There are few things that go hand-in-glove better than water safety and early childhood education. Swimming lessons for toddlers, infants, and preschoolers is a topic all of us need to learn about and share with our loved ones.

It’s sad, and an all too commonplace occurrence to read about needless toddler drowning stories. It’s incumbent upon all of us as parents or grandparents, or anyone who knows a child who can’t swim, to get that child necessary live saving skills. There are numerous free (or low-cost) preschool swimming lessons offered around the globe in most every community.

One simple example is of a two-year old boy, who had been seen asleep at 7:30 a.m., was found lying unresponsive in a pool an hour and a half later that morning. Had the boy learned important water safety skills, he might have had the capability to roll on his back to float and cry so someone could hear him or he might have been able to reach and hold the edge of the pool.

You may be surprised to learn that classes on how to float in water are taught to toddlers as young as 18 months. This is the life saving skill that all children need to have. An easy lesson to teach every child is never go to the water without an adult.

This is the a big part of the story of the Josh the Otter book that has been given to literally thousands of children around the United States and educates them and their parents. But more need to learn. It is something that is not thought about as much as it should be, but is the first thing that should be taught in early childhood education about water safety.

Another point that needs to be recognized is how fast a drowning can occur, no matter how innocent the circumstances. There are numerous statistics about how many drowning accidents occur outside of pools and lakes or bathtubs. We must teach our children and grandchildren to be cautious around water. We must also teach ourselves as parents and grandparents to keep our guards up, no matter the situation.