My family had been invited to tour a friend's new home, complete with inground swimming pool. Seeing that pool was so exciting to my three year old son that he let go of my hand, ran and jumped into the deep end before I could stop him. Completely taken by surprise, I jumped in, grabbed his floundering little body and deposited him on dry land. His response? "Mommy, I go glub, glub."
Yes, my son, you went glub glub and Mommy practically had a heart attack.
Little kids are so fearless and water is so enticing. It's fun to take a bath in water, splash around in water, make a mess in the kitchen sink with water...it's no wonder they are drawn to it.
Which is why I'm a firm believer in teaching water safety to kids...the younger the better, especially if you live in an area where your children have access to swimming pools. Many parents get their children involved in sports at an early age but I really, really think the first sport/activity should be swimming. While some sports teach team sportsmanship, swimming teaches a life-saving skill.
Your child will have many opportunities to be around water...a beach party, a scout activity, boating and/or fishing, tubing the river with friends, summer camp and so forth. Teach your child to swim and he can thoroughly enjoy those activities and not be left out because he's the only one who can't swim.
Let's have a safe summer!
How frightening! My dad had to jump in to save my oldest sister that way - after church, he was still wearing his suit and good shoes. I can't imagine what it's like to see your little one floating or floundering.
ReplyDeleteLet's just say your adrenaline kicks in and you jump in (literally, in this case) :)
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