June 25, 2025 • 33 mins
Talked with Keri Morrison, Executive Director and Elizabeth Dashiell, from Live Like Jake. Live Like Jake is a charity that was created to increase awareness for drowning prevention and provide swim lessons and scholarships for those who can't afford them. They also provide financial and emotional support for families who have lost a child or who's child has critical care needs. Drowning is the number one cause of death for babies and young children between 1 and 4 years old. Families can sign their kids up for ISR swim lessons to teach them infant swimming resource where they learn to roll on their back. The number one layer of protection is active adult supervision of kids near water. There are 5 layers of protection, including alarms on windows/doors, locked doors/windows, pool fences, CPR, bright colored clothes, etc. Listeners can find out more online at www.livelikejake.org Live Like Jake raises money for scholarships by doing events throughout the year. They just had their annual 5K, and are doing Watermelons for Water Safety throughout the Summer. Listeners can also follow them on Facebook, Instagram. They have their gala coming up in the Fall and poker for prevention in August. Folks can become sponsors and get details www.likelikejake.org
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
iHeart Communities Presents Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective with Dead Nept.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Good morning, Welcome to Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective. I'm
your host, Dev Nepp. Thanks for spending your weekend with me.
Lots of great things happening this weekend and to help
me tell you about it, want to welcome one of
my guests, I have Elizabeth Dishield.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Good morning, good morning, Hey.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Thanks for coming in. And as we've discussed in the past,
always so many cool things happening, and like I know,
the whole thing with the turtle nesting season, watching the
turtles lady eggs, some of them are actually some of
the nests are actually starting to hatch. Folks can go
to SLC Hikes and in the Treasure Coast sign up
and you can either see one or the other depending
(00:41):
on what's available. So they believe the next one coming
up is going to be July tenth at eight am
in the morning, so go to SLC hikes dot org
and sign up for that because it's a limited group
size like twenty five or less something like that.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
And that's pretty cool. I mean, I always think about
doing the turtle hikes so late. At a lot of
my friends they go out it'll be two three o'clock
in the morning and they go and watch them come
and lay the eggs. But having it at eight.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Am, that's where the hatching part happens. Yeah, right, So
then I've done the ones at night where they're doing
the laying for the nesting. So this is part where
there some of those nests happened, like back in I
guess April ish, So now those turtles are ready to hatch,
so that's pretty exciting. So I've never made it up
early enough to do the morning once. Between the two
of us, we should be able to cover that.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yes, yes, I'll volunteer for one of those for sure.
And you know, if you're looking for something indoors don't forget,
today is your last chance two pm to catch the
Broadway production of Ain't Too Proud The Life and Time
of the Temptations, and that's today at the Cravis Center.
(01:51):
You can go to Cravis dot org for details.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
On that fabulous show. They always been cool shows, and
we were talking earlier. I think it's so cool how
they saved one of these fabulous productions for the summer for.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
Us Yeah, it's kind of a new experiment that they're
doing to you know, provide the world class Broadway best
here for the year round residents. And I know I
greatly appreciate it. Less crowds, less crowded parking garage, and
you know, it's still just a phenomenal Tony Award winning production.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Oh, definitely check that out. And of course I talked
to Benji Stute a couple months ago from the Palm
Beach County Environmental Resource Management Group. We love IERM. He's
so off. So the pbc ARM folks they've got coming up.
I thought of you for this one, Elizabeth. Coming up
on Thursday, July tenth, eight thirty am. It's going to
be happening the Cypress Creek Natural Area in Jupiter. It's
(02:49):
an off road bike ride. Oh so I know you
love the doing the joy ride bike souse. I was like, oh,
I have to let her know about this one. And
then Saturday July twelve, six thirty pm, this is a
sun said hike that'd be mill might be nice and slow,
casual stroll. And then they're doing a run for the
ones who will get running. I love this. Saturday July nineteenth,
(03:10):
six am though, because it'll be too hot later on,
folks can go to a sunrise trail run at the
Luxahatchie Slow and again go to pbcerm dot com to
get all the details on those different events.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
I love that. And if you have young ones in
your household right now giving you so much joy at
all hours, with all that energy, and you do want
to get out into the natural world, but it might
be a little easier to contain them in actual contained
(03:45):
area Mounts Botanical Garden and this thrills me. It is
free admission for kids all summer long at Mounts Botanical
Age seventeen and under can go and see the spectacular
jewel that we have at Mounts. It features different gardens
(04:09):
within the Garden of extremes edible Garden. There is even
a garden if you've ever worn your favorite perfume or
cologne and ever thought about the sense or maybe you
haven't even thought about it, the plants that they actually
extract the sense from, they have a whole garden just
(04:31):
focused on that. And of course it's this absolute tropical
oasis there. There's sculpture works in there, towering like Easter
Island sculptures, windows, over the floating world, which is its
own little ecosystem right on the water there. It's just breathtaking.
(04:51):
You could just go there for a little bit of
serenity now. And in fact, they have some really cool
activities all month long in July where there's a traditional
broom making which has a lot of meditative and spiritual
elements woven into it. You can do forest bathing, yoga,
(05:13):
they have dog days in the garden. It is just
NonStop fun and you can take your kids for free.
Oh speaking of free.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
So before you go to the next one. Also at
Mounts they actually have added a little scavenger hunt, so
perfect one from when you take the kiddos they can
go do a little scavenger hunt throughout. So you can
go to their website Mounts dot org and I'll tell
you what days I think they do.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
That treasure trek, maize, koi and more. Yes, that is
so fantastic. And these last few days of June there
is still fifty percent off all the plants in the nursery,
so if you are looking to get your plants in
the ground, these plants there identified and there's always someone
(06:01):
on hand, an expert who can tell you actually how
not to kill it. I'm talking to my plants on
my patio right now where I should have checked in
with that expert.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Yeah, my minority gone. They say they've moved on to
the next rainbow Bridge.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
What would that be?
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Rainbow Bridge.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Master gardener there next time I pop over. So lots
of cool things like you said, And of course all
speaking of kids, you can keep the students like you're
in your family, of course, engaged all summer long. Uh.
The different libraries pump Beach County Library, Mandel, Saint Lucie
County Libraries have awesome summer reading programs and events. They've
got steam power ones happening. There's also gonna be some
(06:45):
movie matinees, different light experiencements with fiber optics, and the
different branches. So you can go to Saint Lucieco dot org,
Forward Slash Libraries and the list of those different programs
are listed there. For West Palm, go to pbclibrary dot
org and all the different programs with Pombach County Libraries
or listed right there.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Well, if you're looking for more indoor air conditioned fun
with your kids, just a reminder the Norton Museum of
Art all summer long Saturdays are free for Palm Beach
County residents. That is the perfect time to introduce your
friends to the state's largest fine art museum. It's considered
(07:30):
one of the jewels of the entire country and between
the different collections they have, they always have special themed events.
