The shortage of lifeguards reported in Chicago does not appear to have spread to the suburbs. With everyone wanting to get back in the water, business is booming in Naperville.
Centennial Beach is well-staffed this summer, and new swimming facilities have opened across town. But that doesn’t mean the pandemic hasn’t taken its toll on young swimmers.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is urging families to provide multiple levels of protection for them, especially as swim classes had to be canceled in the early part of the pandemic.
During the COVID shutdowns, many local pools and park districts eliminated summer swim classes, and large numbers of parents opted to keep children closer to home to protect against infection. As water safety programs are again available, it’s an opportunity to enroll children in classes that teach lifesaving swimming and water safety skills.
Laura Naab has enrolled her two sons in swimming lessons at Big Blue Swim School, which opened recently on Naper Boulevard.
“I’m excited for them to get going. I’m sad we missed the last two summers, but they’re still young,” she said.
Ben, now 3, spent his first summer at Lake Michigan. His father, Steve, is a keen swimmer so they were planning to sign him up for lessons when COVID struck.
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“Ben loves the water so much. He calls Lake Michigan the ocean,” Naab said. “My youngest son, Luke, was born in the summer of 2020 so he’s a COVID baby really. This fall with Omicron we skipped it again, but the summer of 2022 is the summer of swimming for us!”
Ben is showing more anxiety in the pool than 1-year-old Luke.
“I think it’s because it’s different to being outside. Luke loves it and we’re staying very positive about it,” Naab said.
Rachel Roth, the owner of Big Blue Swim School, says she’s definitely noticed the impact of COVID.
“Generally, there is more fear of the water and separation from parents,” she said. “Even some experienced swimmers took two years off and are starting over.”
Roth says the best age for children to start swim lessons is as babies.
“They’re more comfortable in the water so its easier to teach them,” she said. “I definitely wouldn’t wait past two years old. Kicking in the water is the foundation and we start with that.”
Adam Norman is the owner of Clear Water Pools, a company that manages 13 subdivision pools across the western suburbs, including three in South Naperville.
“I think we are fortunate in the areas we manage that they are desirable locations so we haven’t had issues manning them with lifeguards,” he said. “It’s tough if they have to travel a greater distance, but we haven’t had a surplus like in the past. We’re very dependent on high school and college age kids and, luckily, we have a lot in the areas surrounding our neighborhoods.”
Although there were definitely less children in the pools during the first summer of the pandemic, Norman said, things got back to normal last year. He agrees that children should learn to swim as early as possible.
“Tot programs are very helpful to get them comfortable in the water,” he said. “Also, having a swim buddy can help keep them safe. We have lifeguards to prevent incidents and they are constantly making assists.”
Pediatrician Dr. Sarah Denny, author of the American Academy of Pediatrics guidance on the Prevention of Drowning, said: “”Drowning is the single leading cause of injury death for children ages one to four, and it’s one of the top causes of death for teens. In the summer, children often have more access to pools, lakes and other sources of water — all of which pose a drowning risk.”
The academy offers the following drowning prevention tips to parents:
Children can benefit from swimming lessons as young as age 1, but parents should gage their child’s maturity, health concerns, water exposure and readiness to determine the exact age.
Close supervision is important. Assign an adult “water watcher” who can pay constant attention.
Keep all buckets, bathtubs and wading pools empty at home. For toddlers, some of the biggest drowning risks are in the house, including tubs and toilets.
Home pools should be surrounded by a four-sided fence with a self-latching gate.
Adults and older children should learn CPR.
Children and adults should wear?U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets?whenever they are in open water or on watercraft.
Parents and teens should?understand how using alcohol and drugs increases the risk?of drowning while swimming or boating.
“We can’t drown-proof kids so it’s important to make sure that there is fencing and other barriers around water to make sure children can’t get into water when unsupervised,” Denny said. “When a young or unskilled swimmer is in the water, a water watcher or parent should be within arm’s length. Even when a child has learned to swim, water watchers should keep them in view constantly while swimming.”
Hilary Decent is a freelance journalist who moved to Naperville from England in 2007.
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