I don’t talk about it often, but when I was a teenager, I had to be rescued from the Klamath River in Northern California. To say that was one of the scariest moments in my life is an understatement. Fear, panic, and helplessness set in as I found myself being carried by the river’s strong current. I never formally learned to swim as a child, and while I wasn’t afraid of pools, oceans, and water parks, I wasn’t prepared when I fell into the river that warm summer day.
Saturday, May 19th is National Learn to Swim Day and as part of my continued relationship with SwimWays, my hope is to raise awareness about the topic of swim safety. My 4 year old son will continue learning to swim this summer because I am a huge advocate of starting early. According to the Red Cross, drowning is the second leading cause of deaths from unintentional injuries in children between the ages of 1 and 14. What surprised me most about some of the statistics I’ve read is the fact that in many instances, one or both parents were watching their children, who were out of sight for less than 5 minutes when the drownings occurred.
May is National Water Safety Month and with summer right around the corner, now is the time to teach your children to swim. SwimWays, a company that offers a three-step Swim Steps program to help parents teach their children to swim at home, offers the following ideas for families looking to participate in National Learn to Swim Day:
At-home swim instruction
Group swimming lessons
Family visit to the community pool
Enrollment in swim lessons at your local YMCA or Boys & Girls Club
I also encourage you to visit TeachMeToSwim.com, a resourceful site filled with information about pool safety, tips for teaching children how to swim, recommended products, and downloadable kid-friendly charts.
Over the next few months, I’ll share me about our personal journey towards swim safety. If you’d like to read more about water safety, I highly encourage you to visit the Red Cross:
- Home Pool Safety Tips
- Swimming in Lakes, Rivers and Streams Safety Tips
- Water Safety in the Home Tips
When did you teach your children to swim? I’d love to hear your tips!
No compensation was received for this post. As a SwimWays ambassador, I receive products and information which helped facilitate this post.
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This is so important, my kids started learning at 4, and now they are all excellent swimmers. It took years of lessons though!
Thanks for posting this, Caryn – It is SO important. My kids started lessons at around 3 but the serious learning didn’t start until 4 or 5. What’s scary to me is that my little guy thinks that he is a much better swimmer than he actually is – as in, he’ll just take off. I’m hoping that the next round of lessons will get him closer to where he thinks he is, but I’m not letting my eyes off him in the meantime!
Thanks for sharing your story, I can’t even begin to think of how scary that was for you. My 7 year still can not swim, and we are definitely looking into swim lessons for her this summer!!
It is so important that every child knows how to swim, I will be sending DS for lessons for sure to make sure he can be safer around the water
Than you for posting this with all of the great resources. My son is 4 and loves the pool but I know it’s time to get him some lessons.