If you’ve ever assumed that being near your child at the pool meant they were safe, this episode might just change the way you see water forever.

I’m joined by Lindsay Mondick, Director of Aquatic Safety for the YMCA of the USA and a lifelong advocate for drowning prevention. We talk about what drowning really looks like (spoiler: it’s not like the movies), why so many tragic incidents happen with adults present, and how something as simple as putting your phone down can be the difference between life and death.

She joins me to discuss:

• Why drowning is quick, silent, and often missed even with supervision nearby
• The “Phones Down, Eyes Up” campaign and what every caregiver needs to know
• How to build layers of water safety from swim lessons to life jackets to water watchers

Whether you’re a pool regular, weekend beachgoer, or backyard splash pad fan, this conversation is a must-listen for every parent this summer.

To connect with the YMCA follow them on Instagram @ymca; TikTok @ymcaofficiall; Facebook @TheY and YouTube @ymca. Learn more at Phonesdowneyesup.org

00:00 – 01:18 Why This Conversation Matters

01:19 – 02:37 Meet Lindsay: A Lifelong Water Safety Advocate

02:38 – 04:35 The Pandemic’s Impact on Drowning Risk

04:36 – 06:14 Why Proximity Isn’t Enough

06:15 – 08:32 Active Supervision: What It Looks Like

08:33 – 10:16 Are Lifeguards Enough?

10:17 – 12:14 Strong Swimmers Still Need Supervision

12:15 – 13:41 The Hidden Dangers of Lakes and Open Water

13:42 – 15:53 What Drowning Really Looks Like

15:54 – 19:55 The Power of Prevention and Real-Life Stories

19:56 – 22:31 Swim Lessons: How Early Is Too Early?

22:32 – 27:14 Teaching Adults to Swim (And Why It Matters)

27:15 – 30:07 Bridging the Gap in Underserved Communities

30:08 – 32:04 One Simple Habit That Can Save a Life

32:05 – 36:15 Minimizing Distraction Without Guilt

36:16 – 39:10 Final Thoughts + Taking Action

Our podcasts are also now on YouTube. If you prefer a video podcast with closed captioning, check us out there and⁠ ⁠subscribe to PedsDocTalk⁠⁠.

Get trusted pediatric advice, relatable parenting insights, and evidence-based tips delivered straight to your inbox—join thousands of parents who rely on the PDT newsletter to stay informed, supported, and confident.⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

And don’t forget to follow⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠@pedsdoctalkpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram—our new space just for parents looking for real talk and real support.

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on the⁠ ⁠PedsDocTalk Podcast Sponsorships⁠⁠ page of the website.

00;00;00;00 – 00;00;20;00

Lindsay Mondick

A research study said that 68% of parents say that they were distracted by at least their smartphones at some at some point. Right. And 20% of parents said that this happened often, and I can attest to that. Right. Like I am a parent and I will say, right, like, that that’s happened to me. And so we at the Y, we’re just like, what can we do?

 

00;00;20;00 – 00;00;39;14

Lindsay Mondick

Right? We know that we do swimming lessons really well. We provide access to communities, but how can we educate parents about the importance of supervision? And then came along, you know, this idea, phones down, eyes up to really have a national campaign to bring awareness to the fact that we need to supervise our kids around around water.

 

00;00;39;16 – 00;00;58;27

Dr. Mona

Hi, everyone. Doctor Mona here, your pediatrician and and mom friend. And welcome back to the PedsDocTalk odcast, whether this is your first episode or your hundredth, I’m so glad you’re here and a gentle reminder to hit subscribe and download your favorite episodes so they’re always with you when you need them. Today’s episode is an important one, especially if you’re spending more time around water.

 

00;00;58;27 – 00;01;18;05

Dr. Mona

This summer. We’re talking about drowning prevention and a powerful campaign called Phones Down, Eyes Up, led by the YMCA of the United States. Now, listen, I know these conversations can sometimes feel loaded. Like we’re being told, don’t use puddle jumpers. Don’t take your eyes off them for a second. Don’t even glance at your phone. And I’ll be honest, I have friends who use puddle jumpers.

 

00;01;18;05 – 00;01;45;29

Dr. Mona

I’ve been on my phone near my kids at the pool, but for me, this isn’t about perfection. It’s about awareness and vigilance. It’s about knowing how quickly things can happen and how to build layers of safety that actually work in real life. Joining me today is Lindsay Montag, director of aquatic safety at the YMCA. And we’re having a grounded, real world conversation about what active supervision looks like, how to reduce distraction without guilt, and how parents, no matter their swim ability, can be a part of the solution.

 

00;01;46;02 – 00;01;53;14

Dr. Mona

Pun intended. Let’s dive in.

 

00;01;53;16 – 00;01;57;26

Dr. Mona

Lindsay, thank you so much for joining me today for such an important conversation that we’re about to have.

 

00;01;57;27 – 00;02;00;25

Lindsay Mondick

Yeah, thanks for having me. I’m so excited to be here.

 

00;02;00;28 – 00;02;07;09

Dr. Mona

And so what is the most exciting part of being a part of the YMCA and this campaign for you?

 

00;02;07;11 – 00;02;37;06

Lindsay Mondick

Yeah, well, I’ve been in aquatics most of my well, all of my adult life. I started as a lifeguard when I was, 15 and a swim instructor when I was 16. And so aquatics and water safety has always been just a passion of mine. And now, I am just so fortunate that I’m leading a national organization, in, in their drowning prevention efforts and, fulfilling one of my life’s passion and my life goals, goals and helping to save lives along the way is is a great perk to that, too.

