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\"I really hope that now that summer is here that parents are really grilling their kids about water safety and that they understand how dangerous the water is, and these piers [on Lake Michigan],\" she said. \"Kids think they’re invincible, but it happened so fast and [the girls] got so tired so quickly. They were very lucky that someone was there to save them.\"

Tips for water safety

DeWitt made the right decision to stay out of the water and on the pier while rescuing the girls, according to Peter G. Wernicki, M.D., a Florida-based orthopedic surgeon, former lifeguard and member of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council.

\"We always recommend that nobody enters the water above their head unless they’re a trained rescuer because in more cases than not, the people who end up doing that unfortunately can end up drowning themselves,\" he said, noting that bystanders who see someone in distress should follow the motto, \"Reach, throw and don't go.\"

\"If you can reach them or extend your reach with a towel or a rope or something like that, that’s perfect,\" he said. \"If you can’t do that, try and get something that will float, like an inner tube or a raft or an empty cooler, and throw something to them so they can hang onto it and float better and then call 911 to get someone more professional out there to help.\"

In open water, people should avoid swimming within 100 feet of a pier or jetty because there is a high risk of rip currents, according to Wernicki.

If you are caught in a rip current, the Red Cross advises swimmers to stay calm and swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the current, and then turn and swim toward shore. If you can't swim to the shore, float or tread water until you are free of the rip current and then head toward shore.

In any type of water, the safest place to swim is near a certified lifeguard. Children, especially those who are poor swimmers or non-swimmers, should always wear a personal flotation device like a Coast Guard-approved life jacket, according to Wernicki.

Children should be supervised at all times in the water by an adult who is within reach of them in the water, something Wernicki calls \"arms-length supervision.\"

It is also recommended by the Red Cross that while in groups, like a neighborhood pool party or a family beach outing, one adult be the designated \"water watcher\" whose sole job is to watch the children in the pool. Adults can then rotate that responsibility in different shifts.

To help prepare for summer, the Red Cross offers a free Water Safety for Parents and Caregivers online course.

The Red Cross also offers a Swim app for safety tips, as well as additional water safety resources are available at redcross.org/watersafety and at redcross.org/watersafetyforkids.

Editor's note: This was originally published on June 8, 2021.

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