So if you wanted to go, hear some live music,
get some hands on fun, get a little private tour
of one of their many galleries. All that happens on
(07:51):
Friday nights where they have art after dark at the
Norton as well. You can see the whole lineup of
exhibitions and everything going on there at Norton dot Org.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Oh definitely, I love going to the Norton. It's another
fun thing actually happening later on today this afternoon. It
is Freddie McGregor and friends at the Sunset Cove Amphitheater
in the Bert Aaronson South County Regional Park in West Boca.
It's gonna be fun like big birthday celebration concert, family
friend thing. It starts at two o'clock in the afternoon.
(08:22):
Ticket prices will theory pig one got out and have
some fun in the afternoon. Go check it out, get
some nice live music going.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
Oh that's fantastic. And speaking of Palm Beach County parks
and rec amphitheaters, don't forget mark your calendars. It is
the thirty fifth anniversary of Shakespeare by the Sea. It
is the longest running professional Shakespeare festival in the entire
state of Florida. It's one of the top five longest
(08:50):
continuously running Shakespeare festivals in the nation. And this summer
they are presenting the winters Tail, so there's going to
be snow on stage in the middle of July and
Carlon Park. It is entirely free admission. This is your
(09:11):
typical Shakespeare in the Park, but this one by the sea,
so you have that gorgeous sea breeze there once the
sun starts to set. You bring your beach shay, your blanket,
picnic basket. There's a food truck from Food Shacks that'll
be there the first week and it runs July tenth
through the twentieth.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
But on July.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Twelve, it is a party for the whole town of Jupiter,
the centennial celebration night. They'll be giving away one hundred
free Shakespeare t shirts, some free fans to help keep
you cool. And you could sit back and enjoy Shakespeare
under the Stars at the Sea Breeze Amphitheater in Carlon Park, Jupiter,
(09:53):
and that is six thirty pm gates open and eight
pm each night night Thursday through Sunday. Go to Pbshakespeare
dot org for details.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
And speaking of Carlon Park, going on this weekend at
Carlin Park at the Civic Center there the folks, the
guys from the Jupiter Toquested Repeater Group Amateur Radio HAMM
radio guys are there doing their field day, so you
go on out and check it out. They've got all
the different like radio setups, like how they can be
powered in case of an emergency, and they have what
(10:28):
they call a go to GOTA station and it stands
forget on the air, so you can actually go and
use the ham radio because there's gonna be a licensed
HAM operator there with you to try and see how
far out you can make a contact. Some of these
guys have talked to the folks in the space station.
They've talked to guys in Australia and New Zealand. It's
really cool. It's a fun kind of fun thing to
(10:51):
do with you the kids and family, any ages, it's
all welcome, it's free to go.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
I remember when they had that setup at the Seffalori
Science Center and those guys are brilliant, and it's incredible
how our children nowadays might be raised with so much
digital technology, but how much they appreciate and enjoy analog
when they're introduced to it. So it's wonderful to hear
(11:18):
they will be at the Civic Center Jupiter with me again. Yeah,
oh that's fantastic. And they did mention that when we
talked on the show that the kids really do like it.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
They're fascinated by it because it's a brand new thing
to them, so it's a cool thing.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
So I like it.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Speaking of getting more information, we want to welcome our
guest for today, Karrie Morrison, executive director for Live Like Jake.
Good morning, Good morning, thanks for coming in so tell
the listeners and I'm obviously we've had so many people
move into the area since last week spoke what is
Live Like Jake and how did he get started?
Speaker 5 (11:52):
So we are a child drowning prevention nonprofit and I
started Live Like Jake after losing my son Jake to
a drowning accident. We were visiting family for the Thanksgiving
Day holiday in twenty thirteen, and he managed to walk
out of an unlocked door and fell into the inner
(12:13):
coastal forever, changing our lives and shattering our hearts. But
we went on to have another baby girl, and both
of our girls went through the ISR Self Rescue swim program.
And it was when Julia, our youngest, well, my three
(12:33):
month old, when we had Jake, she started the lessons.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
And it was very quickly that we realized these lessons.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
Could have saved Jake's life, and we wanted to make
them available to other families, so we started the nonprofit
and today we have provided over forty three hundred scholarships
for ISR Self Rescue lessons around the nation.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
That's amazing. So I'm glad that you mentioned that they're
scholarships so people can pay for the program, but if
they can't afford to pay, you will find someone who
sponsored them, because people donate money and time to sponsor
for this.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Correct.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
Correct, Yes, we raised the money throughout the year with
events and private donations, and we're able to provide these
scholarships not just in our area, but around the nation
wherever there's an ISR instructor and a family and need
we are there to help him out. We do about
three to four hundred a year.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
So for listeners who might be new to the idea
of the ISR, what exactly is that?
Speaker 5 (13:28):
So it stands for Infant Swimming Resource, that's the name,
and it's you know, there's some miscommunication people say, why
did ISR lessons? They may have done a survival type lesson.
ISR is just the name of the company. They teach
self rescue or survival swim lessons, because you know, my
son took traditional swim lessons months before he passed away
(13:51):
and he never really even learned anything. But they never
even attempted to put him on his back, So like
the only thing that would have saved him falling into
the intercostal fully clothed would have been that style of lesson.
The lessons are ten minutes a day. They used to
be five days a week. Now they have a four
day week program, so they're four to five days a
week for around six weeks. And the child will learn
(14:14):
to swim if they are walking. If their babies are
just going to learn to roll back and float, that's
all they need to know. If they fall into the water,
that their body will instinctually just turn over because that's
what it's been taught to do. They cry for help
and hopefully the parent is around to hear it. There
is no such thing as drowndproofing a child. So even
with these lessons, they're still at risk. And we still
(14:35):
always say number one is adult supervision.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Now, when you mentioned the number one that there are
several layers of protection that are needed, and I know
that part of the Liveleight Shake mission isn't just about
providing the resources for the swim the self rescuing lessons.
(15:00):
Can you talk about what those layers of protection are?
Speaker 4 (15:03):
Sure?
Speaker 5 (15:04):
So number one is that effective adult supervision. But you
know we're all human, and a lot of times drownings
happen when you're not even near the water. You're inside
the home, you're cooking dinner, or they're playing in their
playroom and they go out a doggy door or an
unlocked door. So you know it does happen to very
very good parents. Number two are always saying doors and
(15:25):
windows should be locked and alarmed at all times, regardless
of whether you live on the water because your neighbor
or have a pool. Your neighbor might have a pool
that is not protected, so doors and windows locked and
alarmed at all times. Pool fences. I cannot stress this enough.
If you have a pool and you have young children
or even grandchildren, please please please fence the pool. You
(15:46):
never know, it's the only physical barrier that's going to
keep them from entering the water. The self rescue swim lessons.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
As we mentioned.
Speaker 5 (15:54):
Removing the pet doors. You might not think about that,
but they do go out those doors. Kids are very
curious and little, so they can fit through those doors.
