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Pediatricians group: It's okay to teach tots to swim
For so many years, the American Academy of Pediatrics was opposed to teaching toddlers under the age
of 4 how to swim. This largest group of pediatric doctors felt that teaching a toddler to swim would give the tot and his or her parents a false sense of security.
Now, the AAP has relaxed its stance, saying that some studies suggest that teaching very young children to swim may actually prevent drowning. In this Associated Press story, Connie Harvey, who heads aquatics development for the American Red Cross, said that parents should choose swim programs that emphasize water safety and require that a parent or adult be in the water with the child.
It's about time the AAP came to this conclusion. Both my sons took swim lessons before they were 1 with their dad in the pool with the wonderful Miss Edie at the YMCA. The program always emphasized safety -- one of the first things the kids learned was to go back to the wall if they felt in distress -- and they always had someone in the pool with them until they were old enough to be in there by themselves. My friend Sharon has always preached the importance of teaching your kids to swim -- especially since every other person we know seems to have a pool.
Even now, when they are both strong swimmers, I still am happy that friends who have big parties with lots of kids in the pool hire lifeguards or I have my eyes on them to make sure they are all right.
That's just the thing: Nothing replaces parents being careful and watching out for their kids. It doesn't take a pediatrician to teach us that.
-- Sherry Robinson
[Times files]
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THE AUTHORS
Sharon Kennedy Wynne has sunscreen in her blood. She may have been born in Buffalo but she got here as fast as she could, in time for kindergarten. She grew up in St. Petersburg, graduated from the University of Florida journalism school, and even got married at Sunken Gardens. She's one of the few adults we know who actually loves taking her kids to the beach. She has two sons and with 10 years of parenting under her belt, she's starting to feel a little less out of her league. She comes from a large family and loves to debate, so brace yourself when the hot topics come up.
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Freelance writer Courtney Cairns Pastor wasn’t so sure about having kids and how she would balance child-rearing with her journalism career. It turned out that her journalism training went to good use. As the mom to a funny, active toddler, she learned to handle him like she did her sources. Never ask yes or no questions (the answer will always be no), get him to be specific (are you crying because you’re wet or your tooth hurts?) and be prepared for anything because no two days are the same. When she’s not playing trucks, Courtney crams for her book club, trains for races and occasionally bursts into showtunes. E-mail her at 
Suzannah DiMarzio has it bad for the Mouse. Although she grew up outside of Boston, she took her degree in tourism management down to Orlando just to work at Disney and the travel industry. Of course, when she married her high school sweetheart, the reception was at Disney. She’s now a seasoned stay-at-home mom to two tweens and a toddler – and yes, that is as crazy as it sounds. Suzannah has her own blog, Comment Policy
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