 

00;02;37;08 – 00;02;57;19

Dr. Mona

Oh, yes. I love turning your passions into advocacy and keeping people alive and safe. I think that’s a beautiful combination and you know, this campaign, the phones down, eyes up. It’s to raise awareness about how digital distraction can become deadly around water. What inspired this campaign and what message are you hoping to drive home for families this summer?

 

00;02;57;24 – 00;03;22;15

Lindsay Mondick

Well, we know that one of the interventions that we can do to keep kids safe is, is supervision, right? And, after after the pandemic, we saw nationally that there was an increase by almost 30%, between 2019 and 2022. And in drowning during the course of the pandemic. And, you know, some experts believe, in part, that this was due to the all the distractions that we had.

 

00;03;22;15 – 00;03;47;05

Lindsay Mondick

But also, kids were home, right? Kids were with us. There wasn’t that external support or supervision that, you know, of external, caregivers. And so parents were trying to balance, you know, work child care at the same time. And, and those of us who were trying to do this while watching our kids and in a very hot summer, you know, there were drownings.

 

00;03;47;05 – 00;04;08;00

Lindsay Mondick

And so we’re out of the pandemic now. But distractions, of course, are still there. And so we, and in fact, we know from research, a research study said that 68% of parents say that they were, distracted by at least their smartphones at some, at some point. Right. And 20% of parents said that this happened often, and I can attest to that.

 

00;04;08;00 – 00;04;35;10

Lindsay Mondick

Right. Like, I’m a parent and I will say, right. Like, that that’s happened to me. And so we at the Y, we’re just like, what can we do? Right? We know that we do swimming lessons really well. We provide access to communities, but how can we educate parents about the importance of supervision? And then came along, you know, this idea, phones down, eyes up to really have a national campaign to bring awareness to the fact that we need to supervise our kids around, around water.

 

00;04;35;12 – 00;04;54;11

Dr. Mona

And when you reached out to me, you know, so I guess very in many different ways on the show, either that I know them from social media or I have a form where people can pitch ideas. And I saw this and I immediately was like, yes, let’s, let’s get this on. I would love for this to be debuting in the summer and I love how you’re talking about the relate ability that we’ve all been there, right?

 

00;04;54;11 – 00;05;13;14

Dr. Mona

I mean, I think every parent can say that they have been distracted, whether it’s by a cell phone, talking to another adult. And these things can happen more when there’s more people. Right? You know, obviously the talking, but the cell phone is a reality. And you could be with your kids at the pool alone, you know, not really talking to another adult, but that cell phone can really consume you.

 

00;05;13;14 – 00;05;32;00

Dr. Mona

Is there something about the cell phone in general? You know, the the concern about that, that was like, hey, we really need to get parents to be aware of this. And, you know, is it the scrolling that they end up doing is that they just forget to look up? Like, what is it about that cell phone that is even more concerning than maybe even just talking to a friend in front of you, right when your children are in the pool?

 

00;05;32;00 – 00;05;52;10

Lindsay Mondick

Well, I think all parents can relate, right? Right. We grab our phones thinking, well, quickly respond to a text, or will quickly you just check our, you know, Instagram, or, or an email that just came through and, and 30 minutes later, we, we are like, absorbed into something, right? And and distractions around the water can be dangerous.

 

00;05;52;10 – 00;06;14;21

Lindsay Mondick

And our phones, you know, and other devices can be a distraction for parents and caregivers. And so, we also know that 88% of drownings happen when there’s at least one adult present, right? And 50% of children drown within 25 yards of a parent or adult. Right. So you put that together, and that is it is really where the danger lives.

 

00;06;14;21 – 00;06;32;22

Lindsay Mondick

And so again, phones down. Eyes up is that way. For us to give that layers of an additional layer of protection. Right. We know fences help. We know life jackets help. You know swimming lessons help. But we also know supervision is key. And so how can we do do better?

 

00;06;32;24 – 00;06;58;29

Dr. Mona

What a great segue to my next question. Because you just said, you know, like it’s happening so commonly with people, they’re like a grown adults are there and yet you’re seeing the drownings. And that sounds too hard to hear, you know, that, hey, I was supposed to be watching and that guilt can be there. And I haven’t met a family who’s had a either, you know, drowning without any impairment or actually fatal drowning that has had so much guilt around that experience, you know, that it was that split second moment that they weren’t paying attention.

 

00;06;58;29 – 00;07;15;15

Dr. Mona

Right. So many parents assume that being physically near their child at the pool or beach counts as supervisor supervision, but not all supervision is created equal as we’re chatting about. So what does active supervision really mean in water settings to you and the YMCA with this campaign in general?

 

00;07;15;19 – 00;07;33;28

Lindsay Mondick

Yeah. Well, I like to think about it in two different ways. Right. We we think about it in terms of our child swimming ability first. Right. And if they’re non swimmers we need to be within reach supervision of that child. Right. And that and or that child should be in lifejacket like a coastguard approved jacket. Right.

 

00;07;34;00 – 00;07;47;26

Lindsay Mondick

That layer of protection. But if they’re swimmers, right, we don’t want as a parent, I have a 14 year old. Right. And I don’t want to be like it within reach supervision of her because that impedes her fun. But, we want to have a what?

 

00;07;47;29 – 00;07;50;14

Dr. Mona

Yeah. Hey, sweetie. I know it’s your friends, but hold mommy’s.