Something else that we've been really spreading the word about
is where bright stay in sight. So dress your kids
in bright bathing suits, rash guards clothing when you're going
to be in or near water. You can really spot
(16:16):
them when when they're underwater. And then CPR you never
know when you may need that, and it really can
make a difference between your child living a happy, healthy
life or maybe one with permanent brain damage. So we
do recommend learning CPR.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
And when you say alarms, you need alarms in the
house and on the pulllocksces.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
On the windows and doors. So if you don't have
a home that has a built in alarm, system. You
can actually go to home Depot or Low's or even
Amazon and pick up this little portable like it sticks
right on to the door and it has three modes
off if you don't want to hear the beep beep beep,
the chime and alarm, and you can set it to
whatever you would like. They cost like ten dollars and
(17:02):
they could save a life. So if you have a pool,
don't have the pool fence, can't afford the pool fence,
we can also help with that. But you know those
those alarms are very inexpensive and very effective.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Well yeah, and I know I was talking with you
before the show. Where I live, there's a pool and
it's a big tall fence around it bushes, so like
it's kind of hidden away so people don't see it,
so less of an attractive nuisance. But when I first
moved in, the two units that face the pool on
the bottom floor, the fence went around their units and
(17:38):
we actually had to change that so their fence, their buildings,
they could not access the pools directly. We put in
other fences like further away from their units with two
specific gates with a real funky lock that people you
have to have a special key that's like one hundred
dollars to replace to get in and out, and you
know that for extra safety and security.
Speaker 5 (17:58):
Yeah, I mean it can be an inconvenience, but it's
gonna save lives.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
And the thing that concerns me is I walk in
the pool and as I'm walking the pool, there's kids
playing in the pool and the parents are often sitting there,
but they're always on their phone. And I'm like, like,
one little kid was next to me and I was
walking mine. They went under and I reached over and
lifted them out and I'm like, are you okay? And
they're like coughing, and all a sudden the mom's looking
and I pull them over the side of the pool
(18:24):
and I'm like, you really need to watch them, not
watch your phone. And they got mad at me, and
I'm like, if I had not been in the pool,
that would have mended very badly. So rather than be
grateful that I happened to be standing a foot away
from their child, they went the other route.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
So that's unfortunate. But that is another point that I've
often heard Carrie speak about and I personally experienced. I
had two kids so close in age only about twelve
months apart. I was so worried about the little one.
I was in the pool and my oldest I saw.
(19:05):
I turned my head just to keep a double eye
on the little one, and when I turned my head back,
my oldest was standing on the bottom.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
And that's you.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
People have this idea, Can you talk about that actual
fact that how quick it happens?
Speaker 5 (19:23):
And now, yeah, as little as twenty one seconds is
all it takes for a child to lose their life
to a drowning, to at least go unconscious. Twenty one seconds,
it's not a long time. You turn your like you said,
you turned your head, you look back. And I've heard
that story before where a parent witness their child go
(19:44):
under and their eyes are like big and wide open
and looking up as they're sinking down. Because the drowning
position is that vertical position. It's quick, it's silent. It's
not like what you see in the movies with the
thrashing around, especially with the little kids.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
They just sink right tow the bottom.
Speaker 5 (20:01):
And I've had people that had a child drowned in.
Speaker 4 (20:04):
Between their legs.
Speaker 5 (20:06):
They were like in a pool, their kid was there
and they were just talking. I mean, it just it
can just happen so quickly. And I you know, I
always hate when I go speaking anywhere I speak, I'm like,
and this is a Debbie downer, Like I'm like, I'm sorry,
I bring the mood down, but it needs to be
talked about because it happens to really, really good people.
(20:29):
And Jake was a very cautious child. He didn't start
going down a slide the regular way until like a
month before we lost him. He always went on his stomach,
feet first, like he just was just very cautious. He
was not drawn to the water like most boys and
children are. So if it can happen to him and
me as a helicopter parent, it can literally happen to
(20:52):
anyone at any time.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
My oldest was my cautious child. And that is exactly
what happened. Sank standing on the bottom of the pool,
huge eyes wide open. It was shocking. I even pause
to be my brain not recognizing in that second what
I was seeing before I reached down, grabbed shot straight up.
(21:17):
There was coughing everything. And that very next week boom
in lessons in lessons, And that's what we want to do.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
We want to get to the parents before they have
that moment, before the child has that moment, because sometimes
that does make them afraid of the water and then
they really don't want the swim lessons. So that's my job,
is trying to reach the parents out there before that happens.
They can start as young as six months of age.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
How did they reach out to you speaking? Reaching out
to use their website social media?
Speaker 5 (21:49):
Sure, so Live like Jake dot org is our website.
Then we are also on social media at Live like Jake, Instagram,
Live like Jake thirty nine thirty nine, and our phone
numbers on their email on there. You know, we're always
always available. One other thing I want to say too
is also to always be in arms reach of your child,
(22:10):
even if they know how to swim. I've been bringing
my girls to do boys just because it's you know,
it's a nice place, but for someone like me in
the drowning prevention world, it will give you a heart attack.
And I was out in the water and I look
over and there's two young kids, probably two and three
years old, with the puddle jumpers on. That's like the
device who we do not encourage your child to be in.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
And I looked around.
Speaker 5 (22:32):
I was like, well, where are their parents? Even with
those on? Where are they at? So I'm doing my thing,
I'm scanning. I do not see any parents looking at them.
And then the little girl, who's but the three year old,
starts taking hers off, and this is do boys where
the current is now actually going out. I'm looking for
the lifeguard. I'm like, I don't want to go over and.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Grab these kids.
Speaker 5 (22:53):
The little boy starts taking his off, she gets hers
completely off, trying to help him. I walk over and
I like, where's your mommy, where's your daddy? Still looking,
and then I see parents, like on the shore so
far away, starting to come over there, and I was like,
I'm not going to say anything, you know, just like
you know, you never know how they're going to react.
(23:15):
And when they got over there, the lifeguard said something
to them, the tide's going out, please stay with your kid,
and I walked away.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Didn't have to say anything.
Speaker 5 (23:23):
But it was that moment that I'm like, even with
the puddle jumper on, you should never be that far
away from your child in and around water.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Can you talk about why you discourage those flotation devices?
So for many reasons, but it does give the child
the false sense of security like her taking it off,
because they don't understand without it, they're going.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
To sink to the bottom.
Speaker 5 (23:45):
So even if you tell your kid, you know, don't
go in the water without it, they're kids, they're curious,
they don't listen. It also puts them in the drowning position. So,
as you mentioned, your daughter was literally standing at the
bottom of the pool, So you're teaching their body that
that's how you get your air vertically and you should
be horizontally on your back.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
So it impedes that muscle memory from the selfressume.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Absolutely, they're also doggy paddling under there.
Speaker 5 (24:13):
So I've seen lessons where the instructors trying to get
them to swim horizontally and their body just naturally wants
to sync down and do that bicycle kick. Yeah, they're
very Yeah, I'm sure they have saved lots of lives
from parents maybe that aren't paying attention and their child's
in it. But we just suggest, especially if they're little,
(24:33):
you hold them in the water and get them in
swim lessons.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
And you were saying, I know most people when I
talk to them who have babies, I have become rabidly
outspoken about is your child in swim lessons or self
rescuing lessons? And I will actually ask my friends who
(24:57):
have gotten pregnant okay to sign up.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
And that's a great point. You can start saving money.
