Is your child safe around water?

Swimming pool times are so much fun! Parents have so much joy watching their kids do cannon balls into the pool, diving for rings, and just swimming around with their friends. But how many parents can say with a 100% certainty: “My child is water safe!”?

It sounds paradoxical but even advanced swimmers can lose their lives to drowning. Kids are in danger in any type of water facility and at any depth. Kids can even drown in the shallow water where they can stand, simply because they lack basic safety skills. Sometimes kids drown in public pools, despite having a certified lifeguard on duty. Drowning is an instant event, and lifeguards or parents might not be able to react quickly enough to successfully rescue the child. Unlike movies where a victim calls for help drowning can be silent and the incident can be caught when it is too late.

When I talk about children's water safety, I always talk about statistics. This is because looking at the number of kids who drowned in the US is shocking! Drowning is the #1 cause of death in children ages 1-4. Speaking of numbers, about 900 children aged 1-4 drown yearly in the US. Only birth defects have a higher death rate than unintentional drowning. Unfortunately birth defects are out of our control and no one is fully protected from them. However, we can help ensure your child is water safe!

At Elite Gymnastics and Aquatics we take water safety seriously. Our lesson plans are focused on basic skills of swimming and safety that are constantly reviewed and excelled at every level of our program. It is also very important to make sure that kids get all year swim lessons to make sure that skills are reviewed on the constant basis.

At Elite, our aquatics program is year round. All beginner classes have 1:4 ratio to make sure that children get a lot of practice every lesson. Our class schedule has a variety of days and times to fit your busy schedule because children’s safety is important! We also offer a free trial class to make sure that your child loves it. Please call us at 913-469-5554 or email at info@elitegymswim.com for more information!

Sofia Filatova Aquatics Director and Head Coach of Elite Aquatics Swim Team