German lifeguards have issued a warning that a growing number of child drownings this summer are linked to their parents’ obsession with mobile phones.
More than 300 people have drowned in Germany this year, with hardly a day passing during the current heatwave when a swimmer has not died.
The German Lifeguard Association (DLRG) – the biggest organisation of its kind in the world, providing 40,000 volunteer lifeguards at German beaches, lakes and the coast – has made a direct connection between children getting into difficulty in the water and parents being too busy on their mobile phones to notice.
“Too few parents and grandparents are heeding the advice: when your children and grandchildren are in the water, put your smartphone away,†Achim Wiese, the DLRG’s spokesman, said.
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Photo by JD Hancock 
