Water Babies
Teaching children pool safety
By CHRISTOPHER GLENNON

(Article Reprinted from June 15, 2002 edition)
As the summer months approach, pools open for the season and familes pack up and head to the beaches.

But between the happy sounds of water babies and giggling children, there are some startling statistics. Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death among children under five and the second leading case of injury-related death for children ages one to 14. About 350 children under 5 years of age drown in pools each year, and over half of these incidents occur in June, July, and August.

Another 2,600 children are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year for near-drowning incidents, which can cause permanent harm.

In 1989, while on a family vacation, Kim and Stew Leonard Jr. of Norwalk lost their son in a drowning accident. The 21-month-old Stewie had ventured into a pool unnoticed, and although it was only minutes before a house-wide search was put in effect and the youngster was located, all attempts to resuscitate him failed.

"At first we did not know what to do with the immense grief and loss we felt, said Stew.

"We realized that through our experience, we would dedicate ourselves to helping save the lives of other children, and that's when we founded the Stew Leonard III Water Safety Foundation.

The foundation grants scholarships for swimming lessons and safety equipment through local YMCAs and Swim America, a nationally certified learn-to-swim program offered by the American Swimming Coaches Association. Since 1990, the Foundation has helped nearly 7,000 children learn to swim.

The Leonards also sponsor annual concerts in Westport where they, along with Rob Polley, president of SwimAmerica in Norwalk, Emergency Medical Services, and the Red Cross, try to get out the message to swim safely and wear life vests. Started in the mid-'90s, these concerts reach over a thousand people each year.

As a result of the success of the concerts, Stew recently asked himself, "Could we convey these messages in a book?

"Let's create this fun, lovable character who wants to swim. Let's create this character so that kids can learn it [swim safety] in a fun way, said Leonard.

Leonard met with child psychologist Dr. Lawrence E. Shapiro. Shapiro, who has written educational books for children, joined the Leonards to write a rough draft for the book. They then sent this draft to Laura Kennedy, a children's reading specialist. She read the draft to her classes of children and returned it with some ideas.

"The three rules are sung to kids - who love songs, said Stew.

Through this process, the Leonards decided to put the rules to music through the song "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, a tune that children are familiar with. Shapiro pointed out that both simplicity and repetition are effective tools in helping children learn. A CD was added to the package. Here the characters narrate the story and sing the song. Children and musicians contributed to the making of the CD.

"Now we have something really exciting. A fun book, fun characters, and a CD where the rules are sung, said Stew.

"It would be a dream come true for us, if we could help save just one life, and prevent another family from going through the grief we experienced, he said.

"Our passion is to raise the level of awareness, said Kim Leonard.

The fully illustrated "Stewie the Duck Learns to Swim book and free narrated CD is available for $4.95 at Stew Leonard's grocery stores in Norwalk, Danbury and Yonkers, N.Y. It is also available through the Stew Leonard's Web site: www.stewleonards.com or by calling 1-800-SAY-STEW (729-7839) for $4.95 with an additional shipping and handling cost of $1.75 ($6.70 total cost with first class shipping).