With No Lifeguards on Duty, Student Drowns On Class Trip to Beach | NBC New York.
I know this happened a while ago but the tension and hurt is still in the air. WE cant deny the fact that there ARE so many drownings per year. According to the New York Times drowning is the a leading cause of accidental death among children ages 1 to 14 in this country. Drowning kills more than 1,400 children under 20 in a typical year. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement on the prevention of drowning, they said that Children should be taught to swim as soon as they are “developmentally ready” — usually by age 5. Children under 4 are rarely ready for swimming lessons, and infant and toddler programs have not been proven to reduce the risk of drowning.The academy also warned parents that just because a child knows how to swim well in one body of water (like a pool) it is safe for that child to swim in another (a river, a lake, a stream or an ocean). Conditions in different kinds of water create different hazards. Everyone (caregiver,yourself,teenager, anyone who is supervising ) should learn CPR which can significantly increase the chance of healthy survival of someone who nearly drowns.
OK so this leads me to the Question. Being that drowning is such a great threat to children in the NYC area every year. Where are the free-swimming lessons? Are they even any? The answer is yes. NYC Parks & Recreation has a program. Learn to swim for free with them. However, you have to register quick! It’s on a first come first serve basis (and odds are by time you read this post it will be too late for this year.But you will be well advised for the next) or you can call the 14 Street Y to register for a class 646-395-4310. (classes may not be free but Low cost)
So Noo complaints anyone (I hate really dislike complainers) about not having enough money for swimming lessons or that its only available to the “upper class” citizens of New York. Lets make an Effort together so these statistics of children drowning, can Drop.
CC's Kidz 
Wow! Informative. Didn’t know the stats about drownings and the “developmentally ready” recommendations. Sadly I’m a grown-up who can’t swim.
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CC The info is very good. I also think that parents should teach their children at an eary age not to be afraid of water and just teach them to dog paddle just to keep afloat and moving, as I did when my children was small. Also NYC has many free pools.
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Hi CC,
I want to thank you for this information. I’ve shared this within the LESC organization, and got really good responses, thanks to you.
Please say hello to your daughter. See you in September at the eye clinic.
Stephanie
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Thanx Stepahani I am happy it was useful information. besides thats part of what Cc’s kidz is about!
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