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Every second child can not swim. Sad, when friends can no longer splash together in the water. How NIVEA and the DLRG are changing that now.
Best friends are an important part of life. Especially with children, they shape the development and accompany all small and large adventures. Actually, they experience everything together - all the sadder when something separates them. The new online film by NIVEA and the DLRG shows this in a haunting way. The message: every second child can not swim properly. The appeal: Learn to swim!
Most people learn to swim in elementary school, according to a representative forsa survey from September 2010. * Figures from 2015, however, are frightening and alarming at the same time: Thus, 50 percent of the fourth graders can not swim properly. Many do not even take the "sea horse" exam. With this early swimmer badge children acquire first safety in and around the water. "It's always about protection from drowning. Therefore, children should be made familiar with the element of water as early as possible, "explains Helmut Stöhr, Head of Training at the German Life Saving Society (DLRG). The "seahorse" is just the beginning - only with the swimming badge "bronze" is considered a safe swimmer. All the more worrying are the numbers from the forsa poll: After the end of primary school, only 84 percent have passed the first swimming test; 30 percent carry the bronze badge. Across all age groups, only 40 percent of respondents have passed the Bronze or Silver exam successfully, so they are safe swimmers.
Two heroes against the rest of the world - just not in the water
Through their joint programs, NIVEA and the DLRG have been providing valuable educational work in the area of swimming education and dangers on the water for many years. The new online clip illustrates what these numbers really mean. NIVEA and the DLRG want to shake it awake: In Germany, every second child can not swim safely. High time to do something about it!
The film features two boys of elementary age - best friends who experience everything together. They are researchers, adventurers, daydreaters, there for each other and go each way together. But there is something they can not experience together: a visit to the pool. Because one of the two best friends can not swim. The world of water and the great feeling of having mastered this first important swimming test are denied him - this could be different. Because even at kindergarten age, children can become familiar with the element of water, making it easier for them to take the "sea horse" exam later and make the first step towards becoming a safe swimmer. As part of the "Seahorses for All" project by NIVEA and the DLRG, 500 educational staff are trained to become swim trainers each year to accompany children on their way to becoming premier swimmers' badges. The aim is for every year 200, 000 children to obtain their first swimming badge and thus become safer in dealing with water.
Every second child can not swim. Sad, when friends can no longer splash together in the water. How NIVEA and the DLRG are changing that now.