It’s Time to Focus on Keeping Children Safe Around Water

There is a list of basic life skills all parents instinctively know they must teach their children to keep them safe and healthy. It includes habits like looking both ways before you cross the street, washing your hands with soap and water and eating the right amount of fruits and vegetables every day. For families living in Florida, safety around water should be on this list.

Fatal drowning is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages one to 14 years old. According to the Florida Department of Health, our state loses more children under the age of five to drowning than any other state in the country. Last year, more than 70 drowning deaths of children were reported to Florida Department of Children and Families hotline.

Swim Safety

The problem is particularly acute among minority communities. African American children ages 5 to 14 are three times more likely to drown than their white counterparts. The disparity is partly due to the lack of swimming experience among these children. According to a recent national research study conducted by the USA Swimming Foundation and the University of Memphis, 70 percent of African American and 60 percent of Hispanic children cannot swim, compared to just 40 percent of Caucasian children.

As a mother, I find these statistics are heartbreaking. As a an aquatics resource manager for the YMCA of Florida’s Coast, I know that’s something we can change.

The Y is committed to reducing water-related injuries, particularly in communities where children are most at risk. During National Water Safety Month this May, the Y is introducing Safety Around Water, a program to engage parents about the importance of water safety skills and provide more children access to water safety lessons.

Swim Safety

As part of Waterproof Jacksonville Free Swim Lessons program, the YMCA of Florida’s First Coast will provide scholarships to children from low-income and underserved communities to participate in free water safety lessons. The lessons teach young people valuable skills like what to do if they find themselves in the water unexpectedly, a situation every child should be equipped to handle.

Swim Safety

These classes are just one of the many swim programs that millions of people from toddlers to adults take advantage of at the Y’s more than 2,200 pools across the country. Here in Northeast Florida, the Y teaches [thousands of] children water safety and swimming each year. Through Safety Around Water, the Y hopes to further bridge cultural and access gaps that can prevent some children from learning important water safety skills.

If you know how to stay safe in and around water, swimming can be a lifelong source of fun and exercise. Instead of keeping your children away from water, help them learn fundamental water safety skills by enrolling them in lessons. These classes can provide them a new, exciting way to keep active and meet new friends.

Even though my children are getting older and now know how to swim, I sign them up for youth swimming every summer. After not being in the water for most of the school year there is always a regression of swim and water safety skills. They often ask why I sign them up if they know how to swim. My response is always the same: “knowing how to swim is great, but being a strong swimmer is better.”

Swim Safety

Visit the Y’s website to learn more about the Y’s Safety Around Water program.

Thank to to the First Coast YMCA for sponsoring this post!

About the Author

Alex Alex Cramer, mother to Katie (15), Rodger (13) and Kelly (9) is an Aquatics Resource Director for the YMCA of Florida’s First Coast. Alex has served on several committees with YUSA to develop new Lifeguard and Lean to Swim programs. She currently serves on an Aquatics Task Force responsible for testing and contributing to enhancing YMCA swim lessons. She has more than 25 years of experience teaching children how to swim. For more than 20 years, Alex has taught health and safety in an aquatics environment including lifeguard training, CPR, First Aid and swim instructor training.

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