Swim Lessons Save Lifes

Lately in the news we have heard how adults have drowned this summer. Swim lessons are a gift for life, the skills they learn will last forever.

So what does ‘Layers of Protection” mean?

No measure can ever guarantee that children are safe in, on and around water. It is only human for adults to sometimes lapse in their supervision of children in the home or while out and about. Children can and do find ways over fences. Children who have had swimming lessons can still drown. For this reason the SwimSAFER message promotes the application of various layers to protect children from drowning – if one layer ‘fails’ then there is another behind it that may save their life. The layers of protection are:

 

Supervision

Correct supervision entails:

• Constant visual contact
• Being within arm’s reach of a non-swimmer and under 5′s
• Not being distracted by anything eg. ringing phones and doorbells
• Being ready to respond quickly

Barriers

• The pool must be fully isolated from the house by a four-sides complying fence.
• Self-closing and self-latching gates are used.
• The fence and gate are checked regularly to ensure they are in good working order

Swimming and Water Safety Skills

 

For young children, the basic swimming and water safety skills include:

• Water familiarization, where small children explore and become comfortable in water environments, developing a respect for the water.
• Gaining confidence through various water activities which include and lead into “safe entries and exits *breath control *submersions *floating *propulsion with arms and legs *turning * and backfloating.
• Developing the ‘strokes’ so that your child can efficiently cover much greater distances. The whole ‘learn to swim’ experience should be positive; free from fear of force, with a focus of skill acquisition and safety around aquatic environments.

As your child gets older, the chances are that they will be exposed to potentially hazardous water situations that will require them to be ‘stronger’ swimmers. Swim Australia recommends that children are able to reasonably comfortably complete a 400m swim before they are deemed to be able to swim well. As this ability is developed, they should also be learning a variety of rescue skills.

 

Emergency Action Plan

In immersion incidents, every second counts. Having an Emergency Action Plan in place can reduce panic and save vital time. Consider the following:

• If a child is missing, check the pool and other water hazards first. Seconds count!
• Have a phone poolside for emergency use only.

In the case of an emergency, dial 000 … or 112 from mobile phones.

All the layers of protection need to be employed at the one time. Layers of protection are outlined by Swim Australia and endorsed by Leopold Swim School

Debunking the pool length myth: size really doesn’t matter

There’s a common perception out there that effective squad training can only be done in a large-length pool – wrong!

It’s not the length that matters, it the technique being taught.

You can have a squad training in an Olympic-sized swimming pool, but unless they’re being taught correct technique, they might as well be learning in a wading pool.

At the Leopold Swim School we run an excellent learn to swim program teaching our Squad swimmers great technique, which enables them to be strong in the water. Pool length should not hinder swimmers if the program has been designed for this outcome and executed correctly. At Leopold Swim School, we believe that children should be taught to swim with the correct technique from the start – we pride ourselves on our program and stroke technique.

For children to be ready to end their swimming lessons, they need to finish all swimming levels and do a year of squad to feel comfortable and confident in any situation.

Leopold Swim School squad swimmers achieve a distance of around 1 km in a 45 minute session, but it takes time to develop this kind of fitness. But it’s worth it! Swimming is a skill that can enable your child to participate in the following sports: competitive swimming, yachting, water polo, surf lifesaving, boating, rowing, fishing, surfing, snorkeling, diving, deep sea diving and socialising.

Parents please do not hesitate to come and watch a squad session one night. Just ask reception for details or

call 5250 1457.

Give your Children a long, healthy life

All parents want their children to be fit, healthy and happy, which is why it’s important
to establish healthy habits early – including exercise and involvement in sport.

Swimming is a sport that can be started at the very young age of 6mths and enjoyed well into old age.

It’s also the only sport that exercises our heart, lungs and all muscles in our body
with no side effects. Swimming is the perfect sport to help your child to
develop motor skills ( for the young) and coordination ( for the older child).
Once your child gains confidence in the water it is likely they will always
have it. Swimming is the perfect sport for all the family to enjoy.

As parents, we need to get our children into sport so that they don’t end up with health problems caused by weight gain and
little exercise.

Swimming is gentle but effective with a splash of fun it wins hands up.

So lets start our children young and teach them to be fit, healthy and to enjoy
every gift that life has to offer.

