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North PortAquatics manager highlights "Float for Life" program for infants and toddlers
Summary
Float for Life teaches infants and toddlers foundational floating milestones; Northport Rotary sponsored training and the program feeds into the city's learn-to-swim curriculum.
Devon Poulos, aquatics manager for North Port Parks and Recreation, told the City Commission on July 3 that the North Port Aquatic Centeroffers a program called Float for Life designed to teach infants and toddlers how to float and survive accidental submersion.
Poulos said unintentional drowning is the leading cause of death nationally for children under age 4 and that Float for Life focuses on teaching milestones that start with floating before introducing formal swimming. The program is aimed at children ages 6 months to 4 years, she said.
—Float for life is a program that we teach that starts with the fundamentals of floating before we actually learn swimming,— Poulos said. —We want them to get comfortable in the water, and if they accidentally fall in the water or find themselves in a trouble situation, they can roll over their back and float.—
When North Port launched the program, Poulos said the city was the only provider in the state teaching that milestone progression. She credited the Northport Rotary for sponsoring the program and for paying for a trainer to travel from Nebraska, where the program originates.
Poulos described the milestone progression and the graduation test: after advancing through the milestones, children demonstrate the skill by jumping in fully clothed, rolling onto their backs, floating and calling for help, then move into the city's learn-to-swim classes.
The presentation was given as part of Parks and Recreation Month recognitions and public information about aquatic-safety programming; no commission vote was recorded on the program.
