In California we are a "water-loving" society and in Sacramento Area ponds, lakes, streams, canals, rivers are around every corner, not to mention the number of pools that we enjoy due to our long, hot summers. In California...

I don't have a pool, spa or boat, and I never leave my child alone. Why should I give my child survival float lessons?

Children are curious and want to explore. Water glistens, is shiny and calls to a child. Water entices children more than adults can imagine. Humans are born with fear of falling and loud noises, but no inborn fear of water. The staggering drowning statistics, nation wide and especially in California, support the need for a program that teaches infants and toddlers the Survival Back Float, as only one part of the many "layers of prevention" Drowning Prevention Tips a parent should implement.

* In California, drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1-4... (California Center for Childhood Injury Prevention)

* 67% of these drownings are in swimming pools and 33% are in bathtubs, buckets, toilets, spas, hot tubs, ponds, and other containers of water... (US Consumer Products Safety Commission)

* A child can drown in the time that it takes to answer a phone... (US Consumer Products Safety Commission)

* Children under five and adolescents between the ages of 15-24 have the highest drowning rates... (American Academy of Pediatrics)

* For every child who drowns, four are hospitalized for near drowning... (American Academy of Pediatrics)

* A swimming pool is 14 times more likely than a motor vehicle to be involved in the death of a child age 4 and under... (Orange County CA, Fire Authority)

* Of all the preschoolers who drown, 70 percent are in the care of one or both parents at the time of the drowning and 75 percent are missing from sight for five minutes or less... (Orange County CA, Fire Authority)

* An estimated 5,000 children ages 14 and under are hospitalized due to near-drowning each year; 15% die in the hospital and as many as 20% suffer severe, permanent neurological disability... (Foundation for Aquatic Injury Prevention)

* 19% of the drowning involving children occur in public pools with certified lifeguards... (Drowning Prevention Foundation)



DEATH BY DROWNING IS A GREAT RISK TO ALL CHILDREN!

The Parents Role

So what should you do as the parent? Click her to find out our suggestions.

WHY WE FOCUS ON SURVIVAL FLOAT

Drowning is caused by an intake of water and loss of air due to a persons inability to keep mouth and nose out of water to breathe. With the lack of success in in ability to breathe, panic begins to set in causing the person to tire. Drowning or near drowning occurs within minutes. This is where the Survival Back Float can be important to the safety of a child. We work with the child to create controlled, movements that aide them in getting to a back float position, without panic, from which they can breathe. They are taught to do this in clothing, as 86% of the children who drown do so fully clothed.

When handled in a positive, loving, gentle and constructive way the opposite actually occurs. How We Teach. A child becomes very confident, comfortable, secure and happy in the water and has a genuine love of the water experience. Trauma is not caused by the back float process,