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Swimming is More Than Fun - It’s a skill that can save your child’s life

By Penny Pantano

“I just want my child to be safe in the water,” parents say, but what exactly does that mean? Are they safe if they can tread water for 15 seconds, 30 seconds, or 60 seconds? Are they safe if they can doggie paddle 75 feet? What if an emergency situation calls for a longer time or a longer distance? Statistics show that one in eight boys and one in 32 girls will get into a dangerous situation in the water. Hopefully, tragedy is averted by an intervention from someone, something, or the use of a self-survival skill.

What the parents mean to say is that they would like their child to have the tools to survive an emergency when swimming. The number one tool is presence of mind and that comes from being comfortable in the water. Comfortable enough as the Red Cross says, “to think and not sink.”

Anyone can drown given the right set of circumstances. Parents think their children are safe if they are able to tread water or doggie paddle, but children tire very quickly especially if they are panicking. After falling into the water, it takes seven seconds for a young child to swim back to the wall if they know how to turn around, go from vertical to horizontal, and propel themselves back to the wall. Can your child stay underwater for seven seconds and have the presence of mind to find the wall and swim back to it? Can they turn over onto their back and float or swim another stroke if the distance is more than they can go? The definition of a competent swimmer, according to the American Swim Coaches Association, is one who can swim 300 yards with two or more strokes.

When children panic in the water, they do not kick, paddle, or move, but instead freeze. Some parents falsely believe that there is a response, or reflex that causes the children to kick themselves to the top of the water and breathe. Children might thrash about underwater, but few will be able to take even one breath. Most four or five-year-old children can tread water for less than four seconds. Add to that the problem of murky water. Even if the parent jumps in instantly to save the child, sometimes they cannot be found.

Being comfortable in the water assures that the child will not panic, but is able to help themselves by using the survival tools taught in swimming lessons. Tools such as knowing which way is up, how to tread water, and how to back float and yell for help among other things is the first line of defense against drowning. Skills to help someone else in an emergency are also taught for example: safely reaching from the deck, throwing something, performing rescue breathing or calling 9-1-1. Safety should be a huge part of swimming lessons. Children should practice what to do if they swim out too far, get out of breath, fall off their flotation, cut themselves, get a cramp, or find a friend who isn’t breathing. They should learn how to check the water’s depth before diving.

Swimming is a life skill and it could save your life some day. One woman on a news show credited a swimming teacher with her life after the ferry boat she was on capsized and there were insufficient lifejackets for those on board. She swam elementary backstroke until rescued. Make sure your child not only learns to swim, but also possesses the tools for a lifetime of water safety. Being safe in the water involves more than treading water, doggie paddling, or face up swimming for a short distance, it is keeping a calm head, knowing what to do, and having the skills to do it.

Penny Pantano is the owner and swim school director of Swim In Zone. In 2004 she was the Water Safety Chairman for Safe Kids Coalition. For more information, call 610-625-4848.