OBJECTIVE: The aim of this longitudinal study was to determine how children's participation in swim lessons impacts parents' appraisals of children's drowning risk and need for supervision. METHOD: Parents with 2-5-year old children enrolled in community swim lessons completed the same survey measures up to 4 times over an 8-month period. RESULTS: Multilevel regression analyses examining temporal relationships between parents' perceptions of their child's swim ability, supervision needs around water, and children's ability to keep themselves safe in drowning risk situations revealed that as children progressed through swim lessons, parents' perceptions of their child's swim ability and their belief that children are capable of keeping themselves safe around water increased. Further, the relation between parents' perceptions of swim ability and judgments of children's supervision needs was mediated through parents' judgment about their child's ability to secure their own safety near water. CONCLUSIONS: As parents perceive their child to be accumulating swim skills, they increasingly believe that children are capable of keeping themselves from drowning, and as a result, that less active parent supervision of their child is necessary. Implications of these findings for intervention efforts to counter this unwelcome way of thinking that may arise through continued participation in swim lessons are discussed. Incorporating a parent-focused component into children's learn-to-swim programs to promote more realistic appraisals of children's supervision needs and drowning risks may further enhance the positive benefits that swim lessons have for children's safety.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this longitudinal study was to determine how children's participation in swim lessons impacts parents' appraisals of children's drowning risk and need for supervision. METHOD: Parents with 2-5-year old children enrolled in community swim lessons completed the same survey measures up to 4 times over an 8-month period. RESULTS: Multilevel regression analyses examining temporal relationships between parents' perceptions of their child's swim ability, supervision needs around water, and children's ability to keep themselves safe in drowning risk situations revealed that as children progressed through swim lessons, parents' perceptions of their child's swim ability and their belief that children are capable of keeping themselves safe around water increased. Further, the relation between parents' perceptions of swim ability and judgments of children's supervision needs was mediated through parents' judgment about their child's ability to secure their own safety near water. CONCLUSIONS: As parents perceive their child to be accumulating swim skills, they increasingly believe that children are capable of keeping themselves from drowning, and as a result, that less active parent supervision of their child is necessary. Implications of these findings for intervention efforts to counter this unwelcome way of thinking that may arise through continued participation in swim lessons are discussed. Incorporating a parent-focused component into children's learn-to-swim programs to promote more realistic appraisals of children's supervision needs and drowning risks may further enhance the positive benefits that swim lessons have for children's safety.
Authors: Léa Mekkaoui; Christophe Schnitzler; Michel Sidney; Joseph Gandrieau; Fabien Camporelli; François Potdevin Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-05-19 Impact factor: 4.614
Authors: Khaula Khatlani; Olakunle Alonge; Aminur Rahman; Dewan Md Emdadul Hoque; Al-Amin Bhuiyan; Priyanka Agrawal; Fazlur Rahman Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2017-05-11 Impact factor: 3.390