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Page 66
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
June 14, 2013
GUARDING THE BEACH
Some Beach Advice To Prevent A Lost Kid Scenario
OCEAN CITY – As a father of two small children, one of my biggest fears is losing my kids in a crowded area and not being able to find them. During the summer months in Ocean City, the beach can become one of the most crowded places your children will ever experience. Over my 15 years with the beach patrol, I have had the opportunity to return many lost children to their parents. Some of these experiences have been very emotional depending on the age of the child and how long they had been missing. Many of these situations could also have been prevented. Pay attention parents because in this article I’m going to give you some advice that will help to hopefully prevent that scary moment during your time on the sand. My children are 6 and 2, so one of the very first things that we do when we get to the beach is meet the lifeguard. Of course, I already know the lifeguard because I’m their boss, but my kids do not. Therefore, I make sure that I take the time to introduce them and reinforce the fact that if they cannot find mommy and daddy then they tell the person in the big white chair. Our lifeguards’ primary concern is watching the water, but they often spend a portion of their time on busy days reuniting families. They will be very appreciative that you are taking the time to try to prevent that from happening. On a busy weekend in July, it is not uncommon that we have over 100 lost children cases. Next, I show my son (my daughter is too little to understand) the street sign that faces the beach. It it is a vacation, but there is never a has the number of the street on it vacation from being a parent. I have and he usually can remember it with been involved in situations where ease. I typically point out a few dis- the child and parent were enjoying tinguishable buildings in the back- naptime together, just to have the ground as well to help orient him. To child wake up and go for a walk. a young child standing at the One of the worst situations water’s edge, the beach can involving a lost child that I look like a repeating pattern was directly involved with of umbrellas and chairs, concerned a 3-year-old girl making mommy and daddy who had literally run over 50 disappear quite easily. My blocks within a half-hour. son is also very good with This toddler had passed numbers, so we have been thousands of people on the practicing the memorization beach before being recognizof my cell phone number. ed. Our lifeguards have the abili- RYAN COWDER When kids get panicked, ty to make radio contact with our they tend to pick up the pace and dispatcher who can place a call to cover more ground as they search parents if needed. frantically for something familiar. Lastly, there is no substitution for They also tend to take paths of least good supervision. I understand that resistance by walking the water’s edge and with the wind at their back. These commonalities actually assist the lifeguards during their search by allowing the child to be more visible to the guards. Once a search is initiated, semaphore communication (the famous lifeguard flag language that you will see when sitting on the beach) is sent to each guard so that they can visually sweep their area from the high vantage point of their chair. This information typically includes the name, age and swimsuit color. Radio communication is also used
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