A Public Service Announcement

I live in Florida.  There is a LOT of water down here, to say the least.  Also, it's crazy hot.  So many many many people have pools.  We do not have a pool and this was a conscious choice and actually, kind of an effort.  I was surprised at how difficult it was to find a house, in a non-subdivision, with no pool.  Why wouldn't I want a pool?  Well, actually, I would LOVE love love a pool.  I love swimming.  I would swim every freaking day if I had a pool.  But, I also have two small children.  And down here, the number one cause of death for children under four is drowning.  So we found a house without a pool.  (but with a yard big enough that we could put a pool in in a few years if we choose!!)  Where I'm going with this is that I believe it is critical for children to learn how to swim.  Obviously there are lots of other dangers out there in the big world for children, but no knowing how to swim should not be one of them.  Both Ronan and Isla are now taking swimming lessons, learning with a certified Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) instructor.  No, they don't throw them in the pool, but it's one on one, immediate learning.  We are now in week two of swimming lessons, and as of five lessons, (ten minutes each lesson for each child), Ronan was diving for rings and Isla was turning herself over to float on her back from being face down in the water.  There have been tears.  There has been some screaming.  Isla even projectile vomited in the pool today... but I am amazed at how quickly they are learning to save themselves in the chance that they are ever near water and an adult is not watching them.  I hope that a scenario where they are unattended near water will NEVER occur and regardless of how well they learn to swim, I will not be lax about watching them near water, but I truly believe this is an important skill that they will appreciate throughout their lives.  And I do look forward to the day when we can all enjoy the water together as a family of strong swimmers and surfers and scuba divers! (as Ronan now wants to be a scuba diver at the aquarium...)

http://www.infantswim.com/