Help prevent a drowning tragedy these Christmas School Holidays

Hooray! Before long the
Christmas holidays will be just around the corner! Have you made any plans for
your Christmas holidays yet? I’m sure that you all deserve a
well-earned break and that many of you are planning to get away with the family
for fun times.

Most holiday
destinations are close to water – whether it be beaches, lakes, rivers or
resorts with pools. It’s also a fact that many families centre their family
leisure time around the water with boating, jetskiing, surfing, kayaking,
fishing and swimming in the ocean popular pastimes.

However, amazingly
enough – despite our love of the water – not everyone knows how to swim well
enough to be able to get themselves out of trouble if the unexpected occurs.

We sometimes get
feedback from parents who believe that once their child has the bare
swimming basics, that will do. But in fact, they’re actually putting their
child in a very dangerous situation.

They’re giving
themselves – and their child – a false sense of security.

Nobody can predict a
dangerous current, unexpected large wave or a fall into water that is much
deeper and colder than expected.

Did you know that a
child needs to be able to strongly swim 200metres to save themselves from a rip
at the beach – something that occurs all the time! A child (or adult) with the
swimming bare basics is not going to be able to save themselves in this
situation.

If you truly want to
enjoy your holiday, you shouldn’t have to fear the water or worry about
drowning. You may say that there’s always a life jacket, but remember, it can
only help to a certain extent.

‘Prevention is better
than cure’ and you can give your family the skills to ensure that they have the
knowledge and skills to get themselves out of trouble when the unexpected
occurs.

 Swimming can
really be a life-saver.

If you require any
swimming lessons for yourself or your family members, kindly visit or call the
centre on 5250 1457 to book in today!!

Part 2 Why do we teach children different swimming strokes?

The Advantages of Each Stroke

Breaststroke
Once learnt at a basic level it can be performed with the head staying above
the water all the time. This gives excellent visibility and avoids breathing
difficulties.

Backstroke                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Because it is swam on your back there is no breathing difficulties. A swimmer
can breathe the entire time they are swimming and therefore become less tired.
They can also then cover a longer distance. It is also advised as an exercise
that can relieve back problems.

Freestyle
This is the fastest and most efficient stroke if performed correctly. It
enables swimmers to cover further distances quicker and by using less energy.

Butterfly
This stroke is mostly used in competition only as it is very tiring.
Performing this stroke is very fast but takes a lot of energy. Children enjoy
learning this stroke because of its similarity in movement to the way a dolphin
swims. They have a lot of fun learning this.

Why do we teach different strokes?

You may think freestyle is the only stroke that your child needs to learn. You may
wonder if learning other strokes is valuable or just a waste of time.  We will describe the benefits of learning other strokes besides freestyle.

Firstly, freestyle is the most efficient stroke to get you somewhere quicker and faster.
However, it can be tiring. If your child was out in a boat and needed to swim
back to shore, they would firstly begin freestyle. At some stage they may get
tired and need a longer breath of air so by knowing breaststroke they can keep
moving at a slower pace but still swimming forward. Swimming breaststroke also
gives them a better chance to orient themselves to find the direction of the
shore. Again, if in more distress they can turn on their back to swim
backstroke. This is also useful if later in life they decide to do triathlons or open water swimming.

When the child is quite a developed swimmer, swimming several strokes gives the body a better workout using a larger variety of muscles.  Swimming is more fun because you can vary your strokes.  The skills that are learnt in one stroke can then be useful when learning other strokes, using similar principles.

What are the benefits of continuing swimming lessons through winter?

 

Unfortunately some parents feel that when winter comes along that they are doing the right thing by stopping swimming lessons so their child doesn’t catch a cold.

Apart from the fact that there’s no medical evidence connecting swimming in heated pools and illness, your child is greatly disadvantaged because they will readily lose their swimming skills if they’re not practiced.

By staying in lessons, your child will benefit because:

• Children who swim all year round maintain their level of skill and fitness. Swimming is taught by repetition therefore pulling your children in and out of classes throughout the year hinders the learning process.
• Swimming is exercise. During winter children are limited to outdoor activities due to the weather.
• Healthy lifestyle. Weekly exercise sets good habits for later in life.
• Did you know if your child is booked into swim lessons all year round they swim for only 20.5 hours per year instructed?

 

How Long before my child can swim?

