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National Learn to Swim Day is Saturday, May 19. It’s really important to us that the boys learn basic swimming skills, and learn to be safe around water. Timed to National Water Safety Month (May) and the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend, National Learn to Swim Day is an effort to raise awareness about the importance of teaching children to swim, and provide resources to parents for teaching their kids the important skill. It’s an issue all parents should be aware of because water can truly present a danger for children.
I can still remember an incident as a child where I was out just a little too deep (it was a 5′ area, but it seemed deep at the time) in our local pool while there with friends. I started panicking, and thankfully a lifeguard came over and helped me get to the side. It just goes to show that even in “safer” areas of pools kids can still struggle – it’s so important to teach them early on how to do basics like treading water! My parents enrolled me in swim lessons and that helped a lot with my confidence around water. It’s definitely something we plan to do with our boys, too!
Here are some facts about water and danger to consider:
- According to the Red Cross, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years old.
- Statistics show that children ages 1 to 4 drown most often in home swimming pools.
- Children 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
If you want more information on water safety, be sure and check out these tools from the Red Cross:
- Home Pool Safety Tips
- Swimming in Lakes, Rivers and Streams Safety Tips
- Water Safety in the Home Tips
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.
For more information on National Learn to Swim Day and SwimWays, visit TeachMetoSwim.com.
Note: I wrote this post as a SwimWays ambassador, but I did not receive any product or compensation for this post. All opinions are honest and my own.