Speaker 5 (25:04):
Then at your baby shower, especially if it's not your
first child, ask for money for swim lessons because you.
Speaker 4 (25:10):
Know they are expensive, this style of lesson.
Speaker 5 (25:13):
And if you can't afford it and you qualify, we
will one hundred percent give you a scholarship. But you
can start when they're little and just put even if
you're putting when you're pregnant, fifty.
Speaker 4 (25:24):
Dollars a month away.
Speaker 5 (25:26):
By the time they're ready for lessons, you're going to
have that money.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
That's a fantastic suggestion.
Speaker 5 (25:32):
That's a great grandparents when it's Christmas, think about their
first two years.
Speaker 4 (25:37):
They don't need anything.
Speaker 5 (25:39):
Ask the grandparents to pay for swim lessons.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Oh, and I'm sure they'd be happy to do that.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
And like we said earlier in the show, there are
businesses that can sponsor swim lessons for folks. Absolutely sold.
They reach out to you the same way and say, hey,
I would like to sponsor like twelve lessons.
Speaker 4 (25:55):
Sure, yep, through right through our website.
Speaker 5 (25:57):
M hm.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
So yeah, we would love that.
Speaker 5 (25:59):
We love when businesses, you know, partner with us and
support it. Another thing too, is, especially if you're of
a big business and have a lot of employees, thinking,
think about giving your employees a little bit of extra
time to get those swim lessons, so whether they have
to leave work a little early or come to work
a little bit late. We actually just finally had one
(26:22):
of our one of our scholarship families. She works for
a bank and we have worked together before she had
kids and they come to our race and everything. She
had her first son and she couldn't make it work
time wise.
Speaker 4 (26:35):
Because it is a commitment.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
She reached out about a few months ago and said
she was putting them in lessons that were one hour
long every day, and I said, he's only three, that's
very long.
Speaker 4 (26:48):
That's a long time.
Speaker 5 (26:50):
She did it and he had seven lessons and he
doesn't really have a fear of the water and doesn't
really know what to do in the water. So he
just started yesterday at our pool with his ISR lessons.
So and her baby, as soon as she's old enough,
is starting, so it was finally like sometimes you got
to see it for yourself. You have to see that,
you know, when you think, like, oh, ten minutes, what
(27:10):
are they going to learn in ten minutes.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
They really do because it is that four to five.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
Day week, you know, and it's consistent where one hour,
even twenty minutes, thirty.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
Minutes, it's a long time for a baby to be
in the water.
Speaker 5 (27:22):
So think about that when you're thinking that's not enough time.
And I just you think that if you're in the
lessons longer, it's going to make them go by quicker,
and it doesn't.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
And there's you know the importance of this, and it
isn't just you talking about all of the aspects and
you personally knowing how it will completely alter a life.
But it's the alarming statistics of drowning having gone from
(27:55):
the number one cause of accidental death to the number one.
Speaker 5 (28:01):
Cause between ages of one and four, and it's second
leading cause in ages fourteen and under, but it's the
number one cause. Our state has already had fifty six
drowning deaths. We had one hundred and five last year.
We are on track to have that number again. If
nothing changes this year, we will have another year of
over one hundred drowning deaths in our state, and those
(28:22):
are just the ones.
Speaker 4 (28:22):
Reported to DCF. It is.
Speaker 5 (28:26):
It's alarming. But what gets me is it's preventable. It's
one hundred percent preventable. And I'm a parent that lost
a child, so I can say that. You know, so
if I had constant eyes on him, but I was
paying attention to my three month old. But if if
an adult had constant eyes on him, he would be here.
(28:47):
If that door was fully it had an alarm on it,
it just wasn't fully closed closed. If it was fully closed,
he wouldn't have gotten out if it was closed and locked.
If he had self rescue swim lessons, can't note say
for sure, but at least he would have a fighting chance.
So there's all of these things, if they were in place,
he would be here, And you know, they're all preventable.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
They're all preventable, and it being not just the number
one cause of death pretty much in children. That isn't
just Florida. I gets everywhere. Everyone When I mention it,
they say, I'm not near water. Okay, a bathtubb is water.
Speaker 5 (29:33):
I just had one in Okachobee, an eleven month old
left in the bathtub alone with a two year old.
I just saw that this morning.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
That's so sad.
Speaker 5 (29:43):
Yeah, but you have toilets, you have even outside of
the home. There's drainage digits, there's ponds, there's rivers, there's
water everywhere. There's drownings everywhere. Are they more prevalent in
Florida and Texas and California, Absolutely, but they can happen
to anybody in any state.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
And you talked about being able to provide these scholarships
through donations but also events. What are some of the
events that you do well?
Speaker 4 (30:14):
Right now?
Speaker 5 (30:15):
We have one that goes on all summer long. It's
called Watermelons for Water Safety and this is really so
like our scholarship. Families can give back and host stands,
or anybody can host the stand. We love that businesses
can host the stand. So we raising awareness for drowning
prevention and funds for scholarships. That goes on all summer long,
and the informations on our website and our galas coming
(30:38):
up October seventeenth at the Beautiful Pelican Club. This will
be our second year there and our theme is a
Palm Royal, so Vintage Palm Beach.
Speaker 4 (30:47):
We're very excited about that.
Speaker 5 (30:49):
We always have our five K the last Saturday of April,
so we've just recently had ours, and we have a
poker for prevention coming up in August. So we have
a lot of small all events throughout the year and
then some very big ones. But yeah, that's what helps
us give these scholarships out.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
I love the watermelon thing during the summer, which is
so appropriate, Yes, and such an easy thing for folks
to do.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
Absolutely, and you don't very much and you go to
the stand. It's not just watermelon, it's watermelon flavored everything
and the watermelon blow pops.
Speaker 4 (31:19):
I just start.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
Craving them right around June. The first time I see
something about live like Jake Watermelons for water Safety, ice
my mouth. It starts watering.
Speaker 4 (31:32):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
I love it. So anyway, before we go, let's get
the website for people to find out more information whether
they're at home, the layers of protection, if they're going
on vacation. I know you have a great water safety
checklist they can print out and look through before they
even go away from home. Yes, and how they become
a sponsor do their water for watermelon safety stand the
(31:54):
website and their social media access.
Speaker 5 (31:57):
So everything is on our website at Livelocjake dot org,
and our Facebook page is at Live like Jake, and
our Instagram has Lived like Jake thirty nine thirty nine,
but most of the information is going to be on
our website.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Very cool. Well, ladies, thanks for coming in and talking
with us, sharing your story, carry doing a really cool
thing in the community that's very very much needed. It's
definitely apreciated.