 

00;07;50;16 – 00;07;54;12

Lindsay Mondick

Hand when you’re 14. That doesn’t look cool for, protein. Yeah, yeah.

 

00;07;54;12 – 00;07;55;24

Dr. Mona

Like mom. Come on.

 

00;07;55;26 – 00;08;17;12

Lindsay Mondick

But I think, you know, then you think about the water watcher, right? So, yeah. Designate somebody who is who is identified as the person who is going to be watching that group of children or who is assigned, and that is their only job. Their job is not to talk right to their friends. I mean, you can have a quick conversation, but you should be watching the pool.

 

00;08;17;14 – 00;08;32;27

Lindsay Mondick

So. And what does that look like? Like if I’m in a large group with at a pool party or at a, at the beach with friends, right. Short periods of time. Ten minutes. I’m the water watcher. My job is to watch those kids, and then I give that role to somebody else, and I can go and join that group.

 

00;08;32;27 – 00;08;46;27

Lindsay Mondick

Right. And that’s realistic. I think as a parent, if I can have ten minutes where I’m just focused and then I can go about and have fun, with the rest of the adults or, or, you know, the group that I’m with.

 

00;08;46;29 – 00;09;06;23

Dr. Mona

Now, let’s take a quick break to hear from our sponsors who support helps us keep bringing you this show. Oh, I love that. And, you know, I somehow end up being the water watcher whenever I go to parties. And I think it’s because I’m the pediatrician and I’m more obsessed about this stuff, and I don’t mind it, you know, because I like sitting and that means I can sit and I can just watch.

 

00;09;06;23 – 00;09;29;12

Dr. Mona

And I enjoy watching children in a non creepy way in terms of like, you know, what they’re doing development, you know, how they play Unsubs by default, I joke that I end up being the water watcher and then I do tag out, you know, and have my friends or someone else. But I love what you’re describing. And I’ve also gone to a lot some events, I live in Florida where people hire lifeguards to be at the event.

 

00;09;29;12 – 00;09;34;24

Dr. Mona

Is that appropriate? That’s obviously a certified life, water watcher, or is that something that you wouldn’t recommend?

 

00;09;34;27 – 00;09;57;04

Lindsay Mondick

Yeah, I think anytime we can add a layer of protection. Right. Lifeguards being one of those, the the better. We’re we’re or, you know, creating that safe, that safe area for kids. I think the other side of this right is lifeguard role is prevention. But we still as parents have the role of supervision. Right. So I think sometimes when we go to pools, right.

 

00;09;57;04 – 00;10;16;15

Lindsay Mondick

Even as a lifeguard, like my, you know, my role as a lifeguard isn’t necessarily to watch every child. My role, if there’s 60 kids in the pool. Right. My job is are 60 people in the pool. My job is to watch everybody and look for those, behaviors that flag to me that they could they could be in trouble.

 

00;10;16;16 – 00;10;33;04

Lindsay Mondick

Right. And so you have to remember, if you’re there with your child, your number one focus is your child. My goal is to watch 50, right. And and so we have to have that give and take and understand as a parent that supervision is still key no matter if there’s a guard or not.

 

00;10;33;08 – 00;10;48;10

Dr. Mona

Yeah I love that. Thank you so much because I always they’re there but I’m still the water watcher. Like even though they’re like oh I’m a guy I appreciate. Like you know if it’s a like a bigger party with a lot of kids, they say, hey, there will be a lifeguard. And I’m like, I love it. But, you know, my little two year old still learning very much so.

 

00;10;48;17 – 00;11;03;12

Dr. Mona

And, you know, my other question is, you know, you talked about having like a 14 year old who knows how to swim. So just say it’s a pool of children who know how to swim like they are avid swimmers. Do you still feel like it’s important to have the water watcher and then explain why that might be or not?

 

00;11;03;12 – 00;11;19;24

Lindsay Mondick

Yeah, absolutely. You know, swimming is one layer of protection. It’s not the only. And this will still happen. You know, I, I’ve been a swimmer for most of my life, and I can say a few years ago, we go on a vacation with my extended family to, to a lake in northern Minnesota, where I’m from.

 

00;11;19;24 – 00;11;39;20

Lindsay Mondick

And, and we had an event where, a boater, almost hit our boat. And so some of us had to jump off the boat because we were so fearful and, and, like, oh, like even then. Right. Like drowning can still happen. That’s a different situation. Open water, right? Boats involved. But if you’re at a pool, like, things can still happen.

 

00;11;39;20 – 00;12;00;12

Lindsay Mondick

You can, not feel well one day or somebody can get a cramp, right, or somebody can hit their head. Especially with teenagers. Right. They are a little bit more risk taking. And the risk for a teenager is actually in drowning is more in natural bodies of water than pools. Because they, they tend to recreate in, in open spaces more.

 

00;12;00;12 – 00;12;01;26

Lindsay Mondick

Right. So I think.

 

00;12;01;26 – 00;12;04;22

Dr. Mona

Like meaning boating or other activities on top of being on water.

 

00;12;04;22 – 00;12;14;06

Lindsay Mondick

Right. And so I think adult supervision is still key, no matter the age. And providing those layers of protection. So.

 

00;12;14;09 – 00;12;38;06

Dr. Mona

Yeah, my husband’s a er, doctor in Florida. And it’s the summer here as we’re recording this, and every time he comes home, I’m like, hey, how your shift? He’s like, I, I’m just seeing so many drownings. And I’m like, what age? And he’s like, I saw a nine month old who was in like a low didn’t die, but like, you know, just was kind of had an aspiration pneumonia from being in water, like, fell in like a splash pad level of water, you know.

