National Learn to Swim Day is Tomorrow @SwimWays

My sweet little guy can't wait to start his swim lessons!  OK, so, he's a little scared.  So is mom.  But he really needs to learn to swim for his own safety- and the sanity of every adult in the vicinity  :)  It's important that kids learn to swim at an early age so that they will be safe at parties, the beach, vacation- you don't want your fun day to end in tragedy.  It's something we should all do.  If you can't swim?  Now is a great time to learn.

SwimWays^®, a leader in the pool and leisure marketplace and creator of the Swim Steps^™ program that helps kids learn to swim, announced today that it has named Saturday, May 19, 2012 the first annual ‘National Learn to Swim Day.’ The nationwide campaign, timed to National Water Safety Month (May) and the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend, is an effort to raise awareness about the importance of teaching children to swim, and provide resources to parents for teaching their kids the important skill.

According to the Red Cross, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years old. Additionally, statistics show that children ages 1 to 4 drown most often in home swimming pools.

“Unfortunately, there are many young children who can’t fully enjoy the water because they haven’t learned to swim,” said David Arias, president, SwimWays. “With Memorial Day – the unofficial start of summer – just around the corner, SwimWays created ‘National Learn to Swim Day’ as a way to encourage parents to take advantage of one of the many resources available to them to teach their children to swim.” 

SwimWays invites families across the country to participate in National Learn to Swim Day in their own way. Ideas for getting involved include introducing children to the water with at home swim instruction, hosting a group swimming lesson, visiting a community pool as a family, or enrolling children in swim lessons at a local YMCA or Boys & Girls Club. Additional resources, including information about pool safety, tips and products for teaching children to swim, and downloadable reward and progress charts for kids, are available on SwimWays’ newly re-designed TeachMeToSwim.com website.

SwimWays’ Swim Steps program is a three-step approach that features swim-training aids specially designed to help parents teach kids to swim at home. Step one starts with products that comfortably help introduce babies to the water; step two products give children freedom of motion to develop confidence as they learn to balance and paddle; and step three features a patented Power Swimr^™ swim training system that helps children learn to swim at their own pace.

                Families can learn more about National Learn to Swim Day at www.NationalLearnToSwimDay.com and Swim Steps by visiting www.TeachMeToSwim.com.