Speaker 5 (32:20):
Thank you for helping us get the word out there,
because sometimes you don't know what you don't know.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
The whole point of the show is you get the
word out for people so they know now yes, and
then knowledge is power. You can help empower yourself, your neighbor,
and even's parents are going to be mad at you
fish that kid out of the pool. Hope everybody has
a wonderful weekend. If you need more information, reach out
to me Palm Beach Perspective at iHeartMedia dot com. Happy
to forward on the details and you can always download
(32:47):
the shows a podcast on our iHeartRadio app. I'm dev
Nev and this has been my perspective. Remember life is good,
so be your healthieste and let's get out there and
live it. Until next week.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Enjoy iHeart Communities, the community engagement arm of the station,
champions critical issues and causes in the area of health
and wellness, social impact, education, literacy, and music and art.
Join us next week from Palm Beach Treasure Coast perspective
iHeart Communities Presents Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective with Dead Nept.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Good morning, Welcome to Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective. I'm
your host, Dev Nepp. Thanks for spending your weekend with me.
Lots of great things happening this weekend and to help
me tell you about it, want to welcome one of
my guests, I have Elizabeth Dishield.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Good morning, good morning, Hey.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Thanks for coming in. And as we've discussed in the past,
always so many cool things happening, and like I know,
the whole thing with the turtle nesting season, watching the
turtles lady eggs, some of them are actually some of
the nests are actually starting to hatch. Folks can go
to SLC Hikes and in the Treasure Coast sign up
and you can either see one or the other depending
(00:41):
on what's available. So they believe the next one coming
up is going to be July tenth at eight am
in the morning, so go to SLC hikes dot org
and sign up for that because it's a limited group
size like twenty five or less something like that.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
And that's pretty cool. I mean, I always think about
doing the turtle hikes so late. At a lot of
my friends they go out it'll be two three o'clock
in the morning and they go and watch them come
and lay the eggs. But having it at eight.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Am, that's where the hatching part happens. Yeah, right, So
then I've done the ones at night where they're doing
the laying for the nesting. So this is part where
there some of those nests happened, like back in I
guess April ish, So now those turtles are ready to hatch,
so that's pretty exciting. So I've never made it up
early enough to do the morning once. Between the two
of us, we should be able to cover that.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yes, yes, I'll volunteer for one of those for sure.
And you know, if you're looking for something indoors don't forget,
today is your last chance two pm to catch the
Broadway production of Ain't Too Proud The Life and Time
of the Temptations, and that's today at the Cravis Center.
(01:51):
You can go to Cravis dot org for details.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
On that fabulous show. They always been cool shows, and
we were talking earlier. I think it's so cool how
they saved one of these fabulous productions for the summer for.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
Us Yeah, it's kind of a new experiment that they're
doing to you know, provide the world class Broadway best
here for the year round residents. And I know I
greatly appreciate it. Less crowds, less crowded parking garage, and
you know, it's still just a phenomenal Tony Award winning production.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Oh, definitely check that out. And of course I talked
to Benji Stute a couple months ago from the Palm
Beach County Environmental Resource Management Group. We love IERM. He's
so off. So the pbc ARM folks they've got coming up.
I thought of you for this one, Elizabeth. Coming up
on Thursday, July tenth, eight thirty am. It's going to
be happening the Cypress Creek Natural Area in Jupiter. It's
(02:49):
an off road bike ride. Oh so I know you
love the doing the joy ride bike souse. I was like, oh,
I have to let her know about this one. And
then Saturday July twelve, six thirty pm, this is a
sun said hike that'd be mill might be nice and slow,
casual stroll. And then they're doing a run for the
ones who will get running. I love this. Saturday July nineteenth,
(03:10):
six am though, because it'll be too hot later on,
folks can go to a sunrise trail run at the
Luxahatchie Slow and again go to pbcerm dot com to
get all the details on those different events.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
I love that. And if you have young ones in
your household right now giving you so much joy at
all hours, with all that energy, and you do want
to get out into the natural world, but it might
be a little easier to contain them in actual contained
(03:45):
area Mounts Botanical Garden and this thrills me. It is
free admission for kids all summer long at Mounts Botanical
Age seventeen and under can go and see the spectacular
jewel that we have at Mounts. It features different gardens
(04:09):
within the Garden of extremes edible Garden. There is even
a garden if you've ever worn your favorite perfume or
cologne and ever thought about the sense or maybe you
haven't even thought about it, the plants that they actually
extract the sense from, they have a whole garden just
(04:31):
focused on that. And of course it's this absolute tropical
oasis there. There's sculpture works in there, towering like Easter
Island sculptures, windows, over the floating world, which is its
own little ecosystem right on the water there. It's just breathtaking.
(04:51):
You could just go there for a little bit of
serenity now. And in fact, they have some really cool
activities all month long in July where there's a traditional
broom making which has a lot of meditative and spiritual
elements woven into it. You can do forest bathing, yoga,
(05:13):
they have dog days in the garden. It is just
NonStop fun and you can take your kids for free.
Oh speaking of free.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
So before you go to the next one. Also at
Mounts they actually have added a little scavenger hunt, so
perfect one from when you take the kiddos they can
go do a little scavenger hunt throughout. So you can
go to their website Mounts dot org and I'll tell
you what days I think they do.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
That treasure trek, maize, koi and more. Yes, that is
so fantastic. And these last few days of June there
is still fifty percent off all the plants in the nursery,
so if you are looking to get your plants in
the ground, these plants there identified and there's always someone
(06:01):
on hand, an expert who can tell you actually how
not to kill it. I'm talking to my plants on
my patio right now where I should have checked in
with that expert.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Yeah, my minority gone. They say they've moved on to
the next rainbow Bridge.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
What would that be?
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Rainbow Bridge.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Master gardener there next time I pop over. So lots
of cool things like you said, And of course all
speaking of kids, you can keep the students like you're
in your family, of course, engaged all summer long. Uh.
The different libraries pump Beach County Library, Mandel, Saint Lucie
County Libraries have awesome summer reading programs and events. They've
got steam power ones happening. There's also gonna be some
(06:45):
movie matinees, different light experiencements with fiber optics, and the
different branches. So you can go to Saint Lucieco dot org,
Forward Slash Libraries and the list of those different programs
are listed there. For West Palm, go to pbclibrary dot
org and all the different programs with Pombach County Libraries
or listed right there.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Well, if you're looking for more indoor air conditioned fun
with your kids, just a reminder the Norton Museum of
Art all summer long Saturdays are free for Palm Beach
County residents. That is the perfect time to introduce your
friends to the state's largest fine art museum. It's considered
(07:30):
one of the jewels of the entire country and between
the different collections they have, they always have special themed events.
So if you wanted to go, hear some live music,
get some hands on fun, get a little private tour
of one of their many galleries. All that happens on
(07:51):
Friday nights where they have art after dark at the
Norton as well. You can see the whole lineup of
exhibitions and everything going on there at Norton dot Org.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Oh definitely, I love going to the Norton. It's another
fun thing actually happening later on today this afternoon. It
is Freddie McGregor and friends at the Sunset Cove Amphitheater
in the Bert Aaronson South County Regional Park in West Boca.
It's gonna be fun like big birthday celebration concert, family
friend thing. It starts at two o'clock in the afternoon.
