Louisiana leads nation in deaths
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – With Louisiana ranking as the highest state in the nation with deaths from drowning, the Slidell City Council invited an expert on the topic to speak to the council at their most recent meeting, highlighting the critical need for parents to get kids swimming lessons at a young age during May, National Water Safety month.
Rachelle Nurse, owner of Goldfish Swim School that offers a nationally recognized method of swimming lessons for all ages, presented a serious account of drowning deaths to the City Council as she urged those listening at the meeting, and online, to realize how important it is for parents to get swimming lessons for their children.
“Kids need to learn as early as possible how to swim because we have all seen too many stories about swimming deaths, especially in Louisiana,” Nurse said. “Drowning is a serious issue in Louisiana because we have so many waterways. We can reduce swimming deaths by 88 percent if kids learn to swim.”
Nurse pointed to the recent drowning death of a local teenage boy right in Slidell during the past year.
“Some parents think it is too early for a 4-month-old to learn to swim, but we teach them all the time,” she said. “We dunk them in the water, and they come right up smiling. When you start early, you eliminate the fear of water from children.”
Nurse said that if parents wait until their child is four or five-years-old, “they already are afraid of the water. That’s why it is so important to get swimming lessons early.”
Nurse has been making the rounds in St. Tammany Parish to speak to city council groups, as well as other organizations during National Water Safety month.
The Goldfish Swim School in Covington is offering free family swim nights to help raise awareness of the need for swimming lessons.
“Our goal and mission is to save lives,” she said about Goldfish. “And yet, sometimes it is hard to get moms to recognize how important this is.”
Goldfish, now with over 150 swim schools across the country, has a trademarked method of teaching swimming lessons known as the “Science of SwimPlay Curriculum,” and not only teaches swim and safety skills, but also builds character.
They have a “shiver-free” pool kept at 90 degrees in a glass enclosed facility, with one instructor for every four children.
Louisiana has the highest drowning rate for children in the U.S. and is one of the top five unintended deaths for children ages 0 to 5. There are nearly 4,000 drowning deaths each year in the U.S.—about 10 per day, and 25 percent of them occur at family gatherings.
“Many kids do not have access to indoor swim schools,” Nurse said. “That’s why we have a free family swim night and also offer scholarships for lessons since we will not let a child walk away if they can’t afford lessons.”
Nurse was thanked by council members for the presentation, something they especially appreciated after the drowning death in Slidell last year, then another Slidell teenager who drowned only a month ago.
You can get more information on the Goldfish swim lessons at:
Goldfishswimschool.com/Covington
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