Baton Rouge experts emphasizing the importance of the water safety heading into colder months

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Drowning safety is top of mind for safety experts. In fact, the American Red Cross finds in the United States, 10 people die each day from unintentional drowning, and on average two of them are under the age of 14. A number of organizations are stressing the importance of teaching your children water safety, and exposing them to water early in life.

Crawfish Aquatics is one of the organizations in the Capital Region emphasizing the importance of getting children exposed to water at a young age. They offer swim lessons seven days a week year-round.

Crawfish Swim School CEO Shelly Rogers said there is no set age at which your child will start swimming across the pool. At just six weeks old, they can teach your child how to blow bubbles and put their face in the water.

At just six weeks old, Crawfish Swim School can teach a child how to blow bubbles and put their face in the water.

She said swimming is all about relaxing, and the more that a child is relaxed in the water, the easier it is to teach them to float. Being able to float in a horizontal position is really the only way a child can move safely toward the side of the pool if they fall in, she added.

“It’s okay to get water in your nose,” said Rogers. “We teach the children how to get that out, how to blow properly out of their nose and out of their mouth and how to relax and the head positions and the body positions that keep them in a really safe way to swim back. It’s natural to have a fear, it’s just something that’s unknown. But it’s also very natural for our bodies to float in water.”

Crawfish Swim School CEO Shelly Rogers explains some common misconceptions parents and community members have about children learning to swim.

Classes range around $25 a session. You can also sign up for a semester and get charged monthly.

If you think you might have a hard time affording classes, Rogers said you can give them a call and they’ll figure out how to get your child in.

The YMCA is also making sure families know the importance of water safety education and teaching children how to swim.

President and CEO Christian Engle of the YMCA Baton Rouge said this information is important year-round as there are many heated and indoor pools. Anyone from six months old and up can sign up for a swim class.

YMCA is offering water safety education classes with certified instructors.

Kids will learn about what to do if their friend is in trouble, what to do if they’re approaching water, and what to do around the pool, boat, river, or lake.

Efforts continue as they try to bring water safety education into schools.

“Probably the thing that we’re the most excited about right now is we actually started this last year and we’re continuing it this year, but we’re on a mission right now to teach every second grader in the EBR school system how to be safe around the water so that something that will start doing annually in partnership with EBR schools,” said Engle. “We’re also doing it in partnership with Zachary school system and the West Baton Rouge school system.”

He said a CDC Foundation grant is allowing them to do this work for free.

The YMCA is trying to make sure families know this water safety education is important year-round and making sure children know how to swim.

Their goal is to make sure every child knows how to swim and how to be safe around the water.

If you’re interested in taking swimming classes at the Y, they start for members at $75-$80 for eight lessons and they go up from there.

They also offer financial assistance.

All instructors at both organizations are certified.

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