HOUSTON – One of the best ways to spend a sunny summer day is at the pool, but how do you make sure kids are staying safe?
“My kids love to swim. My baby loves the water and she scares me a lot cause she wants to just jump in, which she don’t know anything about swimming,” said Kyrie Andrus.
Kyrie lives in a northwest Houston apartment with her two daughters, who are ages 7 years and 15 months. The complex has a pool but no lifeguard, which is a common combination. That’s why when she heard about the YMCA's free Safety Around Water program taking place at their pool, she quickly decided to have her children attend.
“My oldest was kind of scared but when I told her about it, she was willing to do it,” said Kyrie.
When asked if she’s ever been scared of the water, her daughter, A’Najah McCrea, said, “When I first got in it.”
Though learning to swim is part of being safe around water, the real name of the game is what to do if you can’t swim.
“We actively go out to apartment complexes and we teach children safety skills in the event that they are swimming and they become fatigued or in the event that they don’t know how to swim and accidentally fall into the water,” says YMCA spokesperson Heather Saucier.
“You go on your back. You make a starfish. You put your stomach up. You look at the sky. Then we gotta try to float by ourself,” said A’Najah.
It’s just one of many techniques A’Najah will learn that will all come together to allow her to say, “Now, I’m not scared anymore.”
The YMCA will be providing these lessons throughout the summer at different apartment complexes. At each location, the free lessons will run Monday through Friday.
