Swim Tips for the Little Ones
appeared in LA Family Magazine, July 2003
Did you know that drowning leads the list of preventable children’s accidents in California? And that of all forms of children’s drowning, silent drowning is the most common? Non-swimming children, toddlers especially, mistake the dangers of a serene pool, and once they slip under the water, a cry for help can’t be heard.
What can parents do? Water acclimation for youngsters followed by swimming lessons from a trained, experienced swim instructor is a good start. Also, a CPR course refresher is a smart step. How much do you remember from your last CPR class? This article will focus on what makes for effective swim lessons.
First of all, parents ask, how soon should my child learn and what can they learn?
Infants before the age of 12 months can be taken in the water. Make it a fun experience, and keep the water nice and warm, 90-94 degrees. These little ones lose body heat up to four times faster than adults. A 20-minute water session is a good limit. Do not take an infant under water, unless you are with a properly trained and experienced instructor. There are special submersion methods used so that the baby does not ingest chlorinated water.
What about toddlers (13-24 months)?
For actual swimming, infants and toddlers can learn to do so, but it takes basically daily lessons for 9 months to develop the reliability of their swimming. It is very rare in today's Los Angeles hectic schedules to have parents be able to commit to daily lessons for 9 months to meet that goal. This is also backed up by several large established Infant Swim Schools of the US Swim School Association, of which we are a member.
We suggest with integrity and awareness to your pocketbook: enjoy the water on your own with these little ones--do jumps from the side, sing songs and have fun with them yourself. Then next year, come back to us and they'll have a head-start on being comfortable in the water, and you'll have saved yourself a wad of cash! We respect your time and money, and hope to see you later from being honest with you now.
For a child, learning to swim can feel like an adult learning to skydive. Some parents don’t realize this and unknowingly look to throw the child in the water, or force a child into learning in this foreign place where normal rules of gravity are suspended. Swimming is learning to balance oneself in a new environment. A good instructor will gently bring the child outside his comfort zone each lesson, but not so far as to invoke fear. The gradual path is most often the most successful in this arena. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Floaties – These devices actually retard a child’s progress for proper swimming. Though parents use these with good intentions, the problem lies in that floaties are designed to keep the child vertical in the water, and a bent leg kick is then developed to navigate around the pool. When floaties are taken off, the child instinctively tries to kick the same way, and this kick forces her down under water and even greater fear sets in. Children who’ve not used floaties tend to learn about two to three times faster than the floaties kids. Not surprisingly this disclaimer is never found on the carton of floaties at the store.
Another tip: Keep the water temperature warm. 86 degrees minimum, 90-94 ideal, says the United States Swim School Association, an organization of over 250 swim schools nationwide. Because of the liquid medium, a pool feels about 20 degrees cooler than air temperature to a child. A 90 degree pool is like 70 degree air. The focus should be on learning well, and shivering and blue lips make for less effective retention.
Regarding distractions, the noisier or more stimulus in the environment, the less learning. This is why some parents opt for in-home lessons rather than public lessons. On one hand, public lessons can be a great social scene for both parents and kids, and this works for some; for others, however, trust of the water is built more easily in one’s own pool. Simply asking the child their preference may be the key.
During lesson time make sure things are kept fun and playful. Children’s attention spans are short, and water toys and skills work wonders for the lesson. In much of good teaching, it’s 75% enthusiasm and 25% educated skill. Finding a good personality match between child and teacher can catapult learning forward.
One last tip: ALL children in lessons learn to swim eventually; just as all children learn to walk, some a little sooner, some a little later, but all do. Enjoy the process, enjoy the child’s achievements. A new arena of play is opening up for them and the whole family to enjoy. Bring water learning forth in trust and the rewards will last a lifetime.
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