Let's get serious for a minute

Did you hear about the six teenagers who recently drown in the Red River?

Oh my gracious.  It's so sad.  The newspaper said that this is an area frequented by people who don't know how to swim.  Apparently, this is a place to go and barbecue and wade in the river.

This group of people had really just arrived when this happened.  They didn't even have the barbecue pit out of the car yet.  The adults watched helplessly as the kids drown.  None of them could swim.

My older daughter started taking swim lessons when she was 6 months old.  She went once a week until she was 5 and is now a great swimmer.  When my youngest was around 6 months old, I wasn't sure how I could make it work.  The swim school was 45 minutes away and I always had my older daughter with me.  If I were in a pool in a Mommy/Baby class, what would I do with her?  When the older was 1, they took her into a semi-private class and I was no longer needed in the water.  I was hoping they'd do this with my little petunia, but they had changed the rules and said they wouldn't take her in the pool without me until she was around 2 or 3!!  Well, folks, we all know that the second child is usually a bit more outgoing the the first and I thought if we waited that long, it would be like playing with fire.  I wanted her to learn to swim sooner.

I was then sent an email with a video attached to it.  My heart nearly beat out of my chest as I watched.

All I knew, was that I needed this program for my baby.

We found an instructor and signed her up.

This is my 11 month old baby floating in a pool.  You can learn about this program by visiting the Infant Swim Resource site.  I am so grateful for the survival skills this course has taught my child.  She has been to a refresher class each year and has since learned to swim as well as float.  Luckily, she hasn't had to use her survival skills for any accidental falls into the pool.  She has however, had a great time playing in the pool, fully supervised by adults, and swimming to her heart's content.

Right now, Infant Swim Resource, is in the running for a grant from Pepsi.  This would allow them to teach survival skills to underprivileged children who may not have access to lessons otherwise.

I have a button at the top of my sidebar.  You can go and click once a day to vote for this program.  You can also vote by texting a number to Pepsi.  It is also listed when you click through.

(The video is also on that page for you to watch!)

I am a true believer in giving kids tools in life to keep them safe.  I think this is a great program for helping to keep them safe...and alive.

P.S.  Please don't tell me I am a bad parent by teaching my kids to swim early in life.  I am not using swimming lessons as a way out of being a good parent who supervises my children.  I just want them to have EVERY CHANCE TO SURVIVE SHOULD AN ACCIDENT OCCUR.
I just had to say this.  Believe it or not, there are people who don't believe in teaching their kids to swim.