(08:22):
Ticket prices will theory pig one got out and have
some fun in the afternoon. Go check it out, get
some nice live music going.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
Oh that's fantastic. And speaking of Palm Beach County parks
and rec amphitheaters, don't forget mark your calendars. It is
the thirty fifth anniversary of Shakespeare by the Sea. It
is the longest running professional Shakespeare festival in the entire
state of Florida. It's one of the top five longest
(08:50):
continuously running Shakespeare festivals in the nation. And this summer
they are presenting the winters Tail, so there's going to
be snow on stage in the middle of July and
Carlon Park. It is entirely free admission. This is your
(09:11):
typical Shakespeare in the Park, but this one by the sea,
so you have that gorgeous sea breeze there once the
sun starts to set. You bring your beach shay, your blanket,
picnic basket. There's a food truck from Food Shacks that'll
be there the first week and it runs July tenth
through the twentieth.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
But on July.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Twelve, it is a party for the whole town of Jupiter,
the centennial celebration night. They'll be giving away one hundred
free Shakespeare t shirts, some free fans to help keep
you cool. And you could sit back and enjoy Shakespeare
under the Stars at the Sea Breeze Amphitheater in Carlon Park, Jupiter,
(09:53):
and that is six thirty pm gates open and eight
pm each night night Thursday through Sunday. Go to Pbshakespeare
dot org for details.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
And speaking of Carlon Park, going on this weekend at
Carlin Park at the Civic Center there the folks, the
guys from the Jupiter Toquested Repeater Group Amateur Radio HAMM
radio guys are there doing their field day, so you
go on out and check it out. They've got all
the different like radio setups, like how they can be
powered in case of an emergency, and they have what
(10:28):
they call a go to GOTA station and it stands
forget on the air, so you can actually go and
use the ham radio because there's gonna be a licensed
HAM operator there with you to try and see how
far out you can make a contact. Some of these
guys have talked to the folks in the space station.
They've talked to guys in Australia and New Zealand. It's
really cool. It's a fun kind of fun thing to
(10:51):
do with you the kids and family, any ages, it's
all welcome, it's free to go.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
I remember when they had that setup at the Seffalori
Science Center and those guys are brilliant, and it's incredible
how our children nowadays might be raised with so much
digital technology, but how much they appreciate and enjoy analog
when they're introduced to it. So it's wonderful to hear
(11:18):
they will be at the Civic Center Jupiter with me again. Yeah,
oh that's fantastic. And they did mention that when we
talked on the show that the kids really do like it.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
They're fascinated by it because it's a brand new thing
to them, so it's a cool thing.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
So I like it.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Speaking of getting more information, we want to welcome our
guest for today, Karrie Morrison, executive director for Live Like Jake.
Good morning, Good morning, thanks for coming in so tell
the listeners and I'm obviously we've had so many people
move into the area since last week spoke what is
Live Like Jake and how did he get started?
Speaker 5 (11:52):
So we are a child drowning prevention nonprofit and I
started Live Like Jake after losing my son Jake to
a drowning accident. We were visiting family for the Thanksgiving
Day holiday in twenty thirteen, and he managed to walk
out of an unlocked door and fell into the inner
(12:13):
coastal forever, changing our lives and shattering our hearts. But
we went on to have another baby girl, and both
of our girls went through the ISR Self Rescue swim program.
And it was when Julia, our youngest, well, my three
(12:33):
month old, when we had Jake, she started the lessons.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
And it was very quickly that we realized these lessons.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
Could have saved Jake's life, and we wanted to make
them available to other families, so we started the nonprofit
and today we have provided over forty three hundred scholarships
for ISR Self Rescue lessons around the nation.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
That's amazing. So I'm glad that you mentioned that they're
scholarships so people can pay for the program, but if
they can't afford to pay, you will find someone who
sponsored them, because people donate money and time to sponsor
for this.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Correct.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
Correct, Yes, we raised the money throughout the year with
events and private donations, and we're able to provide these
scholarships not just in our area, but around the nation
wherever there's an ISR instructor and a family and need
we are there to help him out. We do about
three to four hundred a year.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
So for listeners who might be new to the idea
of the ISR, what exactly is that?
Speaker 5 (13:28):
So it stands for Infant Swimming Resource, that's the name,
and it's you know, there's some miscommunication people say, why
did ISR lessons? They may have done a survival type lesson.
ISR is just the name of the company. They teach
self rescue or survival swim lessons, because you know, my
son took traditional swim lessons months before he passed away
(13:51):
and he never really even learned anything. But they never
even attempted to put him on his back, So like
the only thing that would have saved him falling into
the intercostal fully clothed would have been that style of lesson.
The lessons are ten minutes a day. They used to
be five days a week. Now they have a four
day week program, so they're four to five days a
week for around six weeks. And the child will learn
(14:14):
to swim if they are walking. If their babies are
just going to learn to roll back and float, that's
all they need to know. If they fall into the water,
that their body will instinctually just turn over because that's
what it's been taught to do. They cry for help
and hopefully the parent is around to hear it. There
is no such thing as drowndproofing a child. So even
with these lessons, they're still at risk. And we still
(14:35):
always say number one is adult supervision.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Now, when you mentioned the number one that there are
several layers of protection that are needed, and I know
that part of the Liveleight Shake mission isn't just about
providing the resources for the swim the self rescuing lessons.
(15:00):
Can you talk about what those layers of protection are?
Speaker 4 (15:03):
Sure?
Speaker 5 (15:04):
So number one is that effective adult supervision. But you
know we're all human, and a lot of times drownings
happen when you're not even near the water. You're inside
the home, you're cooking dinner, or they're playing in their
playroom and they go out a doggy door or an
unlocked door. So you know it does happen to very
very good parents. Number two are always saying doors and
(15:25):
windows should be locked and alarmed at all times, regardless
of whether you live on the water because your neighbor
or have a pool. Your neighbor might have a pool
that is not protected, so doors and windows locked and
alarmed at all times. Pool fences. I cannot stress this enough.
If you have a pool and you have young children
or even grandchildren, please please please fence the pool. You
(15:46):
never know, it's the only physical barrier that's going to
keep them from entering the water. The self rescue swim lessons.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
As we mentioned.
Speaker 5 (15:54):
Removing the pet doors. You might not think about that,
but they do go out those doors. Kids are very
curious and little, so they can fit through those doors.
Something else that we've been really spreading the word about
is where bright stay in sight. So dress your kids
in bright bathing suits, rash guards clothing when you're going
to be in or near water. You can really spot
(16:16):
them when when they're underwater. And then CPR you never
know when you may need that, and it really can
make a difference between your child living a happy, healthy
life or maybe one with permanent brain damage. So we
do recommend learning CPR.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
And when you say alarms, you need alarms in the
house and on the pulllocksces.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
On the windows and doors. So if you don't have
a home that has a built in alarm, system. You
can actually go to home Depot or Low's or even
Amazon and pick up this little portable like it sticks
right on to the door and it has three modes
off if you don't want to hear the beep beep beep,
the chime and alarm, and you can set it to
whatever you would like. They cost like ten dollars and
(17:02):
they could save a life. So if you have a pool,
don't have the pool fence, can't afford the pool fence,
we can also help with that. But you know those
those alarms are very inexpensive and very effective.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Well yeah, and I know I was talking with you
before the show. Where I live, there's a pool and
it's a big tall fence around it bushes, so like
it's kind of hidden away so people don't see it,
so less of an attractive nuisance. But when I first
moved in, the two units that face the pool on
the bottom floor, the fence went around their units and
(17:38):
we actually had to change that so their fence, their buildings,
they could not access the pools directly. We put in
other fences like further away from their units with two
specific gates with a real funky lock that people you
have to have a special key that's like one hundred
dollars to replace to get in and out, and you
know that for extra safety and security.
