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Red Cross Water Safety & Swim Instruction

Category

Child & Family Health

Child's Age

0-1 years, 1-2 years, 2-3 years, 3-4 years, 4-5 years

Participant

Children, Parents/Guardian

Languages

English

Brief Description

Water Safety and Swim Instruction build basic water safety skills for both parents and children under age 5. Access and participation in these programs have been shown to decrease the number of child drownings, promote children’s comfort in the water, and increase parent and child knowledge of water safety skills and foundational and survival swimming concepts.

Expected Impact

  • Fewer drowning incidents involving young children
  • Reduction in unsafe water behavior by children and parents

Core Components for Model Fidelity

  • Swim Instruction:
    • A series of classes provided by an American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor.
    • Classes must be offered at a regulated aquatics facility/pool with the appropriate number of trained and certified on-duty lifeguards.
  • Parent and Child Aquatics 
    • For children 6 months to about 3 years
    • In-water parent/caregiver-assisted experience
    • Follows the American Red Cross Swimming and Water Safety Skills curriculum
  • Preschool Aquatics
    • For children about ages 4 and 5
    • Follows the American Red Cross Swimming and Water Safety Skills Curriculum
    • During their swim lessons, children will spend time on the following six levels:
      • Level 1: Introduction to Water Skills: Students will learn how to feel comfortable in the water and safely enjoy it.
      • Level 2: Fundamentals of Aquatic Skills: Children will learn basic swimming skills.
      • Level 3: Stroke Development: Additional guided practice will help students improve their skills.
      • Level 4: Stroke Improvement: Kids will gain confidence during swim lessons, improve their stroke and gain additional aquatic skills.
      • Level 5: Stroke Refinement: Guidance allows kids to refine their strokes and become more efficient swimmers.
      • Level 6: Swimming and Skill Proficiency: Students will learn to swim with ease and efficiency and gain the ability to swim smoothly over greater distances. Swimmers will also have the option to participate in more advanced courses.

Languages Materials are Available in

English

Delivery Mode

In-person swim lessons.

Dosage

Swim lessons at least 30 minutes per week of in-water instruction for a total of at least 4 hours of in-water swim instruction.

Infrastructure for Implementation

Space: Swim instruction must occur at a regulated aquatics facility with the appropriate number of trained and certified on-duty lifeguards.

Staffing Requirements

Water Safety Instructors are required to hold the Water Safety Instructor certification from American Red Cross. The certification course may be delivered in a hybrid setting or in-person, typically delivered over 3 days. Participants in the Water Safety Instructor certification training course must be at least 16 years of age by the end of the course and complete the pre-course session, which includes demonstration of swimming skills in Learn-to-Swim Level 4.

Training for Model Fidelity

The Water Safety Instructor certification from American Red Cross is the gold standard for swim instructors. The training course covers topics such as: water safety at public pools, homes, and natural bodies of water; hydrodynamics; basic safety, survival, and swimming skills; helping people with disabilities and health conditions enjoy the water safely; stroke mechanics; basic water rescue; and more.

Contact Information

https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/

Cost Estimates

Water Safety Instructor certification courses cost about $300 per participant.

Purpose Service Code (PSC)

5505 - Parent Education

Program Identifier (PID)

Red Cross Water Safety & Swim Instruction

Minimal Outputs for NCPC Reporting

FY 24-25:

  • Number of children participating
  • Number of parents/guardians participating†   

†Select Family Support Programs data collection will include basic demographic data for parent/guardian participants including Race, Ethnicity. Data on interpretation and transportation will be collected when appropriate.

Minimal Outcomes for NCPC Reporting

FY 24-25:

  • Increase of child practice of healthy behaviors

Minimal Measures for NCPC Reporting

FY 24-25:

  • Red Cross Water Safety Classes and Swim Lessons Measure

NCPC Evidence Categorization

Evidence Informed– Industry Standard

Research Summary

In 2009, Brenner et al. conducted a case-control study in order to determine if there is an association between children taking swimming lessons and the risk of drowning. The researchers analyzed cases of unintentional drowning in children between the ages of 1 and 19. 88 families of children that had drowned completed interviews and were matched with 213 control families. The interviews collected information on water exposure, swimming ability, formal vs. Informal swim instruction, child development and temperament, risk taking, medical conditions, and household characteristics. For the children between 1 and 4 years old, 3% had completed formal swim lessons versus 26% of the control group children. Additionally, race, income, education, temperament, risk taking, and having a medical condition were associated with risk of drowning as well. When analyzed the researchers reported that when children between the ages of 1 and 4 participated in formal swim lessons, the risk of drowning was reduced by 88%. Informal and formal swim lessons were differentiated between and there was no statistical association between informal instruction and risk of drowning. Limitations of this study include the limited number of interviews that were able to be completed and the small number of children that had participated in formal swimming lessons.

Researched Population

  • Children ages 1-19 years whose death was identified as unintentional drowning

Clearinghouse and Compendium References

N/A

Brenner, R. A., Taneja, G. S., Haynie, D. L., Trumble, A. C., Qian, C., Klinger, R. M., & Klebanoff, M. A. (2009). Association between swimming lessons and drowning in childhood: A case-control study. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 163(3), 203-210. https://www.doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2008.563.

Additional training opportunities from the American Red Cross:



Local Partnerships Currently Implementing

Local Partnerships in purple have adopted Red Cross Water Safety & Swim Instruction. Local Partnership contact information can be found here.