Swimming lessons for tots saved lives, study finds
Friday, March 6, 2009 - 18:56
in Psychology & Sociology
Some people believe even babies should be taught to swim to help protect against drowning. Others say swimming lessons too early in life could decrease a child's fear of water and give parents a false sense of security, thus increasing a toddler's risk of drowning. A long-awaited study published March 2 concludes that swimming lessons for children ages 1 to 4 lowers the risk of drowning. The study looked at the association between drowning and swimming lessons in people ages 1 to 19 in six states. Interviews were conducted with the families of 88 children who drowned between 2003 and 2005 and with the families of 213 control children who were the same age and gender and lived in the same county as those who drowned.