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Your donation of $120 help us save and transform lives through the gift of swim lessons! Help us keep swimming lessons available to everyone in our community, regardless of their ability to pay.
FREE SWIM LESSONS – June 1
As part of National Water Safety Month, the YMCA of Greater Nashua is amplifying its commitment to water safety education and drowning prevention. This initiative will culminate with a free Water Safety Day event on Sunday, June 1 at the Merrimack YMCA. Join us from 11am to 2pm for FREE swim lessons and water safety tips, to prepare you and your families to be water smart as we prepare for summer and all things water safety! Swim Lessons will focus on safety in and around water and will focus on the two self-rescue benchmark skills, to learn to swim to safety and exit if they fall into a body of water. The benchmark skills are, swim, float, swim (sequencing front glide, roll, back float, roll, front glide and exit) & jump, push, turn, grab.
Registration is required for swim lessons. Click Here to Register!
WITH SUMMER AROUND THE CORNER
WATER SAFETY SHOULD BE TOP OF MIND
The YMCA of Greater Nashua is offering tips for parents to keep kids safe in and around water this summer.
May is National Water Safety Month. When the weather starts to heat up, the pools, lakes, oceans, rivers and other bodies of water start calling! While swimming can be a very enjoyable activity this summer, it is important to remind all parents and caregivers of the importance of water safety. The YMCA of Greater Nashua is sharing these six tips on how children can stay safe in and around the water.
As we share Water Safety information with our community, our goal this year is to make sure that everyone has access to swimming lessons and tips on how to help us eliminate fatal drownings in our community. Our successful Adaptive Swimming Lesson program helps us expand our reach of programming so that everyone has the opportunity to learn to be safe around water while our Water Watcher Pledge helps to provide guidelines for better ensuring the safety of others while they enjoy the water this summer and beyond.
Tip # 1:Make sure children know to always ask permission before going in or near the water.
Teaching your children to be water smart is the first step in water safety – be sure they understand the importance of asking permission before going in or near the water.
When children are swimming, make sure they are actively supervised at all times. Teach your children that they should only swim in locations where a lifeguard is on duty, or where a responsible adult agrees to watch the children in the water without distractions.
Whether it’s bath time or taking a dip in a pool or waterfront, make sure your children are within arm’s reach at all times.
Children should not hold their breath for a prolonged amount of time while swimming, as this can be dangerous.
Inexperienced or non-swimmers should wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket.
If an adult or child finds their friend in deep water unexpectedly, their natural reaction may be to jump in the water to try to save them. Even if they are a great swimmer, a panicked person will overpower them, pulling the rescuer underwater. The Y’s Safety Around Water program teaches the “reach, throw, don’t go” concept of using a long object to reach for them and pull them to safety. By using this technique an adult or child can help their friend without compromising their own safety.
Phones Down, Eyes Up™
Responding to a text. Answering a work email. Watching a reel. Making a grocery list. Quick actions that will take just a few seconds, but seconds can quickly become a distraction. And distractions around the water can have major consequences. In fact, 88 percent of all drownings happen with at least one adult present. That’s why families should always assign a Water Watcher—an adult who is not distracted by their phone, conversations, or alcohol—who can maintain constant visual contact with all children playing in or near the water. This summer, the Y wants all parents and caregivers to remember, that your eyes can save lives. Phones Down, Eyes Up™ while at the pool, lakefront, or ocean.
Visit PhonesDownEyesUp.org to take the pledge and learn more about the layers of protection you can put in place to help keep kids safe around water, this summer and all year long.
“As ‘America’s Swim Instructor,’ the YMCA of Greater Nashua annually teaches more than 3,500 children and adults valuable water safety and swimming skills,” said Nathan Fink, Chief Mission Advancement Officer. “Now more than ever, it’s important to remind parents and caregivers that water safety needs to be top-of-mind as families start to return to their favorite summertime activities,” he said.
Be a Water-Ready Family
The Y wants to ensure all families are ready for a fun and safe summer. To do that, we’re helping families become “Water-Ready” by developing water safety skills that help reduce the risk of drowning and build confidence and competence in and around water. Visit ymca.org/watersafety to learn more!
Did You Know?
- • 9 in 10 parents see swimming as an essential life skill, yet 24% have low confidence in their kids’ ability to stay safe around water.
- • Parents and guardians have a critical role to play in teaching their kids water safety skills – but they don’t have to do it alone! With more than 110 years’ experience equipping people with the skills they need to stay safe in and around water, the Y is America’s most trusted swim instructor. Each year, the Y teaches more than one million kids life-saving swimming and safety around water skills.
To learn more about the YMCA of Greater Nashua’s Safety Around Water and Y Swim Lessons program, visit our Swim Programs Page.
DONATE TO TRANSFORM LIVES
Your donation of $120 help us save and transform lives through the gift of swim lessons! Help us keep swimming lessons available to everyone in our community, regardless of their ability to pay.