Tot’s harbour plunge shows value of swim lessons
Swimming lessons came in handy for a 1-year-old girl who fell off a Wellington pier and floated until her mum pulled her out.
Mother Clare Tanner said her daughter Artemis, or Temi for short, was able to kick her legs and move her arms as she’d been trained to do to stay afloat.
The incident in August is a water safety reminder as New Zealand enjoys a hot start to summer. Six children drowned in New Zealand last year.
The Tanner family, who live on a yacht at Chaffers Marina, had been taking Temi to swimming classes since she was 8 weeks old.
The 14-month-old fell into the harbour from the pier their yacht was moored on.
“She was veering too close to the edge, Tanner said. “I reached out to grab her, only she corrected herself back into my hand and bounced off.
“The fact that she managed to stay afloat was, I think, the difference between having lessons and not having lessons.”
Tanner was able to grab Temi by the ankle and drag her back on to the pier.
“She’s never really been in that cold water before,” she said.
A friend of Tanner’s died in Austria after jumping into icy water.
Temi has been taking classes with Water Babies, an international swim school that begins lessons from birth.
Kelly Williams, who runs the New Zealand Water Babies in Wellington and Auckland, said there were many benefits for starting children early.
“One of our primary goals is to teach infants vital lifesaving skills right from the start.”