The X Effect

When kids are young, open water is not as much of a danger for drowning as are pools. As they get older, and learn how to swim safely in controlled water (pools), the danger for them doesn’t end. It simply shifts to uncontrolled water or open water (oceans, lakes, rivers). Once your kids are older and know how to swim, you need to shift the safety focus from the pool to open water. Swimming in lakes, rivers and the ocean is much different than swimming in a pool. Many factors contribute to these differences, such as water depths, clarity, water temperature, entanglements under the surface, currents running through the water and wildlife, among others. 

Just because kids can swim well in a pool does NOT mean they can swim well in open water. Safety focus should never stop around water, even as your child grows. It just needs to shift from a focus on pool safety to a focus on open water safety, as kids grow into the second time in their lives where drowning will again be a very serious danger for them, just from a different source. For more information on the X Factor and water safety for older kids and adults, please visit our friends at the LV Project!”

For more information go to https://www.thelvproject.org/the-x-effect