School is out or going to be out soon for much of the country. Summer’s almost here.

Have you signed up your kids for swimming lessons yet?

I consider swimming lessons one of the most important activities you can sign your kids up for. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a pool and don’t live near an ocean, lake or river. I just think it’s important that kids know how to swim.

For one, they may have friends who have a pool. If not now, then later in life.

You could also at some point move into a home with a pool or near the ocean, a lake or river where your family might want to go swimming.

Or your kids could just finally convince you that it’s time to go to the city pool.

I’ll be the first to admit that swimming lessons in the early days do not give me peace of mind. Far from it. They make me worry more!

When kids first learn to swim just a little bit, they’re overconfident. I feel that this makes them more at risk. They swim into deeper water and may be more inclined to try a pool out without supervision. But it’s necessary so that they can learn to be stronger swimmers and cut the risk down.

We have rules about swimming in my family. While we do not have a pool, my inlaws do.

Rule #1: Children are not allowed in the pool without an adult. Not even a toe or fingertip.

Rule #2: Children will obey the adults supervising them in the pool.

Rule #3: There will always be at least one adult whose sole job is to watch the kids in the pool. One adult per child is better, with each adult assigned to a particular child.

Rule #4: Children will obey their swimming instructors during swimming class.

Rule #5: No running near the pool.

My kids know that if they break a pool rule, they will not be allowed to go swimming the rest of that day and likely not the next time everyone else goes swimming.

You may also want to check out PoolSafety.gov, even if you don’t own a swimming pool.

If your kids aren’t in swimming lessons yet and are not strong swimmers, get them signed up. Lessons at community and city pools are generally more affordable than private lessons, of course, but they also fill up quickly in the lower levels. Check your city’s website to see what’s available in your area.

I was reading an interview with Lenore Skenazy on Salon the other day. With her new book out (Free-Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts with Worry), I’m seeing a lot of stuff about her.

It just amazes me how overprotective parents can be.

The first product mentioned as an example of things overprotective parents buy was a helmet called a Thudguard. It’s intended for toddlers, so that they can learn to walk without bumping their heads.

I can tell you those are a really bad idea. Yes, toddlers bump their heads and get bruises. But if they don’t hurt themselves in small ways when they’re little they’re going to get quite a shock when they’re bigger.

I know.

My son wore a helmet for a few months as an infant. Not because I was trying to protect his head but because he had craniosynostosis and the helmets were to reshape his skull. But I would expect one effect would be the same as putting an unnecessary helmet on a toddler – my son was completely shocked when he learned that he could hurt his head.

The first day his helmet was off, he bumped his head in a way he had many times before. He was crawling by this point, and used to being able to go straight into a wall if he felt like it, or just drop his head down when he was tired.

It took him a few days to get used to the fact that bumping his head hurt. Now why would you want a slightly older child to not understand this? Better when they’re small and the bumps (and yes, the bruises) will be more minor than when the child is older!

Then there are the baby knee pads. Yes, you too can protect your poor baby’s knees from the horror of carpet burn!

Sorry, my eyes just rolled when I found out about these. Once again, where’s the need? Baby knees are made for crawling on. I think they can cope with the little bit rug burn or scrapes they might get in the process. It’s not something that’s going to really hurt them.

I’m all for protecting kids when they need it, but most children do not need to be protected from such minor injuries. If there’s a specific reason they need extra protection, fine, but not for most kids.

Better they figure out now what doesn’t feel good than they develop the notion that they can’t get hurt.