My now almost two year old daughter starting swimming lessons when she was six months old. My five month old will also start young.

It’s important anywhere you live, but I believe in Florida, it’s borderline neglect if you don’t teach your child how to swim. This is my husband with our daughter at six months.

swimming

As a reporter, I covered so many drownings. One week, I did three separate ones.

Common sense tells us watching your kids around water and teaching them how to swim is important, but so many are not getting the message.

Here are some statistics you may not know:

FACT: About one in five people who die from drowning are children 14 and younger.

FACT: Children ages 1 to 4 have the highest drowning rates.

FACT: Among children ages 1 to 4, most drownings occur in home swimming pools.

FACT: Drowning is responsible for more deaths among children 1-4 than any other cause except congenital anomalies (birth defects).

FACT: Among those 1-14, fatal drowning remains the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death behind motor vehicle crashes.

As far as not watching your kids around water, if you don’t know to do that – I can’t help you. But, I know swimming lessons can be expensive. I pay $20 a class which doesn’t sound bad, but after months and even years – it adds up, so here are some ways to keep your kids safe affordably:

  • Look for coupons and special seasonal deals when looking for a pool to take swimming lessons
  • If you have a pool, watch some youtube videos on the most effective ways to teach your child how to swim and become the teacher yourself
  • Join local Facebook mom and family groups and start a discussion about a cost-effective way to teach your kids how to swim
  • Check with your city, county or local organizations like the Drowning Prevention Coalition for free class vouchers

*Statistics from the CDC

  1. brittanydickerson says:

    Thank you for the info! I really need to look at getting my oldest in classes this summer. There are so many pools around our neighborhood and it scares me.

  2. I agree 100%…but regardless of where you live it is important because babies have drowned in as little as 1 inch of water. When we were in Miami both of my little guys started at 6 months…and while they aren’t “swimmers” yet…they aren’t afraid of it and have basic water skills!! It is SO SO SO important!

  3. salmadinani says:

    I completely agree on the importance of learning to swim! We had both our kids in by 6 months.

  4. Scott says:

    I do agree, it is a skill every child should know. The earlier you start them, the less fear they will have of the water as they get older.

  5. I didn’t take swimming lessons until I was 12!! I totally wished I learned earlier! Great stats in this story! LOVE IT!

  6. nicole says:

    agreed. so important! did drowning prevention stories a TON here in AZ… I’m thinking of telling our own story on this subject in a few months!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

hey there.

I'm Christina!

meet the blogger

 a millennial mom here to inspire you to live your best life without feeling anY mom guilt.

Thanks for stopping by for my unfiltered approach to family and lifestyle where I share what helps me run my family, business, and life while being lazy AF as often as possible. (Bubble bath, anyone?)

LEARN MORE ABOUT ME

FREEBIE

Shopping on Amazon is my jam. It’s where I get just about everything - and today, I’m sharing my greatest finds with YOU!

18 Things you Need to Order on Amazon RIGHT NOW

grab now →

COPYRIGHT CHRISTINA ALL DAY | PRIVACY POLICY | terms & Conditions | SITE CREDIT