Speaker 5 (17:58):
Yeah, I mean it can be an inconvenience, but it's
gonna save lives.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
And the thing that concerns me is I walk in
the pool and as I'm walking the pool, there's kids
playing in the pool and the parents are often sitting there,
but they're always on their phone. And I'm like, like,
one little kid was next to me and I was
walking mine. They went under and I reached over and
lifted them out and I'm like, are you okay? And
they're like coughing, and all a sudden the mom's looking
and I pull them over the side of the pool
(18:24):
and I'm like, you really need to watch them, not
watch your phone. And they got mad at me, and
I'm like, if I had not been in the pool,
that would have mended very badly. So rather than be
grateful that I happened to be standing a foot away
from their child, they went the other route.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
So that's unfortunate. But that is another point that I've
often heard Carrie speak about and I personally experienced. I
had two kids so close in age only about twelve
months apart. I was so worried about the little one.
I was in the pool and my oldest I saw.
(19:05):
I turned my head just to keep a double eye
on the little one, and when I turned my head back,
my oldest was standing on the bottom.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
And that's you.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
People have this idea, Can you talk about that actual
fact that how quick it happens?
Speaker 5 (19:23):
And now, yeah, as little as twenty one seconds is
all it takes for a child to lose their life
to a drowning, to at least go unconscious. Twenty one seconds,
it's not a long time. You turn your like you said,
you turned your head, you look back. And I've heard
that story before where a parent witness their child go
(19:44):
under and their eyes are like big and wide open
and looking up as they're sinking down. Because the drowning
position is that vertical position. It's quick, it's silent. It's
not like what you see in the movies with the
thrashing around, especially with the little kids.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
They just sink right tow the bottom.
Speaker 5 (20:01):
And I've had people that had a child drowned in.
Speaker 4 (20:04):
Between their legs.
Speaker 5 (20:06):
They were like in a pool, their kid was there
and they were just talking. I mean, it just it
can just happen so quickly. And I you know, I
always hate when I go speaking anywhere I speak, I'm like,
and this is a Debbie downer, Like I'm like, I'm sorry,
I bring the mood down, but it needs to be
talked about because it happens to really, really good people.
(20:29):
And Jake was a very cautious child. He didn't start
going down a slide the regular way until like a
month before we lost him. He always went on his stomach,
feet first, like he just was just very cautious. He
was not drawn to the water like most boys and
children are. So if it can happen to him and
me as a helicopter parent, it can literally happen to
(20:52):
anyone at any time.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
My oldest was my cautious child. And that is exactly
what happened. Sank standing on the bottom of the pool,
huge eyes wide open. It was shocking. I even pause
to be my brain not recognizing in that second what
I was seeing before I reached down, grabbed shot straight up.
(21:17):
There was coughing everything. And that very next week boom
in lessons in lessons, And that's what we want to do.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
We want to get to the parents before they have
that moment, before the child has that moment, because sometimes
that does make them afraid of the water and then
they really don't want the swim lessons. So that's my job,
is trying to reach the parents out there before that happens.
They can start as young as six months of age.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
How did they reach out to you speaking? Reaching out
to use their website social media?
Speaker 5 (21:49):
Sure, so Live like Jake dot org is our website.
Then we are also on social media at Live like Jake, Instagram,
Live like Jake thirty nine thirty nine, and our phone
numbers on their email on there. You know, we're always
always available. One other thing I want to say too
is also to always be in arms reach of your child,
(22:10):
even if they know how to swim. I've been bringing
my girls to do boys just because it's you know,
it's a nice place, but for someone like me in
the drowning prevention world, it will give you a heart attack.
And I was out in the water and I look
over and there's two young kids, probably two and three
years old, with the puddle jumpers on. That's like the
device who we do not encourage your child to be in.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
And I looked around.
Speaker 5 (22:32):
I was like, well, where are their parents? Even with
those on? Where are they at? So I'm doing my thing,
I'm scanning. I do not see any parents looking at them.
And then the little girl, who's but the three year old,
starts taking hers off, and this is do boys where
the current is now actually going out. I'm looking for
the lifeguard. I'm like, I don't want to go over and.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Grab these kids.
Speaker 5 (22:53):
The little boy starts taking his off, she gets hers
completely off, trying to help him. I walk over and
I like, where's your mommy, where's your daddy? Still looking,
and then I see parents, like on the shore so
far away, starting to come over there, and I was like,
I'm not going to say anything, you know, just like
you know, you never know how they're going to react.
(23:15):
And when they got over there, the lifeguard said something
to them, the tide's going out, please stay with your kid,
and I walked away.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Didn't have to say anything.
Speaker 5 (23:23):
But it was that moment that I'm like, even with
the puddle jumper on, you should never be that far
away from your child in and around water.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Can you talk about why you discourage those flotation devices?
So for many reasons, but it does give the child
the false sense of security like her taking it off,
because they don't understand without it, they're going.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
To sink to the bottom.
Speaker 5 (23:45):
So even if you tell your kid, you know, don't
go in the water without it, they're kids, they're curious,
they don't listen. It also puts them in the drowning position. So,
as you mentioned, your daughter was literally standing at the
bottom of the pool, So you're teaching their body that
that's how you get your air vertically and you should
be horizontally on your back.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
So it impedes that muscle memory from the selfressume.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Absolutely, they're also doggy paddling under there.
Speaker 5 (24:13):
So I've seen lessons where the instructors trying to get
them to swim horizontally and their body just naturally wants
to sync down and do that bicycle kick. Yeah, they're
very Yeah, I'm sure they have saved lots of lives
from parents maybe that aren't paying attention and their child's
in it. But we just suggest, especially if they're little,
(24:33):
you hold them in the water and get them in
swim lessons.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
And you were saying, I know most people when I
talk to them who have babies, I have become rabidly
outspoken about is your child in swim lessons or self
rescuing lessons? And I will actually ask my friends who
(24:57):
have gotten pregnant okay to sign up.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
And that's a great point. You can start saving money.
Speaker 5 (25:04):
Then at your baby shower, especially if it's not your
first child, ask for money for swim lessons because you.
Speaker 4 (25:10):
Know they are expensive, this style of lesson.
Speaker 5 (25:13):
And if you can't afford it and you qualify, we
will one hundred percent give you a scholarship. But you
can start when they're little and just put even if
you're putting when you're pregnant, fifty.
Speaker 4 (25:24):
Dollars a month away.
