Importance of swimming as a necessary life skill!

We love being in the water and we believe time spent there should be a fun and positive experience. Living in Miami increases our frequency of exposure to water and there are many things we can do to make sure that we remain safer around water.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) drowning is the leading cause of injury death in U.S. children ages 1-4 years and the third leading cause of unintentional injury death in children and adolescents ages 5-19 years. Recently the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) released HUGE news on water safety and we are excited to spread their recommendations. They extended essential precautions such as: prevent anticipated access to water, insulating the pool from the house and most importantly enrolling children in swimming lessons.

The new policy states that children and parents should learn to swim and learn basic water competency skills. “Parents should monitor their child’s progress during swim lessons and continue their lessons at least until basic water competence is achieved.” Basic water competency includes; ability to enter the water, surface, turn around, propel oneself for at least 25 yards and then exit the water.

For us, this is EXCITING NEWS and it is motivation to continue doing our important work. At Ocaquatics, we not only teach children how to swim, but we also help them develop water safety skills. Our immediate goal is that every child can jump or fall into a body of water and return to the wall unassisted.

The AAP reminded us of the importance of constant supervision, and awareness of drowning risks. Like we always say, children are never 100% safe, they are only SAFER because they come to swim lessons, so please remember to never leave your children unattended near water..

Ocaquatics offers small group swimming lessons for children as young as six months. Contact us today if you are ready for your child to be safer around water!