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Keeping kids safe around pools | Moms Miami Blogs Keeping kids safe around pools
Free or low-cost swimming and water safety lessons, like this class last summer in Cooper City, can be found all over Miami-Dade and Broward. (HERALD FILE PHOTO / JULIE LANDRY LAVIOLETTE)More children ages 1 to 4 die in South Florida every year by accidental drowning than by any other cause.
The saddest part of that statistic is that it is preventable, said Anthoni Llau, an injury epidemiologist with the Miami-Dade County Health Department.
THE SAD STATISTICS
- Most drownings occur in residential pools while children are unattended.
- For every child who drowns, four others are hospitalized for near-drowning, and as many as three suffer brain damage.
- Fifteen percent of children admitted for near-drowning die in the hospital.
- Most children who drown in swimming pools were last seen in the home, had been missing from sight for less than five minutes, and were in the care of one or both parents at the time of the drowning.
In 2008, there were 57 accidental drownings in Broward and 37 in Dade, according to the counties' medical examiners. Dade and Broward ranked in the top five of all Florida counties in the number of drownings in the 1-4 age group.
"You see the same thing happening over and over," Llau said. "That's why you have to stress education."
Miami-Dade participates in the state's "Keep your eyes on the kids" campaign, which educates parents about being more observant around the water. Broward's focus is on layers of protection, said Pamela Santucci, program manager for the Broward County Health Department.
"The biggest misconception is that people think they can watch their kids 24 hours a day, and they're relying solely on that," Santucci said. "Pool fencing - completely surrounding the pool - is the only drowning prevention method that has been proven effective."
Most young children drown by falling in an unattended swimming pool, while a parent is distracted by a phone call or household duties.
"Parents think they will hear a scream if their child falls in the pool, but the opposite is true," Llau said. "Drowning is the silent killer. Water fills their air passages and they can't make a sound."
BY JULIE LANDRY LAVIOLETTE, MomsMiami.comPOOL SAFETY TIPS
- Always watch little ones around water. Never leave them alone, even for a moment.
- Install a fence at least four feet high around the pool. The fence should separate the pool from the house and play area of the yard. Use gates that self-close and self-latch, with latches higher than your children's reach.
- Even with pool fencing, your second line of defense should be door locks and alarms. A lock that is located high on the door will make it difficult for a child to get out. A pool alarm will notify you if someone has gotten into your pool, even neighborhood kids.
- Keep rescue equipment (such as a shepherd's hook or life preserver) and a telephone by the pool. Call 911 immediately in an emergency.
- Remove all toys from the pool after use so children aren't tempted to reach for them.
- If you can't find your child and you have a pool, check there first.
- Don't rely on buckles to lock hot tub covers. Some children have unbuckled them, crawled in and drowned under the cover.
-- From the American Academy of Pediatrics and The Home Safety Guru
WHERE TO FIND LESSONS
Broward County Parks:
Swim lessons are offered at C.B. Smith in Pembroke Pines, Central Broward Regional in Lauderhill, Markham in Sunrise and Topeekeegee Yugnee in Hollywood. Classes are held in two-week sessions from June 8 through Oct. 8. Each session includes eight 30-minute classes and costs $48. Classes are offered for preschoolers through adults. Click here for information and an application.
Miami-Dade County Parks:
The Learn to Swim program for preschoolers through adults is taught through the American Red Cross. Click here for more information. Lessons are offered at these parks:
- A.D. Barnes, 3401 SW 72nd Ave., 305-665-1626
- Arcola, 1680 NW 87th St., 305-691-5104
- Goulds, 21840 SW 114th Ave., 305-233-0537
- Helen Sands (South Dade), 16350 SW 280th St., 305-248-1386
- Little River, 10525 NW 24th Ave., 305-696-7651
- Marva Y. Bannerman, 4829 NW 24th Ave., 305-635-2461
- Naranja, 14150 SW 264th St., 305-258-4534
- Palm Springs North, 7901 NW 176th St., 305-558-3762
- Rockway, 9460 SW 27th Dr., 305-223-8742
- Richmond (Sgt. Delancy Park), 14450 Boggs Dr., 305-238-5692
- Tamiami, 11201 SW 24th St., 305-223-7077
- Tropical Estates, 10201 SW 48th St., 305-221-5041
Swim Central
Provides 10 classes of 30 minutes each over a two-week period for Broward County School Board elementary school children to learn basic and valuable water-safety and swimming skills - at no cost to the parent. Swim Central also is a resource to find low-cost swim lessons in Broward, said Matt Berman, director. "No kid should drown because a parent can't afford lessons," he said.