 

00;12;38;13 – 00;12;50;12

Dr. Mona

But then he’s also like, yeah, a lot of grown adults and I’m like, where are they happy? You know, just like to know like where is it happening? He’s like open water. He’s like, I don’t think I’m ever going to go on open water. Like as a New York, you know, you start to see patterns and you’re like.

 

00;12;50;17 – 00;13;13;22

Dr. Mona

And I’m like, yeah, like what sort of behaviors were there? Like what was happening? Like obviously on open water with grown ups and, and alcohol use and all of that, that adds another layer of concern. But I love that you’re talking not just about pools. You know, obviously when people think drowning them, most people are going to pools, maybe ocean, but like, yeah, like open bodies of water, the lakes, the, you know, the boating, all of that is very heavy right now.

 

00;13;13;25 – 00;13;15;06

Dr. Mona

And it’s such an important conversation.

 

00;13;15;06 – 00;13;41;28

Lindsay Mondick

Yeah. Yeah. I, I just say, right, all of those things, we have to be aware of our surroundings and the skills and the tools that we need change based on that environment. Yeah. And, and that’s really one of the roles of this campaign. Right. For, for the why is just to educate parents on the importance of supervision, not just phones down, eyes up, but all of those different layers of protection, that we should think about when we go near water.

 

00;13;42;01 – 00;14;00;11

Dr. Mona

Yeah. And me and you both know, drowning is often silent, meaning they’re not going to be like, help. I’m drowning. I’m drowning. Which is obviously like the misconception from, like, a lot of movies and TV shows. It’s silent. I mean, and like you said, it could be a lot of people in a pool and that kid is going under and no one knows.

 

00;14;00;13 – 00;14;13;14

Dr. Mona

It’s quick and it doesn’t look like what most people expect. So can you walk us through what a drowning event can actually look like, and why? Those brief moment of distractions, like checking your phone, can be catastrophic in an instant.

 

00;14;13;17 – 00;14;45;08

Lindsay Mondick

Yeah, like you just said, right? Drowning is sudden and silent and, it can happen in a few seconds to a few minutes. Right? And, I have I write lifeguard training curriculum. Right. So I, help write curriculum to inform lifeguards of what drowning looks like. And often when I’m, thinking about visuals. Right. To prepare lifeguards to understand that drowning doesn’t look like, you know, TV shows, that it often looks like a child playing in the water, like they’re bobbing, but they’re bobs.

 

00;14;45;08 – 00;15;04;13

Lindsay Mondick

They can’t get a breath. Right? So they’re jumping and bouncing and trying to get to safety. And it might look like they’re doing somersaults right. Or. But they’re doing everything they can to try to get themselves to the surface for air. You know, things that we, we tell our lifeguards to look for, is a weak stroke, right?

 

00;15;04;13 – 00;15;23;26

Lindsay Mondick

With their head held high out of the water. But they’re not doing any sort of formal over arm recovery, like when you’re thinking of freestyle or front crawl. Right. And they’re not they don’t really have a strong kick. So like a somersault hits all of those boxes, but it looks like play, right? Yeah. We also look for, for other visual signs.

 

00;15;23;26 – 00;15;42;16

Lindsay Mondick

So we might look for, people who have hair in their eyes. Right. Because they don’t have the energy to push their hair back. Right. Or, or they have that anxious, glassy look in their face like, you know, and, and in rare cases, rare cases is that they’re waving for help, but that is that doesn’t necessarily happen.

 

00;15;42;16 – 00;15;53;08

Lindsay Mondick

They’re not yelling, they’re not screaming. They’re not waving. Their behavior just looks more erratic. And they they can’t maintain that buoyancy at the surface of the water.

 

00;15;53;10 – 00;16;02;18

Dr. Mona

Yeah. Very helpful. And then obviously it sounds like a no brainer, but because it’s so quick, those moments of distraction. Yeah. Like checking your phone makes that happen in just an instant.

 

00;16;02;18 – 00;16;04;11

Lindsay Mondick

Right? Yes. Absolutely. Yeah.

 

00;16;04;11 – 00;16;26;15

Dr. Mona

So one of the benefits I’ve seen on social media, right. Social media can be good and not so good. There’s a lot of misinformation around things like dry drowning, all this stuff. But whatever. One of the things I’ve been seeing a lot of are families posting videos from their backyard. You know how maybe they have like a monitor or like some sort of security camera of their children getting into the water and then being rescued, meaning it happened by accident, right?

 

00;16;26;15 – 00;16;44;11

Dr. Mona

So they got on video and they’re sharing it on social as almost like an awareness campaign of their own right to show how fast these moments can happen. And I think it’s really it’s really useful because I don’t think if scares it shouldn’t scare people. It should make you more cautious and understand that, especially the smaller the kid.

 

00;16;44;13 – 00;17;07;24

Dr. Mona

I mean, we talk, we’re talking about drowning, like obviously people in the pool together, but we’re talking also about at a party. If you have like a toddler and like they are just curious and most kids and a lot of the drownings that I’ve seen that have been fatal in my in my age group, you know, down here has been between 18 months and three years, you know, under four because of that mobile mobility.

 

00;17;07;26 – 00;17;31;02

Dr. Mona

They obviously are very curious and they’re very freaking quick. Yes. Exactly what we’re talking about here. And I think those videos are really important. And I think, you know, if you’re listening to this, I have some on my social. I’m sure I’m sure you can find them online, but it’s just really important to remember that it is extremely fast and to remember how fast your kid is is going to also equate to how fast they can get into water, right?

