Kids Alive offers free online swim sessions from today

Water safety advocate Laurie Lawrence and his daughter Emma will repeat a series of free online swim sessions for parents of children aged under-five throughout February to ensure children gain more confidence in the water.

Royal Life Saving Australia statistics show there have been 70 drownings in Australia so far this summer, compared with 54 during the same period last year.

Lawrence said anything that could be done to save lives and reverse this alarming trend was worthwhile.

"The drowning toll has increased 23 per cent this summer compared with the previous summer," he said.

"21 per cent of those were people between 0-17 years and we know under-fives are particularly vulnerable.

"The Kids Alive - Do the Five Swim Support Sessions are a great support to regular lessons and allow parents to learn how to support their child's learn-to-swim journey."

Lawrence said water-safety advocates were playing catch-up this summer as many kids aged under-five missed out on vital learn-to-swim lessons due to COVID-19 restrictions.

"The peak swimming season is not over yet and parents have an important role to play to help get their young kids up to speed with water-safety techniques, particularly as lessons were paused during last year," he said.

Kids Alive managing director Emma Lawrence is a qualified swimming instructor who created the series.

She said children under-five could drown in any aquatic location, including lakes, dams, rivers, creeks, bathtubs and spas.

"That's why it's vital they learn the water-safety skills that may assist them if they get into trouble in the water," she said.

"Parents have an important role to play at home, firstly in always supervising children in the water, but also in extending the skills they learn at formal swimming lessons, as the more children practice these skills, the more confident they become in any aquatic location."

The online sessions will run throughout February, with a new session hosted through the Kids Alive Facebook page every Friday at 2pm (AEST). They can be viewed for up to a week after they are posted.

"Parents can follow detailed instructions from a qualified swimming instructor, showing key things kids should learn at different stages of the learn-to-swim journey," she said.

"Each session will be available to parents online for a week, before the next session is posted."

The sessions will be held:

Details: To take part in the Kids Alive Swim Support Sessions click here.