Katie Girten is a Safe Start instructor at the YMCA. Here are her tips for why you should get your infant swimming now. 

  
1. Drowning is silent. The movie scene of someone screaming and thrashing about is not a reality, silence is all that you get.

2. Florida loses more children between the ages of 0­-14 to drowning than any other state.
This is because we are surrounded by water; rivers, lakes, pools, oceans.

3. Each year enough children to fill 3 or 4 preschool rooms drown & DO NOT live to see
their 5th birthday. Of all of these children 63% are of ages 4 years and UNDER.

4. A child will lose consciousness approximately 2 minutes after submersion.
IRREVERSIBLE brain damage occurs after 4­6 minutes.

5. The Safe Start program is available at local YMCA’s across Central Florida. Most
recently added to the Suntree and Cocoa areas. Safe Start teaches survival in swimwear and in street clothes because accidents can happen at any time. Safe Start IS the most comprehensive survival program in the country. Having financial issues? Scholarship is available. Our motto is “Not one more child drowns in Central Florida.” Don’t think for a second that this can’t apply to you!!! Need more convincing???  I will let my co­worker Justina give you a few more reasons through the following link: K​ids Water Safety with Justina
  
Safe Start with Katie Girten