Parent to Parent: Swimming Safety

WSVN -- It's swim time with Miss Julie...

Julie Gross, swim instructor: "Kick, kick, kick, kick. Yay!"

Instructor Julie Gross is teaching 3-year-olds. She tells parents, the earlier kids learn to be safe in the water, the better.

Julie Gross: "Children drown literally inches from the wall, and there's no reason for it. If you educate a child on what to do when the situation arises, they're going to know what to do."

During a five-day intensive course, Julie uses books, videos and lots of fun pals to help teach lessons like "choo-chooing" out of the pool.

Julie Gross: "If they are trained to automatically turn around, kick and reach for the wall-- do choo-choos-- and get out of the pool, they will be able to save their lives."

Po-Po the frog helps teach kids to move their arms and to kick up from the bottom of the pool. Mr. Blue helps kids learn to float on their back. All very important basic swimming skills.

Twins Abigail and Hannah love being in the water, but that wasn't always the case.

Kelly Howell, mom: "When we first started, they were extremely afraid to get in the swimming pool ... Now you can't get them out of the pool."

Julie teaches parents to re-inforce her lessons and says even if kids know how to swim, you still need a safety checklist:

-Lock doors leading to pools.
-Have an alarm set to go off if a door does open.
-When you're not swimming, keep a safety fence in place around pools.
-Never leave toys in the water to tempt kids.

Little things that can save your child's life.

Julie Gross: "The more barriers you have, the safer the child."

...and the happier your summer will be.