A Forgotten Danger: Pool Drain Safety

Have you heard of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act (VGB Act)? It was enacted in 2007 after a 7-year-old girl named Vigrinia Graeme Baker died due to suction from a malfunctioning drain. The powerful suction was even too much for her mother to pull her away from the drain. It took two additional people to finally pull her away, pulling with so much force that the drain cover broke. But it was too late.

It’s important to note that Virginia was a strong swimmer. She was even a member of the local swimming and diving team. But this couldn’t save her against the strength of the suction from the drain.

After this tragic incident, Virginia’s mother worked tirelessly to lobby the government to make sure other families didn’t have the same experience. As a result, in 2007 the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act (VGB Act) was enacted. This Act requires all public pools and hot tubs to have safety measures in place, including anti-entrapment drain covers.

Video: https://youtu.be/oRLG0iICT4w

The VGB Act only requires public pools and hot tubs to have safety measures in place. That means if your child is swimming at a friend’s house or other private pool, it’s vital to make sure it has safe drains. Even more, teach children to simply avoid drains.

At Texas Swim Academy, our focus is on drowning prevention. Letting parents know about the dangers of drains in pools and hot tubs is an important part of that. It’s often an overlooked danger that doesn’t discriminate based on swimming ability. So, please, before you let your kids go swimming make sure they know to stay away from drains and make sure the pool has anti-entrapment drain covers. It’s one more vital key to keeping kids safe.

Source: https://www.poolsafely.gov/simple-safety-steps-series-ensure-all-pools-and-spas-have-vgb-compliant-drain-covers-and-teach-your-children-to-stay-away-from-drains/

 

SWIM SCHOOL IN KATY

Texas Swim Academy is a state-of-the-art swimming facility offering water safety, survival swim, and kids swimming lessons in Katy, Texas. Owners Kathleen and Bruce McMordie, alongside our certified staff, help parents introduce children to water at an early age through the Infant Survival Swim Program , teaching life-saving techniques and basic swimming skills.

Our Stroke Development Program offers six different levels to help students progress in their swimming skills at his or her own pace. Our Adaptive Aquatics Program was created specifically for children with special abilities. Find swimming class registration information here. By subscribing to Texas Swim Academy’s blog , you can stay current on valuable water safety resources such as survival swim, health and wellness, Texas Swim Academy news and more. Follow our Facebook , Twitter, and YouTube pages for even more news, updates, and tips!

The post A Forgotten Danger: Pool Drain Safety appeared first on Texas Swim Academy.

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New AAP Guidelines Recommend Swim Lessons for Infants & Toddlers

For the past several years, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recommended that children start swimming lessons when they reach the age of 4. Depending on who you ask, it was thought that children who are 4 and older had both the mental and physical ability to follow directions and learn how to swim while younger children did not.

 

Texas Swim Academy is thrilled to share that the AAP has changed their stance and these guidelines have recently changed. A mounting pile of documented proof has stacked up showing that children as young as six months of age can be taught lifesaving water survival skills.

 

What Has Changed?

Sadly, drowning remains the leading cause of injury-related deaths for children between the ages of 1 and 4 years old. This is partly because of lack of supervision and the fact that younger children are naturally drawn to pools, ponds, and other bodies of water without fully understanding their dangers.

 

This statistic hasn’t changed over the years, which has spurred a number of infant survival swim courses to be developed by leading professionals. Many experts were wary about the efficacy of these types of classes at first. But the growth in demand for these classes as parents witnessed babies who weren’t even able to walk roll from their front to their backs and paddle to safety has changed many minds in the medical community.

 

Earlier this year the American Academy of Pediatrics officially changed their stance on when children should be introduced to water safety skills. These new recommendations suggest that children should begin swim lessons starting around the age of one as this can significantly reduce drowning rates in young children.

 

Infant Swim Lessons About “Water Competency”

When many hear the words “swim lessons” they think about learning strokes and swimming laps. Infant swim lessons are different in intention. The goal of an infant swim class is to equip children with the skills necessary to safely exit a body of water should they find themselves unexpectedly in a pool or a pond or be able to float independently in order to breathe until rescued.

 

Our classes at Texas Swim Academy also encourage children to feel confident in the water and how to have fun without endangering themselves and others.

 

Your child’s instructor will begin by calmly introducing your youngster to the water so that they feel comfortable at his or her own pace. The instructor will continually build your child’s trust and work with your child to teach him or her crucial lifesaving swim skills appropriate for his or her age and development.

 

Our priority at Texas Swim Academy has always been to protect the lives of children. For more information on our Infant Survival Swim program, we invite you to give us a call at (832) 437-6186.

 

SWIM SCHOOL IN KATY

 

Texas Swim Academy is a state-of-the-art swimming facility offering water safety, survival swim, and kids swimming lessons in Katy, Texas. Owners Kathleen and Bruce McMordie, alongside our certified staff, help parents introduce children to water at an early age through the Infant Survival Swim Program , teaching life-saving techniques and basic swimming skills.

Our Stroke Development Program offers six different levels to help students progress in their swimming skills at his or her own pace. Our Adaptive Aquatics Program was created specifically for children with special abilities. Find swimming class registration information here. By subscribing to Texas Swim Academy’s blog , you can stay current on valuable water safety resources such as survival swim, health and wellness, Texas Swim Academy news and more. Follow our Facebook , Twitter, and YouTube pages for even more news, updates, and tips!

The post New AAP Guidelines Recommend Swim Lessons for Infants & Toddlers appeared first on Texas Swim Academy.

from Texas Swim Academy http://bit.ly/2YCVeet