As families head to the pools and beaches this summer it is imperative that we take water safety into consideration.Teaching your child how to swim is simply equipping your child with a " life saving skill " . A few years ago I heard about a child who drowned in the family swimming pool, his younger siblings could swim but he couldn't and thus died that faithful day.Just as we love to indulge our kids and give them the best clothes, gifts, holidays, education etc we must realise that nothing beats equipping that child with a life saving skill.
Being a confident swimmer is a prerequisite for employment for some jobs, who knows what career paths our children will decide to tow, but before we get to that threshold lets help our children take on a valuable new skill.
Thankfully most schools now offer swimming lessons to children as young as 3 years old so find out if your child's school offers this service. If they don't then you can search for a registered swim school in your area.
Speaking of swimming lessons , here are certain things parents might want to consider:
Safety - Ensure a trusted adult supervises your child's swimming lessons. A parent, aunt , uncle etc should be present to ensure your child's safety to avoid incidents of sexual abuse. Recently, a teacher in a school was fired because she left the students in her care with the swim coach for a couple of minutes and within that time a six year old girl reported she was inappropriately touched by the coach.
Hygiene - Inspect the pools where your child swims. I have seen pools with multiple broken tiles, dead reptiles , debris etc . Swimming in dirty pools could cause diverse health problems.
Teacher Ratio to Child
- For ages 2 1/2 to 4yrs
- Max. Pupil:teacher ratio of 4:1
- For children with little previous water experience or confidence but who are able to enter the water without their parents and follow instructions.
- Teacher is in water with the children when teaching
- For ages 4yrs and over
- Max. Pupil:teacher ratio of 6:1
- For children who are able to enter the water without their parents, (with or without aids), are water confident but unable to swim.
- Teacher is in water with the children when teaching
- For ages 4yrs and over
- Max. Pupil:teacher ratio of 6:1
- For children who are water confident, show control of breathing, able to float, and can travel 5m on their front & back with minimal assistance.
- Teacher is in water with the children when teaching
- Max. Pupil:teacher ratio of 8:1
- For children who can swim 10m unaided on their front and back in a recognised stroke.
- Max. Pupil:teacher ratio of 8:1
- For children who can swim 25m competently using front crawl, backcrawl, and breastroke, as well as a basic understanding of butterfly.
- Max. Pupil:teacher ratio of 8:1
- For children who want to prepare to join a swimming club or just simply enjoy swimming and want to keep fit. Emphasis is on training, stamina building, perfecting stroke technique, competitive starts/turns etc
- Tailor made lessons to accomodates every child's standard and need.
At the end of the day all you want is for your child to get a confident grasp of one of the most important life skills. Children should be taught that the water is a safe place to have fun.
The number one goal when taking your child to the swimming
pool is to have fun, especially if your child is frightened or scared in any
way, so the fundamentals of actually swimming are secondary at this
stage.
A calm and relaxed approach is essential. If the teacher is relaxed, then so will they be. If he/she is having fun, the chances are they
will too.
If you are in any doubt then consult a professional swimming
teacher about swimming lessons.
Remember, the toys you spend money on today will be no more in a few years but money and time spent on helping your kids acquire new skills will last a lifetime!
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