Every Child Should Be Able to Swim!

The world's largest ocean is our front door. Yet not everyone can swim. That's a shame and it's dangerous. I believe every child in Santa Monica must learn to swim. Those lessons should be free for each and every child. What's more, we need to have a robust special needs program, and we need to work individually with every young resident to make sure they feel safe and comfortable in the water. Each child should be able to rescue themselves and help others.

Let's talk specifically about a program to help our most vulnerable kids and use all three of our municipal pools for instruction. We will need qualified instructors of the highest level that care about the kiddos and want them all to learn how to swim. There are some very severe special needs kids within Santa Monica schools, both public and private. It is way easier to teach children when they are smaller, have less fear, are less self conscious, and less concern about what others think of them, beginning at the first grade level.

For our children without special needs, swim lessons can even begin in third grade. Pasadena, for instance, has an excellent program that Santa Monica can emulate. Each child receives 15 special water safety and learn-to-swim lessons. They learn safety around pools, the beach and other bodies of water. No child should ever drown, but the fact is that 10 people drown every day in the United States. According to Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, participation in formal swim lessons leach skills that can save lives and reduce the likelihood of childhood drowning by 88%. Once students are certified swimmers they would receive free passes to our municipal pools as a reward and to help them develop a love of swimming as a life goal.

It is proven that swimming will help our special needs children with their verbal skills and improve their in-class concentration. Swimming does make a difference for children of all abilities.

Attainable goals for all children in Santa Monica

Develop a joy of the water, better bone density, exercise as a lifelong skill, the joy of solitude, freedom, increased tactile input and a skill that they could use throughout their school careers and their lives overall.

This is an attainable quality of life issue.