This is the time of year that many families will discontinue swimming lessons. Every Spring & Summer we work with kids that were just about swimming last season and are struggling once again learning to be confident swimming.
- Many kids & adults struggle learning how to swim even after many swimming lessons. We have great success helping kids & adults learn to swim quickly.
- We need your help to educate and spread our message to your friends & family.
- Drowning is the leading cause of death and injury for young children. Many adults have never become confident swimmers and this perpetuates the problem.
- It’s important for kids learn to swim as quickly as possible and remain exposed to swimming year round.
- Consistent exposure to swimming will allow your child to be safer in the water throughout their entire lives.
- It’s widely understood that swimming is the best fitness sport available exercising all the Cardiovascular, Cardio-respiratory, and muscle systems unlike any other sport.
- Swimming is a sport that you will be able to participate at all ages due to it’s no impact on our joints. Swimming is the only sport that can save your life.
It’s very important to begin orientating your child to the water as early as 6 months. Babies are born with a swimming reflex that begins to dissipate at 6 months. This reflex is a natural reaction to submersion and the baby will instinctively hold their breath as well kick their feet.
Babies can’t actually swim, however, you can condition behaviors that will help orient them to the water and increase their chances of surviving an accidental submersion.
Always condition safe behavior
Don’t allow your student to enter the water or jump of a wall unless they have been cued to enter. Count to 3 before entering the water and every time you leave the stairs or wall. Make sure to turn the child right back to where they started every time!
1 Hold your child in a way that allows them to feel the buoyancy of the water. Small children under the arms and older children by the hand and glide arms.
2 Never too much water pouring when you are practicing. Teach exhaling underwater with humming or growling and look up to the sky to catch a cloud.
3 Back floating use the cheek to cheek and make sure to support the students head with your shoulder. Don’t fight when they attempt to sit up. Just redirect and try it again.
4 Use the lifting method and counting to prepare a child to swim underwater. Make sure to hold the child under their arms lifted high and slowly and consistently go underwater on three. Never force a child underwater. Most importantly have fun. Do you feel like you can practice swimming with your kids now?
Step 1 Begin with small amounts using small amounts of water and progress to cups and buckets of water. Pour the water after counting to 3
Step 2 Hold your child under their arms and let them float in your hands with their shoulders in the water. Keep your child in the prone position with their legs behind
Step 3 Back float – Start with the students head resting on your shoulder and begin to sing with the student or count.
Step 4 Underwater swimming – Cue techniques
Fear of Water Elimination
Step 1 Preparation for underwater swimming: 1, 2, 3 Pour water on the face
Growl in the water
Quick breaths
Bobs
Step 2 Orientation to the buoyancy of the water
Use the steps to lift your legs behind you
Take one hand off the steps then switch
Use a noodle to become comfortable with you legs off the bottom
Step 3 Underwater swimming
Glide to the stairs face in the water
Glide to the stairs while exhaling underwater
Step 4
Find an instructor you trust to assist you to transition into swimming. You will need to work in shallow water at all times
Begin to use arm strokes and kicking while maintaining a prone position. Finally you will be working toward exhaling underwater and looking up to take a pop up breath
