What is the best thing about summer? It is the best excuse for playing outside, getting dirty, and playing in the water! For hours on end, a child will run back and forth through the sprinkler. You would think that after a while, constant hurdling over that sprinkler would get old after the first ten minutes. But children will hop over it, to and fro, until their little legs just can’t make the hop any more.
This idea of the sprinkler is safe, for the most part. Granted, the grass does get wet, and a little slick, but it is not something you necessarily have to worry yourself frantic over. A pool, however, is a different story.
When do you teach your child to swim, and when it is the right time to introduce them to the concept? If you have an in ground pool, you should be especially mindful being that the child could more than likely walk up to it and fall right in. But curiosity is a little demon that sits upon your child’s shoulder. So when should you teach them how to swim, or even introduce them to the idea of staying afloat?
Some people suggest waiting until the child is three or four years old. The best way is to take them to your local pool for special lessons. However, if you opt to teach them yourselves, be sure to make it your top priority to explain that water is very dangerous if you are not careful. Explain that they must never go in to the water unattended, even in the bathtub until they are “old enough.”
Please watch your children around water. Do not think for a minute that your child drowning will not happen to you.