Ask the Patch Pros: Summer Water Safety

What's the best age to teach someone to swim? What can you do to get your boat off the dock, enjoy a day on the water and get back to dock safely? And what do you do if your child is afraid of the water?

As summer arrives, people take to the water. Unfortunately, that quest for cool enjoyment can be dangerous. In just the past few days, a boating accident on the Des Moines River left a West Des Moines man dead, a 17-year-old boy drowned at Raccoon River Park and an Ames police sergeant drowned in southeast Iowa.

How can you enjoy the water and be as safe as possible? Ask our Patch Pros. We have a great lineup:

Paul Schmidt, aquatics director at the .

Margaret Hales, aquatics specialist at the Central Iowa Red Cross.

Bruce Verink, .

Brian Longren, aquatics director at the Waukee Family YMCA.

Ask your questions in the comments section below. Our Pros will get right back to you with their answers.

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