Now more than ever, children are turning to the internet to learn new skills―from sports to art, music, dance and everything in between. There’s a lot that children can do online but there’s one thing they CAN’T do online: learn to swim! While the internet can be a helpful resource for those wishing to supplement proper lessons, children cannot swim via YouTube alone. Swimming―and especially the techniques critical for surviving a water accident―is far too important of a skill to learn without proper instruction from a certified professional. Enrolling in formal swim lessons can dramatically reduce the risk of drowning and provide experiential training, such as swimming in clothing and practicing self-rescue.
Formal Swim Lessons Reduce the Risks of Drowning
Drowning is one of the leading causes of death for children, and an alarming number of children haven’t learned to swim or lack the swimming abilities necessary to save themselves during an emergency. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), “from 2005-2014, there were an average of 3,536 fatal unintentional drownings (non-boating related) annually in the United States―about ten deaths per day.” The CDC adds that “about one in five people who die from drowning are children 14 and younger.”
The good news: most drownings are preventable! Statistics reported by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) show that participation in formal swim programs, such as those offered by British Swim School, can reduce the risk of drowning by 88% among children who are most at risk for accidental death by drowning.