7 Ways to Teach Your Kids About Water Safety
We started Goldfish Swim School with the mission to help children be safer in and around the water. Even during these unprecedented times, drowning prevention remains a top priority of ours, as more than 70% of child drowning incidents occur at homes.
While we might not be able to swim with our Goldfish Families right now, we know there is still so much we can do to ensure more children learn about the importance of water safety! Our pools may be closed, but that doesn’t mean the progress has to stop.
In celebration of National Water Safety Month, we’ve come up with some creative ways to bring our community together virtually to spread the important message of water safety awareness. Here are seven ways you can teach your kids about water safety:
Virtual Swim Lessons
As part of our commitment to water safety, we recently launched Goldfish At Home-a series of swim-inspired exercises families can do from their living room! Kick off Water Safety Month by diving into our latest at-home adventure on YouTube, which focuses on teaching swimmers of all ages how to be safe in and around the water. While your child is busy staying active and having fun, you can feel confident they’re also doing some serious learning, too!
Story Time with Bubbles
Have you ever heard the story of the fish who wouldn’t swim? Head over to Facebook for a special story time with everyone’s favorite Goldfish! Believe it or not, Bubbles wasn’t always a fan of the water-that is, until he learned how to swim. Now, he wants to show all of his friends swimming is safe when you know what to do.
Printable Water Safety Activities
Make a splash during arts and crafts with our printable activity pages! We’ve added some new activities your little fish will love, including a matching game that teaches kids about W.A.T.E.R. safety rules, along with themed coloring sheets, crossword puzzles and more!
Make Waves for Water Safety
On International Water Safety Day (May 15), start a ripple effect and update your profile picture on Facebook to help us create a wave of awareness for water safety.
Goldfish Family Game Night
At Goldfish Swim School, we believe learning should be fun. That’s why we developed the Science of SwimPlay®, our unique approach to play-based learning that helps kids build life skills in, and out of, the water.
As a fun way to teach kids about water safety, we’re getting our Goldfish Family together for a virtual game night on May 29 at 6 PM ET, and everyone’s invited! Tune in for some family-friendly trivia on Facebook Live, and play along for the chance to win some special prizes.
Live Water Safety Q&A
We even have something special planned with parents in mind, too! Mark your calendars and join us on May 20 at 12 PM for a Live Water Safety Q&A on Instagram led by two moms who have dedicated their lives to drowning prevention: Goldfish Swim School Co-Founder Jenny McCuiston and Nicole Hughes, who founded Levi’s Legacy after tragically losing her son to a drowning accident in 2018. Tune in to join the conversation, connect with other parents and have your questions answered by our water safety experts.
Virtual W.A.T.E.R. Safety Presentations
Many of our swim schools are taking their W.A.T.E.R. Safety programs online and hosting free, fun and interactive water safety presentations for local elementary schools, daycares and other community organizations. Contact your local Goldfish Swim School to learn how you can schedule a virtual W.A.T.E.R. Safety presentation for your group.
We hope you’ll join us in celebrating National Water Safety Month, and use this opportunity to teach your kids about the importance of water safety. With summer right around the corner, we hope activities like water safety classes and items laid out above will help prepare your family for the many adventures that await.