Toddler Water Safety with Goldfish Swim School
May is “Water Safety Awareness Month.” According to the Centers for Disease Control, drowning is the leading cause of accidental-injury death among children ages 1 to 4. Goldfish Swim School aims to educate families during lessons by teaching steps that can be taken to prevent accidents from occurring.
When it comes to water, my daughter is fearless. She jumps right in with the expectation that we will be there to catch her. We talk to her about water safety and pool rules (“use walking feet,” “hold mommy’s hand,” etc.), but she is not yet grasping how powerful water can be and the caution she needs to demonstrate when she is in and around it. For this reason, I want her little body to know what to do if she were to fall into water. This is one of the major reasons I have had her enrolled in swim lessons from such a young age. If she were to fall in, I want the safety skills that we practice in our weekly lessons to kick in from motor memory.
Goldfish Swim School recently presented a free Water Safety event where we had the opportunity to get in the water and practice some of the important safety skills to build upon her muscle memory. The following skills were reinforced:
Back Floats: Teaching my daughter to float on her back was the first skill we went over during our water safety course. It was stressed that it is important for a child to know how to float on her back in preparation for if she were to fall into the water and drift away from the ledge.
Preparing to Go Under Water: We practiced “catching a bubble” and preparing to go underwater. “Catching her bubble” helps her practice closing her lips together and catching her breath in preparation for putting her head underwater. The “bubble” was modeled and once my daughter imitated the motion, she was prompted to jump into the water.
Climbing Out of the Pool: Once my daughter was in the water, we practiced turning towards and reaching for the wall in order to climb out. It was reinforced to us that staying safe in the water is knowing how to get out of the water quickly and safely. She practiced the technique of climbing out of the pool using the “elbow, elbow, tummy, knee” method. (One elbow first on the ledge, then the next elbow, followed by pulling herself up on to her belly, and finally up on her knees.)
Click Clacks on the Wall: The final skill we practiced were “click clacks” along the side of the pool (walking her hands along the pool ledge). This helps her little body learn what to do if the water is too deep or she can’t swim to a ladder. She is also completing one heck of a bicep workout!
The emphasis that Goldfish Swim School places on water safety is so important to help keep these little humans safe. As we move into the summer months, and water activities become even more prevalent, it is important as a parent to be vigilant around water. We are thankful Goldfish put on this Water Safety event to provide my daughter with additional practice for what to do to stay safe in and around water.
The Details: We are currently in the Goldfish Mini 2 class at Goldfish Swim School. We attend lessons at the Goldfish Swim School in Dublin, Ohio. Check out the link for location, address/telephone details and how to sign up for lessons.
Disclaimer: We were provided free swimming lessons by Goldfish Swim School in exchange for collaborating blog posts. All thoughts and opinions are my own.