Why Swim Lessons for Kids?
Swim Safety Info from Around the Web
Some parents wonder if swim lessons are a good idea for their children or even if the expense and time spent are really necessary. Swim lessons are vital to help ensure kids' safety around water, plus they offer great exercise, contributing to overall health and wellness.
We've gathered some excerpts of articles across the Web about all the benefits received from swim lessons. We encourage you to do your own research about swim lessons for your kids and hope you'll register for classes with Miss Anna's Swim School when you've decided to take the plunge (pun intended)!
We've gathered some excerpts of articles across the Web about all the benefits received from swim lessons. We encourage you to do your own research about swim lessons for your kids and hope you'll register for classes with Miss Anna's Swim School when you've decided to take the plunge (pun intended)!
Centers for Disease Control (https://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/water-safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.html)
According to the Centers for Disease Control, children ages 1 to 4 have the highest drowning rates. In 2009, among children 1 to 4 years old who died from an unintentional injury, more than 30% died from drowning. Among children ages 1 to 4, most drownings occur in home swimming pools. Among those children between 1 and 14 years old, fatal drowning remains the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death behind motor vehicle crashes.
Swimming skills help. Taking part in in formal swimming lessons reduces the risk of drowning
among children aged 1 to 4 years. Every day, about ten people die from unintentional drowning. Of these, two are children aged 14 or younger. Drowning ranks fifth among the leading causes of unintentional injury death in the United States.
How big is the problem?
Learn to swim
According to the Centers for Disease Control, children ages 1 to 4 have the highest drowning rates. In 2009, among children 1 to 4 years old who died from an unintentional injury, more than 30% died from drowning. Among children ages 1 to 4, most drownings occur in home swimming pools. Among those children between 1 and 14 years old, fatal drowning remains the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death behind motor vehicle crashes.
Swimming skills help. Taking part in in formal swimming lessons reduces the risk of drowning
among children aged 1 to 4 years. Every day, about ten people die from unintentional drowning. Of these, two are children aged 14 or younger. Drowning ranks fifth among the leading causes of unintentional injury death in the United States.
How big is the problem?
- From 2005-2009, there were an average of 3,533 fatal unintentional drownings (non-boating related) annually in the United States — about ten deaths per day. An additional 347 people died each year from drowning in boating-related incidents.
- About one in five people who die from drowning are children 14 and younger. For every child who dies from drowning, another five receive emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries.
Learn to swim
- Formal swimming lessons can protect young children from drowning. However, even when children have had formal swimming lessons, constant, careful supervision when children are in the water, and barriers, such as pool fencing to prevent unsupervised access, are still important.
- Air-Filled or Foam Toys are not safety devices. Don’t use air-filled or foam toys, such as "water wings", "noodles", or inner-tubes, instead of life jackets. These toys are not life jackets and are not designed to keep swimmers safe.
- Formal swimming lessons and water-safety skills training can start at a young age. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics supports swimming lessons as young as age one. The decision to begin swimming lessons should be based on the individual child's exposure to water, emotional maturity, physical limitations, and health concerns. Participation in formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by as much as 88% among young children aged 1 to 4 years, who are at greatest risk of drowning.
- Swimming is fun for people of all ages and also provides provides health benefits, including building good cardiovascular health, improving strength and flexibility and increasing stamina, and improving balance and posture
Swimming World Magazine (http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/)
According to the National Safe Kids Campaign, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death to children ages one through 14. It is absolutely crucial that all kids know how to swim at a young age. There is water all around us, even if it’s as small as a bathtub. Making sure that your child is comfortable in and around water is essential to their safety. your child knows how to swim at a young age, this skill is forever with them. In their later years, their longevity and quality of life will be enhanced by swimming. The CDC says that water exercising helps to decrease disability and aids in the quality of life in older adults. Since swimming is a low-impact sport, this makes it a safe option for older adults, rather than risking a fall while biking or running. Swimming feels good on joints and boosts one’s mood at the same time.
It’s essential that every child learn to swim, especially to be water-safe. But there are so many levels of swimming and benefits that come along the way. Introduce your child to swimming early on so that they have the skill for their whole life. This can help improve their overall physical and mental health.
