LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – With the official start of summer, thousands of children are on vacation, which means many are hitting the pool or the beaches.
With that comes a big reminder for parents about water safety.
“These kids live here in Central Florida. They are part of our community. We are all surrounded by water, right? There are waterways, pools, the beaches,” Tajiana Ancora-Brown said.
Ancora-Brown is the Director of External Affairs at Walt Disney World where the world’s largest swimming lesson took place on Thursday at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon waterpark.
A thousand children from seven non-profits, including Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida, participated in Thursday’s event, considered the biggest yet.
The goal is to spread water safety awareness especially since drowning is considered the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 in Florida.
“It’s difficult to put in words just how important water safety is because the data is showing that preventable drownings are very high among children,” Ancora-Brown said.
Ancora-Brown explained a lot of the children who participated on Thursday have never had a swimming lesson and some have never been in a pool.
Grisell Carballido Lamadrid is Walt Disney World’s General Manager of Waterparks and explained the importance of water safety.
“It’s so important that kids start swimming at a young age just for their safety and just for the safety and happiness of all their families,” Carballido Lamadrid said.
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