SALT LAKE CITY -- Three kids under the age of four had to be pulled from pools in the last four days in the Salt Lake Valley. For one of those kids, the rescue came too late.
It is unknown if it would have mattered in any of the recent cases, but statistically swim lessons can make a big difference.
“A lot of us make accommodations to get as many people in as we can due to the safety issues that water has,” said Marcie Burrill, the aquatics manager at Cottonwood Heights Recreation Center.
According to a study by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, getting your kids into formal swim lessons can reduce the risk of a drowning by up to 88%.
The beginning of summer can be a tough time to snag a lesson, as spots fill up fast. But if you are too late or the lessons are too expensive, Burrill says simply go ask the manager at your local pool.
“Approaching those aquatics managers and telling them your situation and see if there’s something they can do to help,” Burrill said.
Not everyone will take a lesson, but nearly everyone has a smartphone.
“Great information right at your fingertips, said Rich Woodruff, Director of Communications for the Red Cross in Utah of the organization’s swimming App.
“It’s got little videos for kids,” Woodruff said.
But he warns an App can never replace a lesson. Click here to download apps, including the swimming app, from the American Red Cross.
