Toddler saves himself from drowning

ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. – A Florida toddler was able to save himself from a near-drowning experience.

“I know what could’ve happened. That’s when I get emotional, like I realize how bad it could have been,” said mom Traci Siegel. “I mean if we hadn’t heard the splash and he hadn’t had swim lessons. I don’t know if he’d be here.”

Her son Kyle is only 2 years old, but he saved himself from drowning last week in his family’s swimming pool.

The Siegel home is undergoing renovations and an older brother left a door open.

“Split second, we heard a splash,” Siegel said. “We saw Kyle float to the top, roll on his back and swim to the edge of the pool and get out, himself fully clothed.”

The move the toddler used is called the rollback-to-float method. It’s a type of survival swimming taught to infants and babies.

“We teach lessons through sensory motor … through water levels in the water and through touch,” said Toni Ann Capanelli, Kyle’s swimming instructor.

Learning to swim is essential for young kids, according to Capanelli.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says unintentional drowning is among the leading causes of death for children under the age of four.