 

00;17;31;02 – 00;17;52;21

Dr. Mona

I mean, they if they can get to one room in your house to another room and you’re like, whoa, where’d you go? They can get out of a back door into the, you know, into a pool that’s not fenced or the fence is unlocked or there’s an item that can they can get up over the fence. Those are all things that I have seen and heard in the stories that I’ve seen in my career with drownings, and it’s about advocacy that we’re both trying to do.

 

00;17;52;21 – 00;18;12;24

Dr. Mona

You know, these things are momentary. They happen so quick, but it is about understanding that it can happen to anyone. And I think when we get complacent and think, well, it’s not going to happen to me, I’m very careful and you could be, but it happens to the best of parents that they all of a sudden, you know, made one minor mistake and then it was costly.

 

00;18;12;24 – 00;18;17;12

Dr. Mona

And I think that’s such an important thing to remember. When we think about these safety education pieces.

 

00;18;17;14 – 00;18;43;07

Lindsay Mondick

Yeah. I couldn’t agree with you more. And I think you know, when we think back to as I opened with the pandemic, and one of the things that we saw, and we heard from actually the computer, the CPSC was that there were more backyard pools, right? So not just in-ground pools, but people who are going to the local store and buying those quick pop up pools that they could put in their backyard.

 

00;18;43;07 – 00;19;03;16

Lindsay Mondick

Right. And those have typically very low edges where where kids could get in and, and most people did not put fences around them, or didn’t think about all of those things. Right. Related to locking your door, self-closing self latching gate. Right. Putting an alarm on your back patio door if you have, a new pool in your backyard.

 

00;19;03;16 – 00;19;30;20

Lindsay Mondick

And so, the just like we have, you know, I’m, I’m far away from having a toddler these days, that I remember all of the things I did. Right. I was that parent that put, everything on the doorknobs and, and tied my TV back to the wall, right. And my dressers and etc.. But if we have the backyard pools, we need to think about alarms, and we need to be thinking about fencing and, and all of those things to help protect, protect those youth, because it’s it’s right.

 

00;19;30;20 – 00;19;44;14

Lindsay Mondick

Like supervision. We can’t we have to go to the bathroom. Right. And and that’s as quick as it can happen. The child can slip out and run to the pool, and and have an accident. So, I couldn’t agree with you more.

 

00;19;44;14 – 00;20;03;03

Dr. Mona

Yeah. I mean, the first ever drowning, fatal drowning that I had was in a picky rotation that I did when I was a medical student. And it was years ago, like over 15 years ago now. But that kid’s name, his age, his cold hand when I held his hand, the mom, the cries that I heard in that pic.

 

00;20;03;03 – 00;20;23;18

Dr. Mona

You will never leave my head. Like, ever leave my head like. And it’s just that one piece. Of course there’s been patients after that, but that one patient and that instance was they were having a family party. And the distraction is there, right? Probably. Who knows if there was phones and the child got through the back door, which I can’t the parents didn’t have an alarm, or maybe they didn’t hear the alarm.

 

00;20;23;18 – 00;20;39;06

Dr. Mona

Whatever it was, I can’t remember that detail, but the child got through the back door, ended up in the pool, and then they were looking for him. And mom had said that she literally turned around to get him a snack and and then got distracted talking to someone ended up in the pool. They realized and I’m like, it was devastating.

 

00;20;39;06 – 00;21;01;25

Dr. Mona

I mean, he unfortunately died. And I will never forget that. And I think, you know, we we as pediatricians, we, we see all of that. Does it happen all the time? No, but we know these things are preventable, like me and you are talking about. And we just want to just like you. I’m out here trying to remember, remind parents of all the scenarios that they may not think about, that may put their child at risk so that we can save a life.

 

00;21;01;25 – 00;21;19;26

Dr. Mona

And I really appreciate appreciate this conversation so far. My next question has to do with swim lessons. You know, we you talked so much about layers of protection. And I love that because it’s like that Swiss cheese model. It’s not just like, you know, you do one thing and that there’s still holes. You got to add layers of the Swiss cheese so that there’s actually protection.

 

00;21;19;26 – 00;21;43;24

Dr. Mona

So one of those things is swim lessons. What are the recommendations into how early a child can start? And how does a parent’s own comfort in the water impact, whether their child’s going to learn to swim or what may happen? They’re. Now, let’s take a quick break to hear from our sponsors who support helps us keep bringing you this show.

 

00;21;43;26 – 00;22;10;05

Lindsay Mondick

Yeah. So, at the why, we like to say it’s never too early or late to start swimming lessons, right? Because while it’s important for children to get comfortable and skilled in the water, it’s just as important for parents and caregivers to have those skills because it influences the skills of the next generation. Right. So at the why we start teaching swimming lessons, at six months and, and and that is not necessarily because that kid at six months is going to be the next Michael Phelps.

 

00;22;10;05 – 00;22;31;16

Lindsay Mondick

Right. We we know that, right? They don’t have any of the Psychomotor Right, or any of those gross motor skills to be able to do that. But what, what that lesson is for pretty much from that six months to about two years. But before they can start doing more leg action and kicking action and floating independently is is to work with the parent, right?

 

00;22;31;16 – 00;22;54;02

Lindsay Mondick

Working with the parent on how to acclimate your child to the water, how to, have fun with your child in the water, how to hold your child’s, you know, what arms. You know, arm’s length supervision is. Right. All of those important things that we’ve already talked about, so that we can build safe. Right. Kind of a, a safe ecosystem for that child to learn to swim in.

