CHICAGO (WLS) -- As we get ready for summer, pool and water safety becomes top of mind for parents.
Drowning is the leading cause of death in children under the age of 4, and it can happen in an instant.
A new swim school is now open led by a familiar face here in Chicago. Connie Payton, widow of Walter Payton, witnessed firsthand the importance of swimming skills in young children.
Payton and Mindy York, the president of "Baby Otter Swim School," stopped by ABC7 to talk more about the water safety skills they're teaching young children. Utilizing its proprietary Turn, Kick, Reach system developed and proven in Florida over the last 35 years to dramatically decrease drownings, Baby Otter teaches children as young as 8 months old how to swim in just five 30-minute private lessons.
The Baby Otter-Payton Family Swim School offers 30-minute lessons at the Intercontinental Mag Mile Hotel downtown. Baby Otter also has a swim school at the Westin Lombard Yorktown center in the western suburbs.
For more information, visit: https://www.babyotterswimschool.com/