Drowning and water safety (daycare, toddler, single parents, parents)
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We talk about kids with too many activities, or how expensive classes are, and how single parents are working or exhausted...but if your child does not know how to swim, signing up for swimming lessons is something you need to make time for.
YMCA has reasonable costs as do many other community pools.
My kids all started with the "Mommy and Me" class...Dads can go too. As a matter of fact, swimming classes would be an excellent activity for weekend parents.
Another good thing to know is the signs of drowning are not always obvious. Your child could be a few feet away from you in the water and be in trouble and you might not realize it.
We talk about kids with too many activities, or how expensive classes are, and how single parents are working or exhausted...but if your child does not know how to swim, signing up for swimming lessons is something you need to make time for.
YMCA has reasonable costs as do many other community pools.
My kids all started with the "Mommy and Me" class...Dads can go too. As a matter of fact, swimming classes would be an excellent activity for weekend parents.
It is never too late....make time for this...
Great reminder! DS has been in swimming lessons at the Y since he was 1. We find them affordable, fun and and an all around great experience, with classes offered weekdays, weekends and evenings to accommodate a lot of different schedules. At 3 1/2 he is able to swim without a flotation device and knows basic water safety (like how to get in and out of the water safely, how to get back to the side of the pool, what to do to stay afloat in water over his head). Swim instructors will always remind parents, though, that parental supervision is necessary no matter how strong a young swimmer is.
Swimming lessons are a really good idea for all kids. You still need to supervise, but at least if your child can turn on their back and float or swim to the edge of the pool, it is less likely that they will drown quickly.
That readers digest article is great, btw. I think I posted a similar PSA here last year.
nana.... I took my foster son to the Y (and got him lesson once that started). Our Y has a rule that a parent need to be pool side when there child who is under 11? I asked pool director about, she said it was so it the child got into trouble the parent go dive in and help. I asked then what is the lifeguard for? and who is the lifeguard going to save 1st. My child or me? Because my child swim better then I do.
Definitely, between all the karate, baseball, dance, soccer, hockey, etc. classes, swimming should be one that parents make time for. It's not always about what your kid will win trophies in, it's what they need to know, and swimming is one of those things.
nana.... I took my foster son to the Y (and got him lesson once that started). Our Y has a rule that a parent need to be pool side when there child who is under 11? I asked pool director about, she said it was so it the child got into trouble the parent go dive in and help. I asked then what is the lifeguard for? and who is the lifeguard going to save 1st. My child or me? Because my child swim better then I do.
Weird. I worked in the YMCA daycare and we had 3.5 to 5 year olds in lessons with the swim teachers and the three classroom teachers - so it was about 4 to 6 in each group. No parents there at all. Life guards were also in the pool area so if a child did get in trouble they would also be ready to rescue them.
nana.... I took my foster son to the Y (and got him lesson once that started). Our Y has a rule that a parent need to be pool side when there child who is under 11? I asked pool director about, she said it was so it the child got into trouble the parent go dive in and help. I asked then what is the lifeguard for? and who is the lifeguard going to save 1st. My child or me? Because my child swim better then I do.
I've been meaning to ask what our rec center's rule is on that. I've been tempted to let my kids swim while I do a work out class, but I think they're still a little young. I also watched a mom run from the other side of the pool area to grab her toddler who'd fallen in not 2 feet from a lifeguard. The lifeguard didn't even notice.
My kids have taken swim lessons intermittently since they were 4.
I figured it my 'kid' got into some sort of trouble, I would point it out to the Lifeguard... Before I would go into the water.
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