Swim Safety Session: A Guide to Ensuring Water Survival and Competency Skills for Your Children

Here at Bloomsburg Kids, we are soaking up the sun as much as we can before the hustle and bustle of school starts again and the sweet summer days come to a close. We’ve still got lots of time left to play at the pool, jump into a lake, or swim in a stream. However, its super important to be mindful of swimming safely with our children! We sat down with one of Geisinger Bloomsburg’s pediatric doctors, Dr. Laura Spahr, to talk about swim safely and how important it is to keep the whole family safe around water. Here’s what she had to say:

“One thing almost every kid loves to do on a hot day is to cool off in a pool and enjoy the refreshing water. As a pediatrician, the spring and summer means talking about the importance of water safety and the critical skill of learning to swim. Now more than ever, with more people getting out and being more social as COVID restrictions have lifted, it is wonderful to have kids back at the pool. I have definitely been concerned that we lost several years of swim experience and instruction during COVID years. Pools were closed, there was a shortage of lifeguards, swim teams could not have practice or competitions, and even as pools tried to re-open it was and still is in a lot of cases a struggle to keep up with staffing and pool maintenance. I encourage you to make it a high priority to ensure your child learns to swim and stays safe around the water. It may take extra work and time to find a pool, an instructor, and to save money for lessons but is worth every minute and penny. Thank you for taking the time to read my message and the great advice in the article, and please make it a top priority in your parenting this summer. You won’t regret it.”
Dr Laura Spahr

Dr. Spahr is referencing a highly informative article from HealthyChildren.org entitled “Swim Lessons: When to Start and What Parents Should Know”, which is chock full of invaluable information taken from AAP’s (American Academy of Pediatrics) guidelines and recommendations about swim safety, including when to start lessons, what to look for when choosing a swim instructor and lesson style, and how to supervise your child in or near water.

Read the Full Article

Local Swim Lessons Locations

Looking to get your kiddos more comfortable in the water? Our area has a ton of options for swimming lessons, swim teams and more- from group to private and all ability levels. Below is a list of places and people at your disposal: