Are your kids swim ready?

Are your kids swim ready?

Swim lessons for parents and toddlers are the first steps toward water safety.

Learning to swim should be a priority for every family. It's an important life skill that can play a key role in helping to prevent drowning―a top cause of death among children.

When should my child learn to swim?

Children develop at different rates, and not all are ready to begin swim lessons at exactly the same age. When making your decision, keep your child's emotional maturity, physical and developmental abilities and limitations, and comfort level in the water in mind.

Recent studies suggest that water survival skills training and swim lessons can help reduce drowning risk for children between ages 1-4. Classes that include both parents and their children also are a good way to introduce good water safety habits and start building swim readiness skills.

Swim lessons for children ages 4 and up: a must for most families

By their 4th birthday, most children are ready for swim lessons. At this age, they usually can learn basic water survival skills to keep them safe if they fall into the water, such as floating, treading water and getting to an exit point. By age 5 or 6, most children in swim lessons can master the front crawl. If your child hasn't already started in a learn-to-swim program, now is the time!