According to the National Safe Kids Campaign, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death to children ages one through 14. It is absolutely crucial that all kids know how to swim at a young age. There is water all around us, even if it’s as small as a bathtub. Making sure that your child is comfortable in and around water is essential to their safety. your child knows how to swim at a young age, this skill is forever with them. In their later years, their longevity and quality of life will be enhanced by swimming. The CDC says that water exercising helps to decrease disability and aids in the quality of life in older adults. Since swimming is a low-impact sport, this makes it a safe option for older adults, rather than risking a fall while biking or running. Swimming feels good on joints and boosts one’s mood at the same time.
It’s essential that every child learn to swim, especially to be water-safe. But there are so many levels of swimming and benefits that come along the way. Introduce your child to swimming early on so that they have the skill for their whole life. This can help improve their overall physical and mental health.
SafeKids.org (https://www.safekids.org/)
Start Slow With Babies
Educate Your Kids About Swimming Safely
Don’t Rely on Swimming Aids
Take the Time to Learn CPR
Take Extra Steps Around Pools
Check the Drains in Your Pool and Spa
Download Swimming Safety Tips
- Actively supervise children in and around open bodies of water, giving them your undivided attention.
- Whenever infants or toddlers are in or around water, an adult should be within arm’s reach to provide active supervision. We know it’s hard to get everything done without a little multitasking, but this is the time to avoid distractions of any kind. If children are near water, then they should be the only thing on your mind. Small children can drown in as little as one inch of water.
- When there are several adults present and children are swimming, use the Water Watcher card strategy, which designates an adult as the Water Watcher for a certain amount of time (such as 15-minute periods) to prevent lapses in supervision. Download a Water Watcher card here.
Start Slow With Babies
- You can start introducing your babies to water when they are about 6 months old. Remember to always use waterproof diapers and change them frequently.
Educate Your Kids About Swimming Safely
- Every child is different, so enroll children in swimming lessons when you feel they are ready. Teach children how to tread water, float and stay by the shore.
- Make sure kids swim only in areas designated for swimming. Teach children that swimming in open water is not the same as swimming in a pool. They need to be aware of uneven surfaces, river currents, ocean undertow and changing weather.
- Whether you’re swimming in a backyard pool or in a lake, teach children to swim with an adult. Older, more experienced swimmers should still swim with a partner every time. From the first time your kids swim, teach children to never go near or in water without an adult present.
Don’t Rely on Swimming Aids
- Remember that swimming aids such as water wings or noodles are fun toys for kids, but they should never be used in place of a U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device (PFD).
Take the Time to Learn CPR
- We know you have a million things to do, but learning CPR should be on the top of the list. It will give you tremendous peace of mind – and the more peace of mind you have as a parent, the better.
- Local hospitals, fire departments and recreation departments offer CPR training.
- Have your children learn CPR. It’s a skill that will serve them for a lifetime.
Take Extra Steps Around Pools
- A swimming pool is a ton of fun for you and your kids. Make sure backyard pools have four-sided fencing that’s at least 4 feet high and a self-closing, self-latching gate to prevent a child from wandering into the pool area unsupervised.
- When using inflatable or portable pools, remember to empty them immediately after use. Store them upside down and out of children’s reach.
- Install a door alarm, a window alarm or both to alert you if a child wanders into the pool area unsupervised.
Check the Drains in Your Pool and Spa
- Educate your children about the dangers of drain entanglement and entrapment and teach them to never play or swim near drains or suction outlets.
- Pools that pose the greatest risk of entrapment are children’s public wading pools, in-ground hot tubs, or any other pools that have flat drain grates or a single main drain system.
- For new pools or hot tubs, install multiple drains in all pools, spas, whirlpools and hot tubs. This minimizes the suction of any one drain, reducing risk of death or injury. If you do have drains, protective measures include anti-entrapment drain covers and a safety vacuum release system to automatically release suction and shut down the pump should entrapment occur.
- Regularly check to make sure drain covers are secure and have no cracks, and replace flat drain covers with dome-shaped ones. If a pool or hot tub has a broken, loose or missing drain cover, don’t use it.
- If you do have drains, protective measures include anti-entrapment drain covers and a safety vacuum release system to automatically release suction and shut down the pump should entrapment occur. Go to www.PoolSafely.gov for a list of manufacturers of certified covers.
- Check to make sure your pool or hot tub’s drains are compliant with the Pool and Spa Safety Act.
Download Swimming Safety Tips