May 19, 2012 is “National Learn to Swim Day”. I firmly believe teaching your child to swim is a very important thing. Even if you are rarely around water it is important for them to know that water is not something to be afraid of and when they get older knowing how to swim in the event of friends having a pool, moving to a neighborhood with a pool, summer camp, swimming with school and so many more things. Knowing how to swim could save your child’s life! No better reason to teach them than that right there. According to the Red Cross, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years old. Another stagger statistic is that children ages 1 to 4 drown most often in home swimming pools. We have an above ground swimming pool in our yard and it is very important for me that my children are safe, protected and knowledgeable from the second they are old enough to learn. The scariest thing of all is that those children that drown were often out of sight less than 5 minutes and under the care of one or both parents at the time of many home pool drownings.
There are many ways to get involved with your community on National Learn to Swim Day. Ideas for participating locally include introducing children to the water with at home swim instruction, hosting a group swimming lesson, visiting a community pool as a family, or enrolling children in swim lessons at a local YMCA or Boys & Girls Club. Please encourage your readers to take advantage of this special day. For more information on National Learn to Swim Day and SwimWays please visit Teach Me to Swim.
Some people are unsure what Swimways Swim Steps is so here is a quick breakdown to exactly what it is. SwimWays’ Swim Steps program is a three-step approach that features swim-training aids specially designed to help parents teach kids to swim at home. Step one starts with products that comfortably help introduce babies to the water; step two products give children freedom of motion to develop confidence as they learn to balance and paddle; and step three features a patented Power Swimr™ swim training system that helps children learn to swim at their own pace.
SwimWays will kick off the first annual National Learn to Swim Day with an event at the Greenbrier Family YMCA in Chesapeake, VA from 1-3 p.m. The event will be the grand opening of the YMCA’s outdoor pool for the summer, open to members and non-members, and feature a water safety clinic for local families. If your going to be in the area please go and check it out, it could save a life.
Speak Your Mind