 

00;22;54;05 – 00;23;13;21

Lindsay Mondick

Once they get to that 2 to 3 stage, that’s when, you know, one and a half or seven kids, right, depending on how they develop it. But that’s when we can start working on, self self rescue. Right. Floating. The ability to get to the side, make forward progress to the side of the pool, and then start building on those skills from there.

 

00;23;13;24 – 00;23;38;14

Lindsay Mondick

So at the Y, we have a, our, our swimming lesson program that focuses on how to get like first it’s safety first and stroke second, but how to get your child to safety, how to teach that you know how to have them float. All of those water competency skills that we want to teach them to be safe first, and I’ll allude to the fact that you mentioned, right, that, like what?

 

00;23;38;14 – 00;24;11;02

Lindsay Mondick

How is it important for parents? We a study by the USA swimming, Foundation that the YMCA helped with found that if a parent doesn’t know how to swim, that there’s only a 13% chance that that child is going to learn to swim. And so that’s why we know what the why in order to get more people swimming and, and that idea of water competency, not only do we need to target the kids, but we also need to target that generation that doesn’t know how to swim, not only for the child safety, but for their safety as well.

 

00;24;11;05 – 00;24;27;27

Dr. Mona

But that study, when you you know, when I found that out, I was like, wow, that is wild. I mean, and a lot of it could be access. A lot of a lot of it could be that there’s no modeling, that that’s not something that the parent knows how to do. So maybe they don’t feel comfortable taking their child or teaching, an interesting story.

 

00;24;27;27 – 00;24;43;26

Dr. Mona

My husband doesn’t know how to swim and he’s an ER doctor. And he we live in Florida and my two kids are in swim lessons and are doing well that that they are both more avid swimmers than my husband. And I am pushing hard for him to get that that skill. And I’m like, you need to do it.

 

00;24;44;02 – 00;25;06;14

Dr. Mona

You are. I’m going to age. You are 42 years old. I know how to swim. I’ve grown up like this is something very important to me. Not even just for safety. I enjoy, you know, I enjoy it. I think it’s a great form of exercise now, but so such an important thing. And I mean, I’m grateful that I find it a priority because I tell them, like, listen, if you were married to someone who also wasn’t a swimmer, do you think you would have prioritized swim lessons for our kids?

 

00;25;06;20 – 00;25;37;07

Dr. Mona

And he’s like, I mean, how would we know? But I do think because he’s married to pediatrician mom Swimmer that thinks it’s very valuable and sees all the negative, like the concerning impact of not knowing how to swim and have rescue skills, that it was a priority. And it is still a very much priority for me. Like, I’m, I’m very, very intense on the fact that we got to get our kids knowing how to swim because we don’t have a backyard pool, but our friends do, and we go to parties and all this stuff is happening, like you said, does the why does YMCA.

 

00;25;37;07 – 00;25;39;08

Dr. Mona

I’m sure they have lessons for adults as well.

 

00;25;39;08 – 00;25;58;13

Lindsay Mondick

Yeah, yeah, we have a of for adults every age, right. Six months all the way up to as I said, it’s never too late to learn to swim. We have adult swimming lessons and and, you know, the difference is most kids come to lessons and they are excited, right? There are a few that are that have a little hesitation and we work with them.

 

00;25;58;16 – 00;26;27;22

Lindsay Mondick

But the difference is most adults that come to swimming lessons did it because they had a fear of water. They never learned, or there was some history of trauma, right? They had a traumatic experience near water. And so, that’s a different, you know, a different approach that an instructor has to take. And, we, we recently have, have really focused on that as an organization to give swim instructors kind of that understanding and build that, understanding empathy.

 

00;26;27;22 – 00;26;43;26

Lindsay Mondick

Right. Of not every adult comes to you has the same experience you did as a swimming lover. I love the water and is excited to swim, right? If you’re fearful of the water, like, it’s like walking into a room and there’s a tiger in the corner, right? Yeah. Which which doesn’t bode well for somebody learning to swim.

 

00;26;43;26 – 00;27;10;25

Lindsay Mondick

And so, yeah, you have to first come, overcome that psychological aspect to get them to learn to swim. And, and that’s, it’s one of my favorite things to do as a swim instructor, teaching adults because the payoff is, is just so exciting because, you know, you’re overcoming not only the swim skill development, or lack of access, right, to swimming lessons, but you’re helping them, enjoy a recreation.

 

00;27;10;27 – 00;27;29;12

Lindsay Mondick

You know, many of my my, my students who are adults come because they want to go on a cruise or they want to go to the beach. All right. And they want to be able to fully enjoy that vacation that they’re taking. And this is a goal. And so that’s, it’s just one of the highlights of, I think my career is teaching adults.

 

00;27;29;12 – 00;27;48;06

Dr. Mona

So I love to hear that. And, you know, going back to that stat that you mentioned about, you know, parents who don’t know how to swim, their child only has a 13% chance of learning. You know, I, I work in a very diverse socioeconomic community. Also a lot of diverse ethnic community. And it’s very common obviously, in our city.

 

00;27;48;09 – 00;28;02;19

Dr. Mona

I know a lot of my community is black and a lot of black people. A lot of my black patients do not know how to swim and don’t have access to swim. My husband, we talk about it that he grew up in a very low socioeconomic status. And he he jokes that, listen, I was trying to survive.