Speaker 5 (25:26):
By the time they're ready for lessons, you're going to
have that money.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
That's a fantastic suggestion.
Speaker 5 (25:32):
That's a great grandparents when it's Christmas, think about their
first two years.
Speaker 4 (25:37):
They don't need anything.
Speaker 5 (25:39):
Ask the grandparents to pay for swim lessons.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Oh, and I'm sure they'd be happy to do that.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
And like we said earlier in the show, there are
businesses that can sponsor swim lessons for folks. Absolutely sold.
They reach out to you the same way and say, hey,
I would like to sponsor like twelve lessons.
Speaker 4 (25:55):
Sure, yep, through right through our website.
Speaker 5 (25:57):
M hm.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
So yeah, we would love that.
Speaker 5 (25:59):
We love when businesses, you know, partner with us and
support it. Another thing too, is, especially if you're of
a big business and have a lot of employees, thinking,
think about giving your employees a little bit of extra
time to get those swim lessons, so whether they have
to leave work a little early or come to work
a little bit late. We actually just finally had one
(26:22):
of our one of our scholarship families. She works for
a bank and we have worked together before she had
kids and they come to our race and everything. She
had her first son and she couldn't make it work
time wise.
Speaker 4 (26:35):
Because it is a commitment.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
She reached out about a few months ago and said
she was putting them in lessons that were one hour
long every day, and I said, he's only three, that's
very long.
Speaker 4 (26:48):
That's a long time.
Speaker 5 (26:50):
She did it and he had seven lessons and he
doesn't really have a fear of the water and doesn't
really know what to do in the water. So he
just started yesterday at our pool with his ISR lessons.
So and her baby, as soon as she's old enough,
is starting, so it was finally like sometimes you got
to see it for yourself. You have to see that,
you know, when you think, like, oh, ten minutes, what
(27:10):
are they going to learn in ten minutes.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
They really do because it is that four to five.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
Day week, you know, and it's consistent where one hour,
even twenty minutes, thirty.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
Minutes, it's a long time for a baby to be
in the water.
Speaker 5 (27:22):
So think about that when you're thinking that's not enough time.
And I just you think that if you're in the
lessons longer, it's going to make them go by quicker,
and it doesn't.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
And there's you know the importance of this, and it
isn't just you talking about all of the aspects and
you personally knowing how it will completely alter a life.
But it's the alarming statistics of drowning having gone from
(27:55):
the number one cause of accidental death to the number one.
Speaker 5 (28:01):
Cause between ages of one and four, and it's second
leading cause in ages fourteen and under, but it's the
number one cause. Our state has already had fifty six
drowning deaths. We had one hundred and five last year.
We are on track to have that number again. If
nothing changes this year, we will have another year of
over one hundred drowning deaths in our state, and those
(28:22):
are just the ones.
Speaker 4 (28:22):
Reported to DCF. It is.
Speaker 5 (28:26):
It's alarming. But what gets me is it's preventable. It's
one hundred percent preventable. And I'm a parent that lost
a child, so I can say that. You know, so
if I had constant eyes on him, but I was
paying attention to my three month old. But if if
an adult had constant eyes on him, he would be here.
(28:47):
If that door was fully it had an alarm on it,
it just wasn't fully closed closed. If it was fully closed,
he wouldn't have gotten out if it was closed and locked.
If he had self rescue swim lessons, can't note say
for sure, but at least he would have a fighting chance.
So there's all of these things, if they were in place,
he would be here, And you know, they're all preventable.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
They're all preventable, and it being not just the number
one cause of death pretty much in children. That isn't
just Florida. I gets everywhere. Everyone When I mention it,
they say, I'm not near water. Okay, a bathtubb is water.
Speaker 5 (29:33):
I just had one in Okachobee, an eleven month old
left in the bathtub alone with a two year old.
I just saw that this morning.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
That's so sad.
Speaker 5 (29:43):
Yeah, but you have toilets, you have even outside of
the home. There's drainage digits, there's ponds, there's rivers, there's
water everywhere. There's drownings everywhere. Are they more prevalent in
Florida and Texas and California, Absolutely, but they can happen
to anybody in any state.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
And you talked about being able to provide these scholarships
through donations but also events. What are some of the
events that you do well?
Speaker 4 (30:14):
Right now?
Speaker 5 (30:15):
We have one that goes on all summer long. It's
called Watermelons for Water Safety and this is really so
like our scholarship. Families can give back and host stands,
or anybody can host the stand. We love that businesses
can host the stand. So we raising awareness for drowning
prevention and funds for scholarships. That goes on all summer long,
and the informations on our website and our galas coming
(30:38):
up October seventeenth at the Beautiful Pelican Club. This will
be our second year there and our theme is a
Palm Royal, so Vintage Palm Beach.
Speaker 4 (30:47):
We're very excited about that.
Speaker 5 (30:49):
We always have our five K the last Saturday of April,
so we've just recently had ours, and we have a
poker for prevention coming up in August. So we have
a lot of small all events throughout the year and
then some very big ones. But yeah, that's what helps
us give these scholarships out.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
I love the watermelon thing during the summer, which is
so appropriate, Yes, and such an easy thing for folks
to do.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
Absolutely, and you don't very much and you go to
the stand. It's not just watermelon, it's watermelon flavored everything
and the watermelon blow pops.
Speaker 4 (31:19):
I just start.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
Craving them right around June. The first time I see
something about live like Jake Watermelons for water Safety, ice
my mouth. It starts watering.
Speaker 4 (31:32):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
I love it. So anyway, before we go, let's get
the website for people to find out more information whether
they're at home, the layers of protection, if they're going
on vacation. I know you have a great water safety
checklist they can print out and look through before they
even go away from home. Yes, and how they become
a sponsor do their water for watermelon safety stand the
(31:54):
website and their social media access.
Speaker 5 (31:57):
So everything is on our website at Livelocjake dot org,
and our Facebook page is at Live like Jake, and
our Instagram has Lived like Jake thirty nine thirty nine,
but most of the information is going to be on
our website.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Very cool. Well, ladies, thanks for coming in and talking
with us, sharing your story, carry doing a really cool
thing in the community that's very very much needed. It's
definitely apreciated.
Speaker 5 (32:20):
Thank you for helping us get the word out there,
because sometimes you don't know what you don't know.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
The whole point of the show is you get the
word out for people so they know now yes, and
then knowledge is power. You can help empower yourself, your neighbor,
and even's parents are going to be mad at you
fish that kid out of the pool. Hope everybody has
a wonderful weekend. If you need more information, reach out
to me Palm Beach Perspective at iHeartMedia dot com. Happy
to forward on the details and you can always download
(32:47):
the shows a podcast on our iHeartRadio app. I'm dev
Nev and this has been my perspective. Remember life is good,
so be your healthieste and let's get out there and
live it. Until next week.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Enjoy iHeart Communities, the community engagement arm of the station,
champions critical issues and causes in the area of health
and wellness, social impact, education, literacy, and music and art.
Join us next week from Palm Beach Treasure Coast perspective
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