Tag Archive for: swim lessons

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Swim Lessons Are Not Just for Summer

The threat of drowning continues even after summer ends. With the cooler weather and the holiday season right around the corner, it’s easy to forget that water safety is still important. But drownings don’t take a break just because the temperature dips. The risk of drowning doesn’t go away when kids return to school. In fact, drownings occur just as frequently in the fall and winter months during family gatherings and vacation trips as they do in the summer. 

As the cooler months come around, ensure your child’s swimming skills are up to par. Just because summer is coming to an end doesn’t mean it’s time to forget about swim lessons. Year-round swim lessons are the key for your child to reinforce the skills they have learned. Year-round swim lessons allow kids to keep their water skills fresh and top of mind, allowing them to hone all their water competency knowledge throughout the year. 

Swim Lessons Are an Essential Layer Of Protection Against Drowning

Swim lessons are an essential layer of protection needed to help prevent unintentional drowning incidents. 

In 2009, Dr. Ruth Brenner and her colleagues at the National Institute of Child Health and Development published a study stating that swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning among children ages 1 to 4 by 88%. This statement is significant because this age group is at the highest risk of drowning in a swimming pool. The study found that swimming lessons can help children learn how to swim and be more comfortable in the water, reducing the risk of drowning.

This study has been cited multiple times in several articles and posts regarding drowning prevention and water safety. Please note that this research had a small sample size and the 95% confidence intervals regarding the protective effects were 3%-99%. It also stated that “swimming skills alone are insufficient to protect a child from drowning.”

Learning to swim is but one of the several layers of protection needed to reduce children’s drowning risk. Parents must know they cannot rely on just one layer of protection to keep kids safe. Nothing, not even swim lessons, can drown-proof a child. All layers must be implemented simultaneously to effectively reduce the risk of drowning incidents from taking place.

Kids are safer in water when they have multiple layers of protection in place. The layers include swimming lessons and aids such as life jackets, bubble covers, and pool fences. Kids need more than one layer of protection to be safe in pools and spas – including swimming lessons taught by a professional swim instructor.

Swimming Lessons & Water Competency

A national survey conducted for the Red Cross in 2020 revealed that people believe themselves to be better swimmers than they really are. The survey also found that of the 85 percent of Americans who said they could swim, only 56 percent could perform all five basic skills (also known as water competency) that might help keep them safe in the water.

According to the American Red Cross, there are three main components to water competency: water smarts, swimming skills, and helping others.

Water smarts involve knowing well what your limitations are in the water and what to do (or not do) to avoid putting yourself in a dangerous situation when in the water, like wearing a US coast guard approved life vest, understanding how weather conditions can impact water safety and how to call for help.

The following are the basic swimming skills needed to be safe in the water:

  • Step or jump into the water over your head.
  • Return to the surface and float or tread water for one minute.
  • Turn around in a full circle and find an exit.
  • Swim 25 yards to the exit.
  • Exit from the water. If in a pool, be able to exit without using the ladder.

Helping others means you know what to do should an emergency occur, like knowing how to assist a drowning victim and learning CPR with rescue breaths.

Any swim program you choose for your child should cover the three components of water competency. They will give your child the tools they need if they accidentally fall into the water unsupervised.

When to Start Swim Lessons

Swim lessons aren’t just about teaching children how to be safe around water — they’re also teaching parents how to do the same.

In 2019, the American Academy of Pediatrics updated its water safety guidelines to recommend children start swimming lessons around age 1 to help reduce the risks of drowning. The more comfortable a child is in water, the fewer their chances of drowning; the earlier they’re comfortable, the better.

Parents must remember that learning to swim is but one of the layers of protection that need to be implemented to prevent drowning. Even though learning to swim allows children to be aware of drowning hazards, it does not make them immune to the perils of drowning. Indeed, nothing can drown-proof a child.

Finding the right swim programs for kids isn’t just about your child’s age or experience levels; it’s also about you being comfortable with the facility, instructors, and technique. Things that make a swim lesson program a good fit for you and your child will also vary by age. When choosing the program that best fits your child and your family, be sure to factor in your decision the emotional maturity of your child, their physical and developmental abilities and limitations, and their current comfort level when in the water.

Drowning is preventable when children learn proper water safety skills.

Drowning is a preventable tragedy that occurs far too often, especially in young children. But when kids learn the appropriate water safety skills, they can stay safe around pools, lakes, oceans, and anywhere there is water.

Swim lessons are an excellent way for children to learn about water safety. For starters, they’ll learn how to stay afloat and what they must do if they find themselves in a dangerous situation like accidentally falling into the water.

And while no one can completely prevent accidents, knowing the proper safety techniques can mean the difference between life and death. So make sure your child is enrolled in swim lessons all year long, regardless of the season – it could save their life.