 

00;28;02;20 – 00;28;29;28

Dr. Mona

Swim wasn’t a priority. Like meaning in the community. It was, you know, it was an underserved. There was a lot of violence in his community that he grew up in. And so I want to respect that. So what can we do to break that cycle, especially in communities that have historically had less access to swim instructors? And are there any programs, whether it’s with, you know, the YMCA or that you know of that can help if it’s something that’s hard to get to or, you know, because of course, it requires time to be able to learn.

 

00;28;30;00 – 00;28;33;19

Dr. Mona

Or maybe it’s financially costly things that we can do to promote that access.

 

00;28;33;19 – 00;28;54;18

Lindsay Mondick

Yeah. So that same study that came out with that 13%, right, that students or children are less likely to swim. Those adults who said that they didn’t, swim shared exactly what you said. Cost is a barrier to people and access, right. There are, pools were, not necessarily built in urban areas and continue to not be built.

 

00;28;54;20 – 00;29;09;13

Lindsay Mondick

You know, there’s not as many pools in urban areas as there are in suburbs these days in the United States. When you look at the landscape and, and so the why is really working to address this through our, what we call our safety, our own water program. And our safety, our own water program is free.

 

00;29;09;15 – 00;29;33;01

Lindsay Mondick

Eight lessons. Eight free lessons, that we focus on children and, and there are programs for adults. Free or low cost program that wise across the country, used to focus on teaching children and adults how to safely get out of the water if they unexpectedly find themselves in the water. Programs are offered across the country, where the Y’s in 10,000 communities.

 

00;29;33;03 – 00;29;49;21

Lindsay Mondick

And even if you don’t have a if your listeners, you know, don’t have a line near them, there are programs like this that are, that are being offered, in communities to provide free swimming lessons, and free access to, to students to learn to swim.

 

00;29;49;24 – 00;30;08;14

Dr. Mona

Very helpful. And again, I’m going to be linking resources here because it’s not only about the kids. Like I said, I think adults, it’s a life skill. This isn’t just like although we talk about the enjoyment of recreation, swimming, it is something that I always strongly believe that it’s for survival. And we all, all, all mammals on land should know how to swim.

 

00;30;08;14 – 00;30;27;00

Dr. Mona

So yeah, we it’s definitely something important. And then, one other thing that I know we had chatted about before we started this conversation was a small but powerful safety habit that you promote is teaching kids to ask for permission before entering any body of water. What does this look like and why is this such an effective strategy?

 

00;30;27;02 – 00;30;28;15

Dr. Mona

And how can we make it part of our routine?

 

00;30;28;15 – 00;30;54;11

Lindsay Mondick

Yeah, this is something that we do every single swimming lesson that the YMCA offers. Our instructors are told to open with, teaching and talking about the importance of acting, asking permission and teaching children to ask permission really, helps children understand, right, that they never should swim alone and, yes. And, while everything’s going on, they should pause, right.

 

00;30;54;13 – 00;31;13;11

Lindsay Mondick

And and go talk to a parent. You know, it’s a key layer of protection. Get supervision. Yeah. And I when we started doing this, I, this is actually something that we added to our swimming lesson program in 2016 and something that I’m actually the most proud of. And it had immediate, I had immediate feedback that it was working.

 

00;31;13;13 – 00;31;29;13

Lindsay Mondick

I went and visited some of our Y’s who are testing our new swimming lesson program, and one of the moms came up to me during that program, and she was, she’s not at that time, she was a mom of about a three year old. And she came up to me because we were asking for feedback on how the lessons go, like in our new format.

 

00;31;29;13 – 00;31;53;25

Lindsay Mondick

Right. And she came up to me and she said, I just want to say thank you for adding the asking permission. We were at a friend’s party and my three year old wanted to go swimming, and instead of what could have been a wandering, an elopement and jumping into the pool, that three year old came and asked me and my husband for permission to go swimming, and we weren’t paying attention.

 

00;31;53;25 – 00;32;20;19

Lindsay Mondick

The pool was closed, right? There wasn’t anybody near the pool. They were all in the kitchen of this house. And she said, if that wouldn’t have happened, who knows? That child could have wandered, jumped into the pool and never been seen. And that just was the fact of it’s never too early to to reinforce that with your child, of how important it is to ask permission and, and, and practice that with your child any time you’re near water, even getting into the bathtub.

 

00;32;20;19 – 00;32;21;16

Lindsay Mondick

Right. Bath.

 

00;32;21;16 – 00;32;24;29

Dr. Mona

I’m just going to say, yeah. Like, hey, let’s do like, like for younger kids.

 

00;32;25;01 – 00;32;27;14

Lindsay Mondick

Like a high five before you get in. Yeah.

 

00;32;27;16 – 00;32;41;06

Dr. Mona

Yes. Like, this is how we connect so that I’m aware. You’re aware we all know that this is happening I love that I think it’s so valuable. And I love that you. I mean, you should be, but I love that you’re bringing in child development tips, because that’s what I love to do on my show. So thank you because that is right on.

 

00;32;41;11 – 00;32;54;21

Dr. Mona

Like there is this this permission from the parent. I mean, obviously the child’s asking permission, but there’s just connection and understanding and joint relation here that this is something that’s happening now and it’s for your safety. And I think that’s so beautiful.

 

00;32;54;21 – 00;33;05;07

Lindsay Mondick

Right. And safe. Yeah. Yes. As a parent we can’t actively watch if we don’t know. Right. And so yeah it’s that mutual understanding that hey I’m on right now I need to focus and and and pay attention.

