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When our daughter Ruby was six months old, we enrolled in Red Cross lessons at our local pool. Those first few lessons were tough, with a crying unhappy baby but we stuck with it. Very quickly Ruby started to gain confidence, and with that a love of the water. She is so proud of every level she completes and looks forward to spending time at the pool each week. This past winter Ruby started synchronized swimming, and those Red Cross swimming lessons helped her pick up the choreography and strokes more quickly.  Those basic swimming skills are the foundation of all water activities like diving, snorkelling, paddle boarding, skim boarding and more. 
 

Ah August, when summer is in full bloom. It’s a beautiful time of year with hopefully plenty of sun and heat. It is also the time when you have to start thinking of autumn. For us, that means thinking of activities for our son, particularly swim lessons.
 

We all know the importance of actively supervising children around water. Drowning is one of the leading causes of unintentional death for Canadian children ages one to four, and statistics show that two-thirds of toddler and infant fatal drownings happened during an absence in supervision. So what does active supervision mean when children are in, on or around water?

Do you imagine drowning to be splashy and loud, with arms flailing and screams for help, as perhaps seen in a movie? If you thought you could hear if a loved one was drowning, you would be sorely mistaken. The reality is that someone could be drowning a few feet away from you and you wouldn’t know it – because drowning is often silent.

As many of us Canadians are experiencing, winter months can be cold, icy and snowy – and all we want to do is bundle up and stay warm.  A natural tendency, for sure, but did you know wintertime is a great time to learn how to swim? Here's why.

Leduc teen Rebecka Blackburn was enjoying an afternoon with family at the North Saskatchewan river in Devon in July 2018 when she noticed a man swimming in the water was in trouble. She didn’t hesitate to jump in and pull him to shore.

At the Red Cross, we have been teaching swimming and water safety in Canada since 1946. We give people the knowledge and confidence they need to stay safe when they are on, in, or near the water. We also provide the training and skills for a fun and rewarding job – lifeguarding!

A lot of Canadians enjoy outdoor activities from hiking or biking to camping and so much more that our beautiful country offers. While enjoying, however, keep in mind some factors to be aware of, such as sun, bugs and accidents, which can be more challenging to handle outside. Prevention is key, and planning properly for outdoor adventures can minimize risks to fully enjoy our country's nature!