The Importance of Swimming Lessons

 

View from our Apartment Window

Cooper splashing around at the pool

We're back! Just returned from a week long sunny trip to Costa Del Sol, Spain. Beautiful, relaxing vacation that was not long enough. We left Germany during record flooding and rain to cloudless Spanish skies. Couldn't have timed it more perfectly. I'll write a full trip report later this week when I've had a chance to go through all our 300+ photos.

While playing at the pools daily at the resort where we stayed, I really noticed how HARD it was to watch Lily and Cooper alone, even in the shallow end where both were only in ankle deep. When Lily would fall, she would go head under so fast and couldn't stand herself back up. Scary stuff. I had to be giving them both 100% of my full attention while even near the pools. We tried keeping the life vest on Cooper, but he wanted to go without it and try to learn to swim toward the end of the trip. We practiced with him a few hours and he loved it and we're really hoping to get him into formal lessons as soon as possible. 

As summer and hot temps are approaching, any of you out there who don't know how to swim, or have kids who don't know how and are near water, you should read this article from the New York Times "Swimming and the Fear Factor". I had no idea, but apparently drowning is the second leading cause of death among children ages 1 to 19. I repeat, scary stuff.

I'm so thankful I learned to swim at an early age. I remember swim lessons at the YMCA when I was 5 or 6. And then I had formal lessons for three years every Friday as part of the Sport Classes at my elementary school in SHAPE Belgium. How about you all? Did you learn to swim at an early age, or later in life, and if you haven't, would you like to learn?