The Place

Actions

How survival swim lessons could save your baby

Posted at 2:45 PM, Jun 30, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-30 16:45:11-04

Alliesha Reber, co-owner of Aquatics Academy, has been teaching children survival swim skills alongside her mom for years. At the academy, they recommend starting kids in swim lessons at the tender age of 6 months old.  Alliesha says “With a baby, it is natural for them to be in the water, they have been in mommy’s tummy so to make that transition to a water setting it is actually quite easy and it is easier than people think.” The idea for the academy came to Alliesha and her mom from the void they saw of kids learning survival swim skills. “Kids were learning how to blow bubbles and sing songs and that is great but some people want their kids to know how to swim if they fall off a boat or fall in the pool or what not.”

Throughout her years of experience, she has heard some harrowing stories from clients, however one sticks out the most. “We had a little girl I believe she was 18 months old and they were going to Lake Powell for the 4th of July and the mom was like look I just want her to get comfortable in the water she is only 18 months old I don’t have very high expectations.” Little did the mom know that two weeks of swimming lessons for her toddler would end up saving her life. “By the time they got to Powell we heard the story that they were making dinner and they took life jackets off all of the kids they were done for the day making dinner and somehow the screen door had gotten left open just enough that this 18-month-old walked off the back of the house boat and they couldn’t find her. They were searching for about a half an hour when come to find out someone heard little cries out in the distance. She had floated 50 yards out to a buoy one of the marker buoys, rolled over grabbed it and was just crying for mom 50 yards away from the house boat.”

To learn more about Aquatics Academy go here.