Established in 1999 by the Broward County Commission, the program now has 130 participating elementary schools that shuttle kids to neighborhood pools for water safety instruction. Some day care centers and summer camps also participate in the program. Since its inception, 194,000 children have gone through the program.
Click here for more information.
American Red Cross
The Red Cross offers Learn-To-Swim through parks and pools throughout Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. Water safety and drowning prevention skills are built into all swim levels. Classes are offered for preschoolers through adult levels, including those with disabilities. Lifeguarding classes also are available. Click here for more information.
YMCA
The YMCA of Greater Miami and the YMCA of Broward County offers group and private lessons for swimmers of all levels, including classes for those with disabilities. Parent and child lessons are offered for kids ages 6 months to 3 years. The YMCA Safe Start program teaches survival skills for children ages 6 months to 4 years. Lifeguarding and water safety classes also are taught.
Miami Children's Hospital
The hospital's Dan Marino Center pool in Weston offers individual and group classes, stroke development and lessons for children with special needs.
MORE RESOURCES
Find more water safety resources on our On the Web page under Swimming Lessons.
Can your nanny handle an emergency? The Oscar Project offers child-safety classes for caregivers in English and Spanish. Visit its website here.
Hi, I have a three year old autistic child and I would love to know if you offer swimming classes as well for autistic children. Thanks
I highly recommend Infant Survival Swimming with Jann and TJ Holub at the Plantation Central Park Pool. Awesome program.
I would like to recommend WET DOLPHIN SWIMMING ACADEMY for any child, but specially if you have a child with SPECIAL NEEDS, like autism, down syndrome etc. their staff has extensive experience and lots of patience. My son has down syndrome and has been taking classes with them for six months now, he already attended his first swimming competition : ) Their number is 786-845-8000, They are located on 107 and 25th street in doral.
The YMCA offers Safe Start for ages 6 mos - 4 years, as well as swimming lessons (group and private) for ages 3 and up. Safe Start is an amazing program and helps kids learn survival skills in an accidental water encounter. http://www.ymcamiami.org/ProgramsYMCA.aspx?pgmID=1
I highly recommend Little Swimmers for swimming lessons. This is the second year I take my daughter there and I am very happy with the results. We have had some scares with her and pools and she had and intense fear of the water and they have helped her overcome this. Gerald Little and Meric Tendrich are the cofounders / firefighters and also my daughters instructers. They both have such a gift and passion for what they do, I am amazed when watching them. It is nice to see that they use there gift to save the lives of little ones every day by giving them the skills they need to defend themselves in the water.The way they were able to get my daughter who is 3 to love the water again and now she is swimming and diving into 9 feet. I am planning on starting my 7 month old son with them soon. I highly recommend them to anyone. There website is www.littleswimmers.net.
Hands down, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND "BORN 2 SWIM AQUATIC ACADEMY" to train ANY CHILD how to swim. Their number is 305-278-SWIM and their website is www.born2swim.net. My 4 year old "ADHD" little girl had been through 3 different swim schools prior to MY deciding to commit to Born 2 Swim's DAILY PRIVATE SURVIVAL LESSONS because I simply didn't want to go EVERYDAY, Monday-Friday but OMG, what a TRULY AMAZING experience I had. Lets begin by noting that NONE of the other swim schools allowed me to watch the lessons because they felt that the kids did better without the distraction of a parent but NOT THIS ONE. It was quite the contrary, they REQUIRE an adult to be present ALL THE TIME. Their philosophy is "your child didn't make the decision to take swimming lessons, YOU DID. Therefore, how can making a child do something that they DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO, with a STRANGER and someone they DON'T WANT TO DO IT WITH be a rewarding experience WITHOUT at the very least, the positive verbal & visual support of someone the child is familiar with. I won't lie and tell you that going everyday didn't get tiring and that none of the kids cried but... the GENUINE patience & love for kids that the instructors had was awe inspiring and I am FINALLY able to enjoy the water with my little diva. The fact is that I NEVER UNDERSTOOD why my daughter couldn't learn to swim because in my memory swimming lessons were fun but I now understand that MOST KIDS are just afraid of the UNKNOWN and WE as parents have UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS of what our kids are capable of. Don't make the same mistake that I did and spend years wasting your time & money because it's not worth it. COMMIT TO YOUR CHILD & THE REWARDS ARE PRICELESS!
The presence of a diving board lets everyone know immediately that a deep water area exists, and that is where all diving should be conducted. Diving in shallow water, less than six feet deep can be dangerous. A diving board directs children and adults away from shallow areas that are unsafe for diving, keeping diving to the deep end of the pool, where diving is safe and fun.
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