27/05/2026
A little bit different to the content I normally share, tragically 5 kids lost their life this weekend attempting to swim in open water.
Following on from my more recent ‘why your child should learn to swim post’ I wanted to share with you some facts.
Only 60% of children aged 5-16 can swim 25 meters unaided in a swimming pool and that figure is 368,000 fewer children than it was before the pandemic. That 25m is recorded in a swimming pool, not open water, with hidden currents / flows, cold water shock, no visibility, weeds amongst among other obstacles.
In the year ending March 2025 31 children aged 0-17 drowned in England.
To me, those figures are scary. Here’s some things you can do to help this:
‼️enroll your child in swimming lessons, I’m not saying with us, this is not advertisement, enroll them with any swim school, it’s no joke when I say it could one day save their life and I have personally seen this happen as well as seen moments which could have been fatal without lifeguards / experienced swimmers.
‼️keep them swimming, 25 metres is not enough, especially in open water, higher stages introduce stamina and strength, all of which increase your chances when in difficulty in open water.
‼️ teach them the RNLI’s float to live, if you get into trouble, float on your back and call for help. Our swimmers know this is something we teach at FF especially around summer.
‼️swim at lifeguarded beaches and pools wherever possible.
I understand this post is not a happy one but as an advocate for the life skill that is swimming I’d hope this could at least reach one family and inspire them to teach their child to learn to swim.
If you have any questions, or would even just like advice on extras you could be doing outside of your lessons drop me a comment / a message.
Thanks,
Elli ♥️
