Teens And Tweens Are Not Too Old To Learn To Swim

11 Sep Teens And Tweens Are Not Too Old To Learn To Swim

5 reasons swimming lessons are important for older kids and tweens

From Chicago Now

Do you know what the second leading cause of accidental death is for children under 14 in the United States?  According to this post from Chicago Now, it is drowning.  The saddest part about this statistic is that it is almost completely preventable with the advent of swimming lessons.  While learning to swim at any age is not a guarantee against drowning, it is a strong indicator that could nearly eliminate accidental deaths.  This post gives 5 additional sound reasons why learning to swim, regardless of age, is a great idea.

Here is an excerpt from the post:

Today is one of the summery fall days, with a high in the mid-80s. On the last warm weekend we had a few weeks ago, my tween daughter attended a pool party. One of the 11 year-old guests did not know how to swim. I found that frightening, especially because when we arrived no adults were supervising the pool. I know the other girls were keeping an eye out for her, but tweens are not permitted to be official lifeguards for a reason.

The adults moved out to the pool deck where a good time was had by all and everyone safety exited the pool. But I left thinking about the importance of teaching children how to swim.

Summer’s over, but there is never a bad time to learn how to swim. Randall Barba, owner of Goldfish Swim School Naperville, IL and the parent of two little swimmers, is today’s guest poster here sharing why swimming lessons are beneficial throughout the tween years.

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You probably know that your kids need to learn to swim. Drowning as the nation’s second leading cause of accidental death for children under 14. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in summer 2012 there were 137 child drowning deaths in the United States. Enrollment in swim lessons in the best thing parents can do to prevent drowning. In 2009, the American Academy of Pediatrics found that children enrolled in formal swimming lessons had an 88% reduced risk of drowning.

Despite those statistics, an estimated 37% of adult Americans cannot swim, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Learning to swim means more than just being able to doggy paddle across the pool and float around on your back a few seconds.

If your kids had some swim lessons when they were little and are generally confident in the water, why continue with swimming into the ‘tween and teen years? There are plenty of reasons to get AND keep your child involved in swimming. Here are our top five.

1. Swim lessons reduce the risk of drowning.

You read the stats above, right? This is serious stuff and as your child gets older, they are more likely to be around water when you might not be present (say on a trip to the beach with friends). Swimming in essential life skill and you want to be confident that your child has mastered it.

2. Swimming builds whole body strength.

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