Swim lessons high on our summer list

Before this summer fully ramps up, I plan to enroll my 7-year-old daughter in swim lessons.

Not just for fun, but for her safety.

She loves the water – swimming in pools and wading in the ocean – but she always wears a life vest because she cannot stay afloat without one. I’m not looking to make her the next Michael Phelps; I just want her to be safe.

I read too many stories – at least one every week – about a young child who drowns in a pool.

The New York Daily News  reports on a University of Memphis’ study which found that about 30 percent of white children ages six to 16 cannot swim, while an even more alarming 56 percent of Hispanic children and 58 percent of African-American children cannot swim.

CNN also reports that nearly 300 young kids die in pools and spas every year, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. About 80 percent of the deaths happen in residential settings.

I learned to swim by the time I was six or seven. I took YMCA swim lessons over a couple of summers, and to this day I’m a decent swimmer. It’s high time my daughter learned to swim, too.  If you have young children at home who do not swim, the start of summer is a good time for them to learn.

For more information on pool safety, visit www.PoolSafety.gov.

Where’s Robert?

If you’ve been anxiously waiting for my next post, stay tuned!

I’m moving into a new home and have not had the ability to easily post new entries for a bit, but do not fear — even as we speak many pearls of wisdom are dripping from my pen. Soon they will pour onto the virtual page that is Robertpeek’s blog. You will be whole again, and Earth’s balance will be restored.

See you soon!

Robert

U.S. Internet use growing – but not everyone’s online

As pervasive as the Internet has become, numbers just released by the U.S. Census Bureau show that 36 percent of Americans 18 and older did not use the Internet as recently as 2007.

For those who live and breathe online, the number of non-users is surprisingly high – about one in three adults. Consider, though, that the number of “net illiterate” has likely shrunk appreciably in the two years since this data was compiled, considering that in 1997 some 78 percent of adults reported not using the Internet.

More importantly, this recent study shows who is online.

A total of 64 percent of adult Americans were online as of 2007. For adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree, 87 percent were online in 2007. For the same year, about half (49 percent) of those with only a high school diploma reported using the Internet, compared with 19 percent for those without a high school diploma.

Internet demographics are affected by race, too.

About 73 percent of Asians in the U.S. lived in households with Internet use in 2007. The same was true for 69 percent of whites, 51 percent of blacks, and 48 percent of Hispanics.

Among households using the net in 2007, 82 percent reported using a high-speed connection and 17 percent used a dial-up connection – so almost one in five users as recently as two years ago were still using dial up.

More than just being water cooler fodder, these numbers are important to Internet marketers, media buyers, consumer product companies and others wanting to reach an online audience. The data suggests that the Internet is indeed pervasive but not yet ubiquitous, and demographics play a role in who can be reached online.

Please plan accordingly as you seek your Internet fortune.