Toddler Swim Instruction May Prevent Drowning

Taken from Aquatics International. By Kendra Kozen April 2009

A new study substantiates what aquatics professionals have long believed, and it may change the stance of a key pediatrics group. Researchers say swim lessons for young children do not increase their risk of drowning; they apparently help prevent it.
“We found that fewer of the children who had drowned had participated in formal lessons,” said Dr. Ruth Brenner, lead author of the study from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, based in Bethesda, Md. “Exactly why swim lessons appear to offer a protective effect is unclear, but certainly they did not seem to do any harm.”
The study examined children ages 1 to 19. It’s one of the first in the nation to look at connections between swim lessons and drowning. Researchers evaluated coroner reports and interviewed surviving relatives of young drowning victims. They compared those cases with a control group of youngsters from the same communities.
“This is the scientifically derived data that we’ve been waiting for,” said Johnny Johnson, owner of Blue Buoy Swim School in Tustin, Calif.
Published in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (March 2009), the findings indicate that formal swim training could reduce drowning risk in children ages 1 to 4 by more than 85 percent. Lessons appear to have a similar protective effect in older children, but results weren’t statistically significant.
As a result, the American Academy of Pediatrics is considering revising its position on swim lessons for very young children. A draft of a new policy, written by Dr. Jeff Weiss, a pediatrician at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Arizona, currently is under review.
“Basically, because of concern over parents dropping their guard when it comes to supervision, the AAP currently does not recommend swimming lessons before age 4,” said Dr. Weiss, a former member of the AAP’s Committee on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention. “But Dr. Brenner has a significant background in this area. [She authored one of the earlier swim lesson policy statements], so the literature is being considered.”
Regardless of policy, experts agree, swim lessons are just one part of multilevel prevention.
“Being a skilled swimmer doesn’t make a child ‘drown proof,’” said Brenner, adding that among the 5- to 19-year-olds in the study, 48 percent of those who drown (11 of 23) were reported as able to swim 50 feet.

Crazy Times!

These just might be the craziest business times I will ever see in my lifetime! Some of the things that I am hearing just don't make any sense! Take for example the pool project that I was asked to quote last week. A couple had gotten a proposal for a design that they liked and wanted a second quote to compare it against. I priced the project for them and they told me that my price was $50k above the other proposal! The point here is that there is not even $50k in profit in the job! What we are seeing is that many pool companies are undercutting jobs BIG TIME in an effort to get cash through the door. The end result is going to be very bad for the client. In this particular case, the company that I am bidding against is owned by a guy that has had FIVE different pool companies in this area! He gets the job started, collects a big check, and closes the doors walking away with tens of thousands of dollars! Everyone in the industry knows about these guys (there are several in the Austin area) but the homeowner only sees dollar $igns so they never check them out!

We know that this downturn is going to end at some point, hopefully soon. In our case, we are still doing everything that we can to provide you with the best project for your money. The bottom line is that we are not the right company for everyone, and we have never tried to be for everyone. We build only custom, one off, projects and we have not changed in 9 years. If you are looking for the lowest priced pool, lets not waste each others time. If you are looking for a high quality custom pool, patio, fireplace, or anything else to do with your backyard, then lets talk and see if we are right for each other. We have built projects from $25k to $500k with the average being about $100k. We do not have a minimum price but we do have standards that we will not compromise on. We provide value for your dollar and have a long list of very satisfied clients that will attest to that.

Give us a call to set up an appointment at 512-335-7665 if you would like to discuss your project. Thanks, Bob