One of the best gifts you can give your children is swimming safety lessons. You may not like the water or ever plan to have a swimming pool, but water is everywhere. That means there is always going to be a chance that your child will love pools or that they could even fall into water somewhere. They have to know how to swim and how to behave if something life threatening were to occur. As soon as they are old enough to take lessons, you should see to it that they get at least some of the basics. It could save their life one day and is just as important as teaching them how to cross the street or how to avoid strangers.
Swimming safety often comes as a part of your typical swimming lessons. They can get into the water and learn how to swim, tread water, and so all types of great things that can save their life, but they will also learn about water safety in general. This means they can learn about river and ocean currents, when to get out of the water if a storm approaches, and what to do to help someone else that is hurt in the water or that does not know how to swim. They will learn many life saving things through simple swimming safety lessons.
You can also teach your children a bit about swimming safety. They should know that they should always be wearing a life vest or a life jacket if they are out on the water in any boat. They should also learn that they should never be swimming alone and should never get into a pool without an adult being present or without permission. Children should be taught that swimming safety means never holding another child underwater as a joke. It is one joke that is never funny and can be deadly. Respect in the water is a must.
Some people do not want to scare their children so they do not teach them about very important swimming safety things like CPR or how to revive someone who is drowning. Children can take these things in stride, and they should also know how to help someone. You have to remember that it could be your child in trouble and you would only hope that others around know how to help them before it is too late. If you show them what will happen, not only can they avoid these things, but they can also be equipped to help someone else.
You can usually get swimming safety lessons through your local YMCA/YWCA if you have one. Most community pools have some type of swimming lessons you can get, usually at reduced cost. These lessons may not teach them more than the basics of swimming, but the basics are what save lives. Some parents feel that just throwing their child into the water to see what they can do is how to teach swimming safety, but please do not do that. They may get hurt, and they may also be afraid of the water forever. Find instruction and help locally so they can enjoy swimming safely for the rest of their lives.