And the most important messages for older children involve swimming lessons with water safety competence as an essential life skill to be taught to all children; there are notable disparities in access to swimming lessons, and drowning rates are higher in minority populations. Anyone involved in activities on water where there is a current (tubing on a river, for example) should be wearing one of those life vests. In fact, she said, parents need to understand the importance of continuing to model safe behavior as their children get older. Ms. Gage said that the only laws that regulate life vests are connected to boating — so people tend to assume that there’s no need for life vests in other open water activities. Since I spoke with her two years ago, she has become a strong believer in the value of swimming lessons for young children.

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Persons: ”, Gage, it’s, “, Hughes, — Organizations: Guard, Families United Locations: United States