Summer is here, school will soon be out and Canadaâs short swimming season will be in full swing.
But first, a warning: Swimming lessons for young children can result in parents who are too confident about youngstersâ ability to keep from drowning, says a child safety expert.
As a child under five accumulates swimming skills, parents begin to assume their child is not likely to drown and that they donât need to as closely supervise him or her, says Barbara Morrongiello, a psychology professor at the University of Guelph who holds a Canada Research Chair in child and youth injury prevention.
She and colleagues spent eight months studying the beliefs of parents whose children were taking swimming lessons. Turns out, parents overestimated their childâs swimming skills when compared with the assessment of instructors.
Swimming lessons for very young children âbuild a comfort level in the water,â and a confidence in children that âthey can manage a scary situation like water, if you will, a pool or a lake or what have you,â she told ŰÎŰ´ŤĂ˝ Channel on Wednesday.
But that doesnât mean a child will know what to do in a drowning situation, such as when they panic after falling in with clothes and shoes that make them heavier, or theyâve drifted into water that is over their heads. Other factors in drownings can include fatigue, muscle cramping, injury, and the effects of cold water.
âAnother thing that parents donât always realize is that drowning happens quickly and silently. Itâs not often the case that children are able to call for help or splash around. Once their lungs fill with water, theyâre going down and theyâre going down quickly.â
Parents often arenât watching their children as carefully and continuously as they need to be, said Morrongiello. A tragedy can happen in seconds.
âWe always overestimate how much we are supervising and we underestimate how long since weâve last seen the child.â
The Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) (http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/water_safety) says there is no evidence that swimming lessons prevent drowning in children under four because they just arenât old enough to manage survival skills or to learn about drowning prevention. In fact, research has found that about two-thirds of those of any age who drown are considered to be good swimmers.
Drowning is the second most common cause of death for children under five years of age in Canada, according to the CPS. According to the Lifesaving Society, 35 per cent of all drownings happen in July and August.
Some safety tips from the Canadian Pediatric Society:
⢠Babies who canât sit without support and are too young to wear a portable flotation device (PFD) should be held by an adult at all times.
⢠Toddlers should always be within armâs reach of a watchful adult when they are in or around water. This includes pools, bathtubs, and beaches, and other water sources.
⢠Swimming lessons are a great opportunity for families to participate in fun activities that contribute to a healthy lifestyle. But on their own, they will not protect or prevent a child from drowning.
⢠All children should be supervised by an adult when they are in or around water and should never be left alone in a pool or bathtub, even for a moment.
⢠The Lifesaving Society recommends a supervision ratio of at least 1 adult for every 2 young children, and 1 adult for every baby.