gbadegesin, said, “It is untrue that the government does not care about the street sweepers.” He countered that the sweepers enjoyed welfare benefits, wage adjustments and healthcare access like government staff and that they were targets of empowerment schemes. On the N40,000 monthly pay, he said, “If they were full-time staff, at that rate, they would be making N80,000 a month, which is N10,000 above the national minimum wage.” This argument is weak, considering the vital work the sweepers do. They should be placed on a special scale to reflect their contribution to society. Indeed, the minimum wage is grossly insufficient. Earlier, the Lagos State Waste Management Agency said the sweepers were engaged through private companies under “structured contracts” and that those private companies “are responsible for directly paying their engaged sweepers”. This should be reviewed. Why outsource such an important job to a pocket-pinching private company in the first place? Outsourcing should be for ease and better work, not to deny the workers their due, leaving them unmotivated. They cannot give their best under such circumstances. With a purchasing power parity of $259 billion and regarded as the state with the highest internally generated revenue in Nigeria, Lagos can afford to engage the sweepers full-time. For a state looking to keep evolving and modernising, the authorities can consider mechanising its cleaning infrastructure. Even with the street sweepers’ hard work, a lot more needs to be done to keep the state clean. Street-sweeper vehicles equipped with brushes or vacuum systems that pick up debris and dust will help. So will vacuum sweepers and street washers. Gbadegesin said the sweepers had an opportunity to do some work elsewhere after their four-hour shift. This is unfortunate. The minimum wage in California is $16 per hour for all employers, higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. As Lagos aspires to a megacity status, it should carry all its labour force along.
Read more stories like this on punchng.com
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Instablog9ja

Lagos Government To Ban Danfo And Korope On October 1
~1.0 mins read
The Lagos State Government has said there’s no going back on the planned enforcement banning operations of all unregulated commercial bus operations, such as Danfos and Koropes, along the Lekki-Epe corridor, from October 1, 2024.
The special adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on transportation, Sola Giwa, disclosed this in a chat with Vanguard on Saturday, July 14.
He said that the reminder on the planned ban, which is in line with the Lagos State Strategic Transportation Master Plan (STMP), was to dismiss rumours that the move had been suspended.
Giwa stated that a stakeholders’ meeting was held with bus operators and union leaders on their need to comply before October 1 to successfully regulate and integrate the informal transport sector into the State’s Bus Reform Initiative using the corridor as a pilot test.
Giwa described the current state of bus operations on the corridor as chaotic hence, the need for collaboration to successfully regulate and integrate the informal transport sector into the State’s Bus Reform Initiative using Lekki/Epe corridor as a pilot test.
He, however, warned that operators who contravene the regulations will be fined, and will be made to forfeit their vehicles if they ignore the notice of their fines, as the state government would not tolerate wilful disregard of its existing Transport Sector Reform Law.
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GambiaUpdates

LAdministration Fiscale De La Gambie (GRA) Gnre 6,7 Milliards De Dalasis En 3 Mois
~0.5 mins read

Le Directeur Général De L’Administration Fiscale De La Gambie (GRA), Mr Yankuba Darboe, A Révélé Hier Que L'institution Avait Généré 6,7 Milliards De Dalasis Au Cours Des Mois De Janvier, Février Et Mars De Cette Année.
Il A Révélé Cela Lors D'une Conférence De Presse Tenue Hier Au Siège De L’Administration Fiscale De La Gambie (GRA) à Banjul.
Selon Le Patron De L’Administration Fiscale De La Gambie (GRA), L'institution A Collecté 2,6 Milliards De Dalasis, Une Somme Représentant
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