The WHALE Tales program helps teach children how to be water smart – making good choices on, in and around the water.
Free Red Cross WHALE Tales program for children now available in Spanish
Washington – April 23, 2025 – Ahead of summer swim season, the American Red Cross has revamped and relaunched its Longfellow’s WHALE Tales Water Safety for Children program, all in Spanish. The free program, now transcreated in Spanish, is designed to help children from all backgrounds in kindergarten through 5th grade learn vital water safety behaviors without having to be at a swimming pool.
“Transcreating WHALE Tales into Spanish was essential to help ensure that all members of the community, regardless of language, have access to critical water safety information,” said Alex Villa, Red Cross director of Latino Engagement. “By bridging this language gap, we’re making sure that more families can actively engage in keeping their children safe, empowering our Latino communities with the resources they need to help prevent water-related accidents and tragedies.”
Recent studies show that 45% of Hispanic/Latino children have few to no swimming skills, which significantly increases their risk of drowning. Through transcreated Spanish content with a new cast of animated and live action characters, rhymes and songs, the Red Cross is working to increase water safety skills for children across the country.
PRACTICE WATER SAFETY Educators, swim instructors, parents, caregivers and others can teach the critical water safety lessons to children before the swim season kicks off. WHALE Tales are short, engaging and age-appropriate lessons that cover important water safety topics in different environments such as pools, waterparks, oceans, lakes and rivers. Each lesson centers on a memorable rhyming phrase to help children retain what they've learned.
DELIVER THE WHALE TALES PROGRAM Anyone can use the WHALE Tales program. If you’re an educator or youth leader teaching a group, the easy-access, free downloadable resources include lesson plans, course presentations and engaging materials such as videos and activity sheets. Visit redcross.org/WHALEtales or CruzRojaAmericana.org/WHALE-tales-espanol.
If you’re a parent or caregiver teaching your own children, visit redcross.org.watersafetyforkids. In addition to videos and activity sheets, resources also include a helpful discussion guide for water safety conversations.
“The WHALE Tales program helps teach children how to be water smart – making good choices on, in and around the water. This knowledge will help keep water activities safer and enjoyable this summer,” said Connie Harvey, director of Aquatics Centennial and Survival Programs for the Red Cross.
The Red Cross WHALE Tales program – which stands for Water Habits Are Learned Early – is named in honor of Commodore Wilbert E. Longfellow who started the Red Cross Lifesaving Corps in 1914. The Red Cross created the first national water safety program in the U.S., helping millions of kids, teens and adults learn how to swim so the water can be a safer place for everyone — and today it’s still the gold standard for aquatics training. In the last century, the Red Cross has helped to reduce accidental drownings by nearly 90% nationwide.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.