“Are you doing enough to “swim safe” this summer?”

Guest post by @littlefinsswim

Marci Hummell has brought her love for swimming & water safety to Central Florida.  As the founder & head swim instructor at Little Fins Swim School, LLC and CPR/AED Instructor she commits her time to teaching families to be safe in and around the water.  Follow her on Twitter @littlefinsswim for safety information & tips!

It’s that time of year again…summer-like temperatures inFlorida!  This also means everyone is getting out of the house and into the pool, lake, river, ocean, etc. and something that should be on every parents mind, “is my child a safe, prepared swimmer?”  It is never too early to teach your child & family to be safe in the water.

According to the Florida Department of Health & Office of Injury Prevention,Floridaranks #1 for drowning incidents in children under the age of four in residential pools;Orange, Osceola, &BrevardCountiesare ALL in the top10 inthe state, only Hillsborough & Broward Counties rank higher. OrangeCountyhad 5 drowning incidents &OsceolaCountyhad3 in2010 (most current statistics available), near drowning incidents are not included but those do not go unnoticed. A near drowning incident is much more common and not something to take lightly.

The Florida Department of Health & Office of Injury Prevention alongside many concerned partners from around the state have all come together to create WaterProof FL (www.waterprooffl.com), this site has information for parents, business owners, potential partners, and more.  The main purpose that everyone in the Drowning Prevention community promotes is the importance of having Layers of Protection.  These include physical barriers, supervision, and emergency preparedness.  The chances of incidents greatly diminish when more than one of these Layers is present.  Parents & caregivers should learn CPR, every home pool should have a fence (even if the pool area is screened in), door & window alarms should be in place & activated at all times, children should learn to be safe around the water, especially what to do if they find themselves in the pool area alone.  Keeping a phone near the pool area in case of emergency may be the best thing you could do. Remember in the time it takes to answer the door, put a load of laundry in, or answer the phone inside a child could find themselves in trouble.

Many programs inCentral Floridastart teaching children at 6 months of age to help themselves in the water.  These programs are usually one on one (your child & instructor), Monday-Friday, everyday, for 10 minutes per day for 4-5 weeks.  This may sound extremely demanding but your child will be a learning a skill they will continue to build upon as they grow (swimming can be compared to learning to ride a bike, once you know how you will always know).  These are not your typical “mommy & me” programs that just get your child in the water for play time. If the goal for your child to respect the water you should be looking for a program that will help teach the what-if’s.

If you want to learn more about the programs available inCentral Floridaplease contact them directly:

Little Fins Swim School, LLC www.LittleFinsSwim.com or 574-286-2605 (serving Hunter’s Creek,LakeNona,Kissimmee, &St. Cloud)

Southwest Aquatics www.southwestaquatics.com or 407-905-0999 (serving Winter Garden & Windermere)

ISwim University www.iswimu.com or 407-878-4352 (servingLakeMary)

The Pool Safety Resource www.thepoolsafetyresource.com or 407-834-9182 (serving Longwood)

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