Drowning Prescription

Thank you AAP for once again making me feel inadequate and scaring the you know what out of me! I must be in a foul mood today. I put my oldest in swim lessons for a year and he still needs a little help. I haven't put my three-year-old in yet. It's too expensive. I can't listen to Dave Ramsey and the AAP. Sometimes I feel like it's impossible to be a good parent and make wise financial decisions. Ugh! On a more important note, when did your kids learn to swim?

FROM NBC:The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that children learn to swim at a young age. Some pediatricians are re-enforcing that recommendation by prescribing swimming lessons for their young patients. All children ages 1 through 4 should have swimming lessons according to a recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics--new this summer in an attempt to decrease the number of drownings.

Dr. Nicole Aristy, Pediatrician: "It's definitely a huge risk here being close to water and everybody has a pool." Pediatrician Nicole Aristy of Children's Medical Center now talks to parents of young children about water safety--gives them a water smart babies booklet and writes them a prescription for swimming lessons. Dr. Nicole Aristy, Pediatrician "It's like you have an ear infection, here you need amoxicillin and they do it, so handing them a prescription even though they know they won't take it to a pharmacy it's, 'I'm being told I have to do it. they're giving me a prescription. This must be important.'

" It happened this May to Ray Sabrino's 2-year-old son while they were all in the pool. Ray Sabrino, Father: "I took my eye off of him for like 45 seconds and when I realized the floatie dis-inflated and made him flip over so when I went to grab him he was unconscious and he wasn't breathing. I had to give him CPR."

After talking with her pediatrician today, 5-year-old Kelvina Oakman's mother now has a plan. "Take her to swimming lessons because she loves the water." Diana: "You're going to learn to swim. Are you excited?" "Yes." Experts say teaching young children to swim is a must. It doesn't mean they're drown proof. there's no substitute for adult supervision.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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