Looking for Free Safety Around Water (SAW) lessons at the Duluth Area Family YMCA?
Look no further!
If your future swimmer is in need of free swim lessons due to barriers caused by finances, transportation, or availability of adults please contact lthoreson@duluthymca.org or call 218-722-4745 ext 524 so that we can assist you!
Please take a look at our 2024 Swim Program Dates
What Is Safety Around Water (SAW)?
SAW is composed of six 40-minute sessions to reduce the risk of drowning by giving children confidence in and around water. The program is geared for unintended entries into the water and safety. Our goal is that if a child falls in, they can swim, float swim, tread, and exit the water. The levels build on skill sequences to enable a child to help save themselves or tread/float long enough for help to arrive.
This 6-day course, taught by a certified instructor, teaches children two sets of skills that will reduce the risk of drowning and give them confidence in and around water. A typical session includes:
- Exercises to help children adjust to being in water
- Instruction in “Jump, Push, Turn, Grab” and “Swim, Float, Swim,” two skill sets children can use if they unexpectedly find themselves in the water
- An activity that teaches children about specific safety topics such as pool rules and boating safety
- A fun game to encourage comfort and activity around water
Each lesson includes a handout for parents and caregivers with additional water safety tips- typically found through the organization we partner with.
YOUTH SERVING ORGANIZATIONS
If you are a youth serving organization and you are looking for swim lesson programming, please contact cfroemke@duluthymca.org at the Downtown Duluth YMCA or lthoreson@duluthymca.org at the YMCA at the Essentia Wellness Center for more information!
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PARENTS: KEEP YOUR CHILDREN SAFE
Drowning can happen nearly anywhere with water. But, as a parent or caregiver, you can’t keep your children sidelined. You need to equip them with the tools they need to be confident in and around water so they don’t lose out on the health benefits of exercise, the opportunities to bond with family and friends and the sense of accomplishment when they learn new skills. The Y encourages parents to take an active role in their child’s safety by ensuring they learn how to swim and by practicing these safety tips when in and around the water:
- Never swim alone or without a water watcher. When children are swimming, make sure they are actively supervised at all times. Teach your children that they should only swim in locations where a lifeguard is on duty, or where a responsible adult agrees to watch the children in the water without distractions.
- Supervise your children whenever they’re in or near water. Whether it’s bath time or taking a dip in a pool or lake, make sure your children are within arm’s reach at all times.
- Don’t engage in breath holding activities. Children should not hold their breath for a prolonged amount of time while swimming, as this can cause drowning and has several other severe physical side-effects.
- Wear a life jacket: Inexperienced or non-swimmers should wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket.
- Don’t jump in the water to save a friend who is struggling in deep water. If a child finds their friend in deep water unexpectedly, their natural reaction may be to jump in the water to try to save them. Even if a child is a great swimmer, a panicked person will overpower them, pulling the rescuer underwater. The Y’s Safety Around Water program teaches the “reach, throw, don’t go” concept of using a long object to reach for them and pull them to safety. By using this technique children can help their friend without compromising their own safety.