INDIANAPOLIS — As the weather gets warmer and parents start looking for activities to keep the family cool, more kids will be hopping into the water to swim.
Experts say it’s also a time when more swim-related accidents occur for children.
An open body of water can be a silent killer.
Instructors at Aqua-Tots Swim Schools in Indianapolis say all it takes is a parent looking away for a bit.
“It’s warming up. Kids are running around outside. Visiting the neighbors house. Running around spending more time outdoors," franchise owner Lindsay Thayer said.
Aqua-Tots offers swim classes for children from four months to 12 years old.
It serves over 150 communities worldwide, offering dedicated, year-round, indoor swim instruction, community outreach and drowning prevention education to children of all abilities.
Thayer says this time of year is ripe for water-related accidents.
“It is very real. It can happen really quickly. It’s silent," Thayer said.
Drowning is the number one cause of death for children one to four years old, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Thayer says consistent year-round swim lessons are the best way to prepare your child for an emergency.
“Participation in formal swim lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by 88 percent in [children] ages one to four," Thayer said.
That’s exactly why mom Kathryn Johnson has been bringing her children to the north side location since 2021.
The Franklin Township resident says her family spends a lot of time at grandparent's and neighbor's pools.
“It makes me a lot more comfortable going into the summer knowing they have these survival skills," Johnson said.
Johnson says she has peace of mind seeing her kids swim skills improve over the years.
Her 1-year-old daughter Everleigh is a ‘minnow’ and her 3-year-old son Carson is a ‘leap frog.’
“I think my kids have a really great system of boundaries in place for being around the water. They won’t approach the pool without an adult. They know to sit before we enter. They’ve learned breath control," she said.
The “ABC’s of swimming” is way to prevent drownings:
A — adult supervision — keep your eyes on your kids.
B — barriers — ensure any body of water is protected by locks, fences, gates.
C — classes — enroll your children in swim lessons to improve their water-competency skills.
You can learn more here.
