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Deanie Wimmer reportingPublic swimming pools around the state will be opening within the week, and many parents try to keep their kids safe by enrolling them in swimming lessons. It's a good idea, but parents of younger children especially are increasingly turning to lessons in water survival.
A toddler rode his trike into a pool, but this time it was no accident. It was a lesson to push away from the bike and float to the side, a lesson his mom, Tammie Booth, hopes will protect him. She says, "My in-laws have a pool, so every time we went there, I was a little bit nervous."
Her son is too young for actual swimming, but he's learning survival skills. "So it makes me feel better when he's around the water."
Babies as young as 6-months learn how to turn over face-up. Instead of struggling and sinking, they can float on their backs and breathe. Liz Walker, with Walker's Swim Kids, said, "This is just one more line of defense against drowning. And in those first few critical minutes, maybe a child can turn over and get to a wall or float and give the parents a few more minutes to find them."
A near drowning experience of her own, prompted an interest in water safety. Twenty-five years later, she's taught thousands of children and heard countless accounts of how these lessons have bought parents extra time.
"What keeps bringing me back is the fact that I can possibly make the difference in a family's life and help a child have the skills to get out of a dangerous situation," Walker said.
Like many things we teach our kids, you never plan on them needing this, but since drowning is one of the leading causes of death among preschoolers, many parents aren't taking the chance.
