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Is Your Child Safe in the Water?
With summer fast approaching, is your child safe in your own pool? Child Water Safety and Survival School Encourages Children to be Safe
British Swim School of Greater Philly Splashes the Focus on Water Safety Month
Child Water Safety and Survival School Encourages Children to be Safe In and Around the Water
Richboro, PA May 11, 2016 - On average, 3,533 people die as a result of drowning each year and most of those deaths are children under the age of four in backyard swimming pools. The best way to prevent drownings is to learn not only swim skills, but to develop survival skills. With May serving as National Water Safety Month, British Swim School of Greater Philadelphia, the pioneer of non-traditional infant water safety program that provides gentle and fun teaching methods, is encouraging parents to not be fearful of the water but instead equip children with the skills to safely enjoy water playtime.
The more confident a child is around the water, the less likely an incident will be to occur but regardless, accidents do still happen and it is vital that parents heed the following tips leading into the warmer summer months:
1) Adult supervision: Appoint a designated “Water Watcher” to monitor children during social gatherings at or anywhere near pools. Always maintain visual contact. Use the buddy system when necessary.
2) Don’t depend on floaties or inflatable toys: Parents should be fully aware that flotation devices are not a substitute for supervision.
3) Be prepared: Keep rescue equipment poolside. Don’t wait for the paramedics to arrive because you will lose valuable lifesaving seconds. Knowing CPR ahead of time can save lives!
4) Start them young: Teach children water safety and swimming skills as early as possible so they have the best chance to survive a water accident. Even babies can learn how to flip on their back.
5) Protect the pool space: Do not leave chairs or other items of furniture where a child could use them to climb into a fenced pool area.
“We cannot stress enough the importance of parental supervision when children are around the water,” said Stu Gelbord, franchise owner of British Swim School of Greater Philadelphia. “All too common is the story of one parent thinking that the other had eyes on the child. Our mission is not only to provide quality and innovative water survival skills to Bucks County children but also to teach parents and family members to be responsible water watchers.”
At British Swim School of Greater Philadelphia, each child, regardless of age, is placed in their correct skill level and will have certain achievable objectives that must be reached before moving onto the next. The children learn survival skills first and only when those skills are completely mastered do they begin learning the swim strokes.
“We focus on survival skills before anything else because, in the end, that’s what truly counts,” Gelbord continued. “We make the lessons enjoyable for the children but still keep the focus on skills that could save their life in the event of an emergency.”
In response to the growing demand for water safety incentives, British Swim School launched a strong system-wide initiative in 2015 that focuses on instilling responsibility around the water. When a parent, child or family member is holding a “Water Watcher” badge, it is their duty to be diligently surveilling the pool. The pass not only gives children a sense of accountability, but it ensures that someone has their eye on the water at all times.
British Swim School is the first and largest concept of its kind to have created a unique water safety program with teaching methods that serve as a trademark for the brand alone. Instructors are dedicated to teaching water safety techniques in a gentle, fun, but highly successful way. The franchise operates lessons out of multiple national fitness chains and hotel pools year round and, based on the premise that children progress at different rates, does not run on “set courses” but rather on the level that best matches their comfort and ability in the water.
For more information about the British Swim School of Greater Philadelphia, visit our website at britishswimschool.com or call our office at (215) 422-3338.
About British Swim School
For 35 years, British Swim School has been dedicated to teaching water survival skills to children as young as three months old. Rita Goldberg, a former national swimmer in Britain, founded British Swim School in 1981 and developed the unique and highly effective teaching methods that are a recognized trademark of the brand alone. Headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., British Swim School currently operates out of 83 pools in 14 states in the U.S. and Turkey. Since first launching a franchise program in October 2011, British Swim School has been ranked in Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500, Top 50 New Franchises, and the Top 10 Types of Franchises to Watch in 2015. British Swim School is aligned with the Safer Water Safety Foundation, whose mission is to protect every life from drowning through education and heightened water safety awareness. For more information about British Swim School and the franchise opportunities, visit www.britishswimschool.com or www.franchise.britishswimschool.com, and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BritishSwimSchools.
