We followed the American Academy of Pediatrics advice on swim lessons. They recommend you don't sign your kids up until age 4, so we didn't. The idea is that kids that age aren't safe on their own in the water and swim lessons can provide a sense of false security for parents.

My daughter turned four about a week before a new study found that swim lessons actually save the lives of young kids.

The Archives of Pediastrics & Adolescent Medicine has a study this month that found that participation in formal swimming lessonswas associated with an 88 percent reduction in the risk of drowning in kids ages 1 to 4 years old. Read more about it by clicking here. There's more information about it on an LA Times blog post with some interesting comments.

So we're signing up for lessons ... three years too late.

If you're looking for swim lessons too, here are links to some local programs.

The YMCA of the Triangle offers lessons to anybody, you don't have to be a member (though the lessons are cheaper and you get priority if you are a member). To find out more, go to www.ymcatriangle.org. Choose your location (it's in the left hand corner of the page) and then click on "programs," where you'll find more about swim lessons in the "aquatics" section.

Raleigh offers swim lessons at pools across the city. Click here for more information. Mail-in registration for spring and summer parks programs, including swim lessons, starts today (March 31).

Durham offers lessons at its pools. Click here for contact information.

Chapel Hill also offers programs at its pools. Click here for details.

Triangle Aquatics Center in Cary offers swim lessons, including free and reduced lessons for eligible participants. The center was built with public money. Click here for details.

If you've taken lessons at any of these places, I'd love to hear how they went. And I know there are other private places that offer swim lessons, so please add your favorites/not-so-favorites in the comments.