The Importance of Practicing Drowning Prevention All Year Long

May is National Water Safety Month, which means that community centers and online forums are offering resources and fun activities to encourage your children to always be safe in the water. With summer swim team season approaching, it's a great time to go over the importance of water safety with your children. However, water safety is not just reserved for the summer-it's something that should be practiced year-round, especially drowning prevention.

Drowning Hazards

Drowning prevention is particularly important because drowning can happen in any body of water at any time. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is one of the highest causes of unintended death among children between one and four years of age.

There are many factors that can contribute to a child's risk of drowning. One is, of course, not being able to swim properly. Another is swimming without proper supervision; if there's no adult around to assist in a water emergency, a child is much more at risk of drowning. Barriers should also be in place around backyard pools, as otherwise children can access the pool without a caretaker's knowledge. Proper supervision for children is important in any water situation, including the bathtub.

Another risk factor is the failure to wear a life jacket when the situation calls for it. According to the CDC, 88 percent of victims of boating accidents were killed while not wearing a life jacket. Even bathtubs can be dangerous places for children; they are the sites with highest risk of drowning for children with seizure disorders. For adolescents and adults, alcohol is also a big factor in drowning accidents, and drinking while swimming should never occur simultaneously.

Swim Lessons for Drowning Prevention

Thankfully, the risk of drowning can be easily diminished with proper water safety training. Especially for families with backyard pools, parents should enroll their children in swim lessons. Not only will they teach children the lifesaving water skills they would need to survive in a water emergency, but they will develop a life skill and learn discipline while making new friends.

There are differing opinions on when you should enroll your child in swim lessons, but we believe that the sooner they start, the better. Children who start learning to swim early on are better equipped to continue developing swimming skills so that they can stay safe in the water under any circumstances. We offer Infant Survival Swim Lessons for young children to learn the very basics of water safety so that they can grow to be competent and confident swimmers.

Katy, Texas Swim Lessons

At Texas Swim Academy in Katy, Texas, we provide best in class swim lessons for children throughout the greater Houston area. Before your child even begins to learn the different swim strokes, we make sure they learn the basics of drowning prevention and staying safe in the water. Contact us today for more information on our various swim class offerings in Katy, Cypress and Houston.

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