Olympic Gold-Medal Swimmer Summer Sanders Partners with Pampers Splashers to Help Children Have a Fun and Safe Summer

CINCINNATI, May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- With the 2008 Summer Games just around the corner, gold-medal swimmer and mother of two, Summer Sanders, is teaming up with Pampers(R) Splashers and the Swim for Life Foundation to help parents and children have a fun and safer summer. To help promote fun, learning and safety in the water, Sanders and the Swim for Life Foundation have developed some helpful tips that parents can access to get familiar with a few safety basics. To access these important tips, parents can visit http://www.pampers.com/ .

Engage Your Child in Swim Lessons: Take the time to find the right teacher or class for swim lessons. For added family bonding time, there are even classes where parents can participate in the pool with their little ones. Having swim lesson early in life can be a great benefit for children and helps them learn the skills necessary to be safer in the water as they grow and develop.

Keep a Close Watch on your Little Ones: A great idea is to designate a "Water Watcher" to maintain constant watch over children in the pool during any parties or gatherings. When children are in the water, floatation devices are an option, but it's important that children are always still supervised by adults. Even children who know how to swim should have someone watching to make sure they're safe.

Create a Safer Pool Area: Even if you are not in the water, it's important to make sure the pool area in your home is well protected with a fence at least 60 inches high with a self-closing, self-latching gate. Parents can also practice safety in the areas surrounding the pool, by making sure buckets of water or even swim toys don't attract children to wander into unsafe areas.

Help Protect Your Child and the Pool: Wearing proper swim pants is an important part of water safety. Most public pools require young children to wear proper, snug swim pants before they enter the water to help prevent water contamination. In addition, swim pants won't swell in the water like regular diapers, helping to ensure that babies are protected and comfortable. For a limited time, a Splashers coupon is available by visiting http://www.pampers.com/.

"Swimming can be so much fun for the whole family," said Sanders. "Now that I am a mom of two and am getting my young children acclimated to the water, swim safety is incredibly important to me. That's why I partnered with Pampers Splashers to make sure that little ones -- the next generation of Olympians -- and their families across the country are informed about water safety and can enjoy swimming together."

Pampers has also partnered with the Swim for Life Foundation, an organization dedicated to water safety for babies and toddlers. As drowning is a leading cause of death for children under the age of five, Swim for Life follows a "Safer 3" approach to safety, focusing on safer water, safer kids and a safer response.

"Swim safety is my passion," said Johnny Johnson, president of the Swim for Life Foundation and the National Drowning Prevention Alliance. "We are proud to partner with a respected brand such as Pampers and Summer Sanders to help communicate our message about safe and responsible swimming. Because swimming is an activity that can be participated in from infancy, it makes perfect sense for us to partner with Pampers to promote our multi-layered 'Safer 3' prevention approach."

With the help of Summer Sanders and the Swim for Life Foundation, Pampers hopes to educate parents about how they can help avoid swim-related accidents and enjoy their time in the water with their children.

"One of our main goals with our Splashers product and program is to make sure little ones get the most out of their swimming experience," said Kirk Perry, North American vice president and general manager for Pampers. "We are so excited to partner with such a tremendous athlete as Summer Sanders, as well as the Swim for Life Foundation, to make swim-time a fun and safe experience."

Pampers Splashers Swim Pants are designed for babies and toddlers ages six to 48 months and specifically developed for use in the water. With tear-away sides and double leg cuffs for convenience and comfort, Splashers are perfect for the pool or beach. For more information and to request a Splashers coupon, please visit http://www.pampers.com/.

About Pampers(R)

Pampers is a trademark of Procter & Gamble and the company's largest global brand and is the world's top-selling diaper brand. Our business is inspired by babies and toddlers, created by Pampers. For more information on Pampers and the Pampers Parenting Institute, visit http://www.pampers.com/.

About Procter & Gamble

Three billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R), Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Mach3(R), Bounty(R), Dawn(R), Pringles(R), Folgers(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Oral-B(R), Actonel(R), Duracell(R), Olay(R), Head & Shoulders(R), Wella, Gillette(R), and Braun. The P&G community consists of over 135,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. Please visit www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About the Swim for Life Foundation

The Swim for Life Foundation's mission is to enrich the lives of all people by promoting the life-long benefits of swimming, implementing proactive drowning prevention programs and increasing the accessibility of programs for those with special needs, regardless of disability, age or finances. For more information, please visit http://www.swimforlife.org/ .