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Finding A Water Safety Program by Sarah Christianson

Finding a water safety program

Sarah Christianson is a wife, mother, RN, model and water safety advocate. The views expressed in this article are entirely her own and do not represent the opinions of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance.

The smile on her face quickly faded and soon tears started to surface with a look of fear accompanied by the silent plead for me to come save her. This is what no parent wants to watch unfold. Being torn from wanting to jump into full mommy mode and whisk your daughter away from her fear or the side of making her stick with the swim class that she has quickly grown to hate.

My daughter Aubrey, 5 years old, had just started weekly swim lessons at one of our local gyms. We happen to luck out with her being the only kiddo to sign up for her time slot. Hello private lessons without the price tag (mom win)! She loved every moment of them, the 1:1 attention, the constant praise and reinforcement from her instructor. Each end to the lesson she would have the biggest smile on her face and ask how many days until next week’s lesson. I couldn’t be happier! I mean, how could I not be jumping for joy to see my daughter be excited to learn one of the most important skills in life?! Little did I know that the joy would be short lived.

On week three the instructor informed me that a set of siblings would be joining the class. They had been signed up in the wrong class and now moved to Aubrey’s class. She let Aubrey and myself know that they were “deathly afraid of water” and would need lots of help . I remember her smiling at Aubrey, saying “but I know you can help me and show them how brave we can be in the water.” The mommy red flag was starting to wave like the flag at the beginning of a Nascar race. It wasn’t my daughter’s job to show them the ropes, and if they needed that much attention what would happen to Aubrey during the class? So many questions swirled, but only time would tell.

The following week we headed into swim lessons and quickly spotted the new additions to her class. Both were crying, one more than the other, and neither wanting to go anywhere near the pool. As I sat and watched the instructor try to get them into the water I glanced over at Aubrey who was standing in the water wide eyed with a look of “what is happening?” written clearly across her face. The majority of the class was spent trying to help the new kiddos stop crying and Aubrey looking back at me with a look of confusion as her turns were shortened. I wondered how long this would continue. After class I praised Aubrey for trying her hardest and for showing the kiddos how fun being in swim lessons could be. She was a little quieter than usual, but I didn’t want any extra focus or conversation on the fear of the others or how she didn’t get as much attention.

Before we knew it the week had passed and we were back for the next lesson. This is when everything fully flipped. We not only were told we had a new instructor, but the new kiddos were almost double the tears and fears then last week. Aubrey’s smiles faded before the whole group even got into the water. This is when the facial pleads for help surfaced and the tears started to arise. Aubrey would motion that she needed to go to the bathroom and once in the bathroom she would stall, fully knowing she was missing out in class. The class would eventually end and she cried and cried, begging me not to make her go back, that she never wanted to go in the water again.

I’m a strong believer that every child, no matter the age, needs to learn to float and swim! It’s essential in life! So what was I supposed to do for my daughter? There were other swim facilities in town, but I had heard similar stories of large kid to instructor ratios and stories of moms that had to jump into the class to grab their child because the instructor wasn’t watching and the child was treading water. I didn’t feel qualified to teach my daughter to float and swim, because what did I know of all the proper techniques? I came from the days of your parents throwing you in the local pool and just telling you to paddle like a dog and figure it out. I wanted something different, something better for my daughter.

It truly was a miracle that the same day as the last swim lesson someone told me about the Float 4 Life National Training Center right here in Lincoln. I immediately jumped on social media and stalked their page and then their website. From the 1:1 ratios and the fact that they have the Josh the Otter Water Safety and Awareness Program had me ready to make an appointment. After meeting with staff at Float 4 Life I realized within minutes this is were Aubrey needed to be! This is where we would reverse the fear and see joy again!

There’s something to be said about watching your child overcome fear and grow with excitement in what they are doing. I’m so grateful that I listened to my mothers intuition and sought out a different alternative to where we were at. I believe that we always have the opportunity to change our paths in life, no matter the journey we are on, and this was exactly what we did for our daughter! We chose to not settle and find something better for her! This is why it’s so important for me to spread the word about not settling for mediocre and demand the best when it comes to our kids and learning this life skill!

The relief I feel knowing my daughter is getting amazing instructions and no longer has the paralyzing fear of water means the world to me! I already have several friends asking questions and making appointments to have their kiddos come to Float 4 Life, because they’ve seen the difference and thought they just had to tough it out. If my journey with Aubrey helps at least one child have a better experience with learning to swim then that means that’s one more child that we prevent from drowning!  I hope I can help educate more parents about the importance of water safety and what to look for before enrolling in water safety training.

Sarah Christianson

@always_be_unstoppable