 

00;33;05;13 – 00;33;23;06

Dr. Mona

Yeah I love this conversation so much. You have provided so many important tips and, you know, going back to the whole campaign again, the phones down, eyes Up campaign, you know, if parents are feeling that they’re judged about that, like they’re, you know, they’re taking their phone out for just a moment or, you know, all these feelings.

 

00;33;23;06 – 00;33;36;04

Dr. Mona

How can we minimize the distraction while still being able to take photos, answer tests, or text or coordinate plans, like is it using the water watch or what other tips would you have that’s relatable for that family? Who is in this situation?

 

00;33;36;04 – 00;33;53;18

Lindsay Mondick

Yeah, one thing I do is I put my phone on Do Not Disturb. Right? So one crazy way, put my phone on, do not disturb then I’m not getting outside text. You know, you can still capture those moments. You can have your camera out taking pictures. You know, but that way you can also be a little bit more attentive.

 

00;33;53;18 – 00;34;15;11

Lindsay Mondick

Right? And like I said, I. I am guilty of this. I’ve been at a pool, I’ve been in a party, I’ve been sitting next to my child at the dinner table. Right. And, and I have been on my phone. And so, the other thing that we’re doing is there’s a, there’s just the thing about accountability. Right. So at the why we put together a safety pledge at phones down, eyes up, dawg.

 

00;34;15;13 – 00;34;32;00

Lindsay Mondick

And we ask parents to commit to putting their phone down when they’re near the water this summer. And so just by hoping that, you know, you, you commit to it, that you remember when you’re by the pool, right? Hey, I committed that I am going to put my phone down and, and actually supervise while near the water.

 

00;34;32;02 – 00;34;38;02

Lindsay Mondick

It’s just a simple reminder, that we can we can put it away until the kids are out of the water.

 

00;34;38;04 – 00;34;59;04

Dr. Mona

I love it, and I myself videotape or record my kids in the water. And I’m like, for me, at some point, I’m like, oh, is that okay? And I’m like, yeah, well, obviously, because I’m seeing them through the video like I’m watching them, but sometimes they’re doing cute things and then I can still act if that’s there. And I love what you said about the Do Not disturb I because my pitfall would be getting on social like getting on an app.

 

00;34;59;09 – 00;35;15;03

Dr. Mona

And so I usually just turn off the turn off the app like you can either just like get a timer on that app. And that’s a really great thing so that you’re turning off the things if you need access to, like maybe your partner’s coming or someone’s visiting you and you need to be able to access your text, turn off the social at least.

 

00;35;15;03 – 00;35;30;19

Dr. Mona

So that’s not the dopamine scroll that you could get into and get super distracted by. So, Lindsay, amazing tips. I, I love it. I think this is so important. Where can people go to stay connected? Learn more not only about the phones down eyes Up campaign, but YMCA in general.

 

00;35;30;21 – 00;35;49;04

Lindsay Mondick

Yeah, so you can visit the phones down. Eyes up dawg, as I mentioned, you can, they can take the water safety pledge. From there, you’ll be able to actually link to, learning more about the YMCA swimming lessons program, the safety around water program, and or find the nearest Y. Find the nearest Y to you.

 

00;35;49;07 – 00;35;51;20

Dr. Mona

Awesome. And you are pretty much in every state.

 

00;35;51;22 – 00;35;54;19

Lindsay Mondick

Yeah, we have impacts in every single state.

 

00;35;54;24 – 00;35;56;05

Dr. Mona

Absolutely amazing.

 

00;35;56;05 – 00;35;59;22

Lindsay Mondick

Including, well, including territories. So in Puerto Rico, etc..

 

00;35;59;22 – 00;36;12;19

Dr. Mona

Nice. Amazing. Well, listen, I’m so grateful that y’all are doing this campaign. I’m even more grateful that your team contacted me so that we could get this out there. You know, obviously this is such important information. And thank you again for joining me.

 

00;36;12;23 – 00;36;18;00

Lindsay Mondick

Yeah, I’m so excited. And, thanks for having me. It’s been it’s been a great experience.

 

00;36;18;02 – 00;36;36;03

Dr. Mona

And for everyone tuning in such an important conversation. So what I need you to do, hit that thumbs up sign comment, say thank you to Lindsey and the YMCA for coming on today to chat about all of this. Check out all of their resources. And again, don’t forget to subscribe to this channel. And even more important because we’re trying to spread awareness is share this conversation.

 

00;36;36;03 – 00;36;54;14

Dr. Mona

So take the link of this video, share it on your socials, tag us all that information is in the caption because we want people to get this information, know what’s out there to help them, whether it’s the adult or the child. Learn how to swim and have healthy and have a healthy relationship with water so that they can survive and thrive in it.

 

00;36;54;14 – 00;37;15;13

Dr. Mona

So thanks again, Lindsey, and we cannot wait to chat with another guest next time. What an important and powerful conversation. And thank you again to Lindsey and the YMCA for not only showing up with practical tools, but this incredible campaign and for leading with empathy. If this episode got you thinking or reminded you of something important, take a minute to download it, save it, or send it to a friend.

 

00;37;15;15 – 00;37;32;29

Dr. Mona

I want to remind you that you consistently have kept the show in the top 30 Parenting podcast, and because of your downloads and shares, and you also just never know who might need this reminder today. And if you’re new here, I’ve got tons more episodes where this came from, so hit subscribe. Scroll through the archives and let the show be your parenting sidekick.

 

00;37;32;29 – 00;37;41;02

Dr. Mona

Whether you’re driving to daycare or watching your kid at some class. Thanks again for being a part of the staff to our community, and I’ll chat with you all next time.