The Truth about Swim Readiness and The Most Important Facts to know about your child and their abilities.
| |
 by Lisa Cook is the Founder and CEO of KidSwim Inc.
For many years, the American Pediatrics Association and American Red Cross determined that the best age to begin swim lessons was 4. These days, they, along with most other organizations, have revised their statement saying that it is almost never too early to begin swim lessons and learn to swim.
However, I want to clarify both of those statements and explain why it was one and now its the other and what it really means to 'begin swim lessons in infancy.'
The reason why age 4 is ideal (and frankly it is ideal) to begin lessons is because cognitively, physically and emotionally, your children have solidly moved out of the toddler stage and are firmly entrenched in the preschool stage. Physically, their core development is at its strongest since birth, their coordination is more sophisticated, they are able to grasp and process a multitude of complicated instructions and their endurance level is much higher than in previous stages. Additionally, they are more rational characters, less prone to tantrums, succumbing to hunger and exhaustion, and their fears are often tempered. I have found that when starting lessons with a four year old child - who up until that point, may never have had lessons at all previously - they learn extremely quickly and move through the stages at an accelerated rate.
For children that have begun lessons two or even three years prior and as of yet have had little movement forward, right around age 4, everything seems to click and the child can often be found swimming by themselves on their first or second lesson of that particular season. This is why age 4 is what I call the 'ideal age.' Click here to read more...
|
 |
| Water Safety.....Importance Level:
HIGH
| |
 by Richard Pass, RN,BS, Director, Save A Little Life, inc. It is not unusual for us at Save A Little Life to get a call or email every so often by a parent who has actually had to try and revive a pediatric victim, for real. This, no doubt, is due to the fact that drowning events occur daily in the U.S. rating it the 5th leading cause of unintentional injury death. Of even greater importance, drowning represents the second leading cause of accidental death in the pediatric population - second only to auto accidents. Parents & family members need to understand just how devastating these events can be so preparation for prevention can be improved and overall awareness heightened.  Highest Risk IndividualsChildren between 1-4 years are the most vulnerable to drowning. Four out of five (a full 80%) of these children are male. In this group, the leading location for drowning is the family pool. African American children have an even higher rate of these lethal events compared to other ethnic groups. In particular, the rate of drowning for African American children between 5-14 years is nearly 3 times that of Anglo children of the same age range. Of the factors that seem to directly influence these rates, the following have been identified: Lack of ability to swim
- Inefficient barriers (fencing/ pool covers, etc.)
- Poor adult supervision
- Failure to wear life jackets
- Alcohol use (in adolescence)
- Children with seizure disorders
- As we look at the higher risk issues it should become clearer as to what needs to be done to lower drowning risk in the pediatric population.
What Does Drowning Look Like? Click here to read more... |
|
|
July 3rd-4th Hours
| |
July 3rd:
All stores will be closing at 4:00pm
July 4th:
All stores will be closed.
|
|
20% Off Select Swim and Summer Fun Items
| | |
Sale good in stores and online. Sale ends June 30th, 2013, while supplies last. No rain checks or special orders. May not be combined with any other offer or promotion.
|
|
