What this water safety skill is
Cold water draws heat from the body much faster than cold air. If someone falls in and can't get out straight away, swimming hard can use up energy and heat. This skill teaches a better plan: stay afloat in a lifejacket, keep still and hold heat in.
Alone, your teen learns the HELP position, short for Heat Escape Lessening Posture: knees drawn up, arms crossed over the lifejacket, legs pressed together. With others, they learn to huddle close. It builds on moving in a lifejacket, and it is an emergency skill, not cold water swimming for fun.
Why it matters
Tucking up holds heat in.
Drawing the knees up and arms in covers the chest, armpits and groin, where the body loses a lot of heat. Keeping still helps too.
Groups are easier to find.
A huddle is easier to spot than one person alone, and staying together helps everyone stay calm.
Waiting can be safer than swimming.
Shore can be further than it looks, and cold makes swimming harder. Unless safety is very close, staying afloat and waiting for help is usually safer.
It belongs on every boating trip.
Anyone who spends time on boats or docks can end up in cold water. Knowing what to do is part of being ready.
Who it is for
This skill is for teens and adults, especially families who boat, fish or spend time at lakes and the coast. It asks for calm, patience and an understanding of why the positions work, which suits older learners. Younger children learn the earlier steps, like floating calmly in a lifejacket. If you are learning as an adult, it is well worth having before time on a boat or at the lake.
In an open water lesson
The goal
In a well-fitted lifejacket, your teen draws their knees up, crosses their arms and floats still in the HELP position. They can also explain when to stay with a buddy or group instead of swimming away.
Why it matters
In cold water, knowing to keep still, stay together and wait for help can make a real difference while rescuers are on their way.
What happens in lessons
Understanding the why on land.
Your instructor explains how cold water affects the body and why keeping still and tucked up helps. Your teen understands the plan before trying it.
Checking the lifejacket.
A snug, well-fitted jacket comes first, because the HELP position depends on the jacket doing all the floating.
Trying HELP in calm water.
Your teen draws up their knees, crosses their arms and learns to float still. Each try is short, starting in calm water.
Huddling with others.
With a buddy or small group, your teen learns to move in close, sides touching, arms around each other.
Common questions
- Why not just swim to shore?
- Shore often looks closer than it is, and cold water makes swimming much harder. Unless safety is very close, staying afloat in a lifejacket and waiting for help is usually better. Someone who swims off alone is also harder to find.
- What if our boat tips over?
- If the boat is still floating, stay with it and climb onto it if you can. A boat is much easier to spot than a person. Keep lifejackets on and stay together.
- Does the HELP position work without a lifejacket?
- Not really. It works because the lifejacket does the floating while you keep still. That is one more reason to wear one on boats and around cold water.
- Will the lesson be in cold water?
- Your instructor chooses calm, suitable conditions and keeps each try short, so your teen isn't left chilled. The positions are the same whatever the water temperature.
