Saturday, April 27, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
If you can't reach the beer-swilling, throw-caution-to-the-wind adults at Lake Mead, aim for perhaps a more responsible and attentive group when teaching water safety -- the children.
Although National Park Service Ranger Nancy Bernard has not given up on the older folks -- she addresses many adult gatherings -- the larger audiences for her water safety education programs are school-age kids.
"We use games to help teach the children -- like personal floating device fashion shows, where students learn the correct and incorrect way of putting on (a life preserver)," said Bernard, a nine-year ranger who has spent the last three years at Lake Mead.
Bernard, 33, is classified as an "interpretive ranger," meaning she is not involved in search-and-rescue operations, but teaches techniques to help people avoid situations where they would need to be rescued by her colleagues.
One of the greatest satisfactions of her job is when children come back to her and repeat what they have learned from her lectures -- and say they have passed on that knowledge to their parents.
With May being National Water Safety Month, Bernard will have her hands full with appearances at local schools and social clubs.
Among the points she will hammer home is that inflatable rafts -- toys, really -- should not be used as personal flotation devices, or, as rangers call them, PFDs.
"That remains one of our biggest problems -- convincing adults to put their children in proper PFDs," she said.
"Floaties (vinyl balloon-like objects placed around the arms of children) are not proper PFDs. They are not designed to keep the child's head above water (like a life preserver)."
One of the problems is expense. While a set of floaties or a toy raft costs as little as $5 to $10, a Coast Guard-approved PFD for a child can range from $35 to $100.
Bernard notes that with children constantly growing, the expense of a new life jacket each year can add up. By the same token, Bernard cautions against buying a child an adult life jacket that he can grow into because, in a time of need a child may slip out of the big device and drown.
Bernard, who also is certified by the Interior Department as a motorboat operator instructor, says each vessel should be stocked with proper equipment (life jackets, fire extinguishers, manual bailer, anchor, first aid kit, etc.) as defined by the Coast Guard and U.S. Department of Transportation.
Photo-illustrated pamphlets on federal requirements for recreational boats are available at visitor centers, the park ranger headquarters in Boulder City and other sites in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
Bernard notes that common sense should play a major role in preparing for a safe lake activity.
For example, any ice chest should be accompanied by a few survival items. Among them:
* One gallon of fresh water per person (you can drink nonpurified lake water, but it could make you a little sick).
* Nonperishable high-protein food such as power bars and dried fruit.
* A flashlight and an extra set of fresh batteries.
* Water-resistant flares.
* A blanket or extra clothing and shoes.
* A cellular phone.
* Navigational maps (available at visitor centers).
Nancy Bernard
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