Learn to swim programs are expected to meet many needs, not the least of which is teaching children to swim.  Parents want to see tangible results from lessons to assure progress is being made and that they are receiving value for their money.  Sometimes lessons can feel like a treadmill with no clear end in sight.  This uncertainty about a definite timeline can leave parents wondering when their child will ever “complete” the task of  learning to swim. 

Following are some considerations if you have ever found yourself asking “how long will it take” or “haven’t they learnt to swim yet?”

With Swimming lessons there can sometimes be a belief – that a child will take some lessons, learn to swim and be finished. Such an “event based” mentality can be a dangerous assertion to make.

A realistic way to approach swimming lessons is as a long-term process. Attending lessons as a regular part of a child’s weekly routine through their infant, preschool and early school years is a great plan to ensure proper development of their aquatic skills.  Along the way, a child should be allowed to learn at their own pace, practising skills appropriate to their developmental level.

So the question then often arises, how often should I attend lessons each week? While progress will be accelerated in the short-term by attending lessons more often, a regular and consistent approach will often yield the best results.  We recommend children to attend their lessons at least once a week, then to also do our intensive programs to boost their skills.  This is in line with the way children learn and how well they retain skills.  There won’t always be leaps of progress every lesson or every week.  It is normal for learning to plateau for periods, even regress at times and surge ahead at others.  The once per week class allows skills to be maintained and for progress to be made over time.

Some periods of twice per week classes or holiday incentives can boost achievement.  The important thing to consider is that more intensive lesson attendance can become exclusive of the other activities and can’t often be kept up long-term.  This may result in lessons being stopped.  Again, it is better to keep the lessons up, even if only once per week, than stop them entirely.  Swimming lessons for children 6 or 7 years should be a consistent, year round activity building toward a lifelong skill of proficient swimming.

So, when do lessons stop? While every program will have their own goals, a general idea for parents to consider is for their child to be capable of swimming 400 metres (with good technique, without stopping and without becoming exhausted). That level of skill may take years to reach, but establishes a strong foundation and children over 7 years should retain those skills.  However, reaching this goal doesn’t mean a swimmer should leave the pool.  It is still important to keep up the skill, continue to improve and consider the wide range of aquatic sports that will be fun, challenging and beneficial into the future.

Swimming lessons are not just another option on the list of activities for children, along with soccer, dance, gymnastics, etc.  They are invaluable life saving activity offering many benefits for the learner and for the more accomplished swimmer.

Enjoy your swimming, every stroke of the way!!!

Leopold Swim School looks at How Parental Influences in Baby or Toddler classes with Julie Ham

You are asking who is Julie Ham?  Julie is a former Australian Swimming representative who wrote the following interesting article;

Parents seeking ways to improve their young child’s confidence, independence and relaxation in water need look no further than their role as the caregiver ahead of and doing a swimming lesson.  The caregiver plays an invaluable role in assisting and enhancing the child’s aquatic development.

Influences on a baby’s swimming ability are exerted well before a baby enters a swimming pool, and in fact these influences begin at birth with the bathing process.  Parents need to be aware of the verbal and physical influences they impart to their child about water.  If  the parent themself exhibits nervousness or fear around water, these emotions may in turn be passed on to the baby or young child, regardless of whether they have been verbalised.

Phrases such as “don’t go near the water, it’s dangerous!”, or actions including hastily dragging a child away from an aquatic environment such as the edge of the pool are likely to cultivate within a young child a negative attitude toward water, and in turn will magnify the difficulties associated with introducing the child to the water or swim lessons.

During initial swim lessons in particular, it is important for parents to be positive and to display their enthusiasm for the experience.  Young children, and especially babies, are extremely in tune with their mum and dad’s reactions and responses, and an infant’s reaction to a new environment, sight sounds and people will to a large extent be determined by the response of the carer.  For this reason, parents need to remain relaxed throughout the duration of a swim lesson.

A parent’s body language is an important component of ensuring early swim lessons go smoothly, and is integral to the success of the water familiarization and learn-to-swim processes.  A parent who is nervous and clings to their child or holds them out of the water sends a message to the child is in an unsafe environment.  Instead, the parent in the swim lesson should remain relaxed with your shoulders at the water’s surface or just below, and gently support the child in the water, or alternatively, if the child is old enough, they should encourage the independence of the baby in the water and allow the baby to hold on to them.

Parental involvement in the child’s lesson is fundamentally important.  The education provided by the instructor in correcting submersion techniques and providing guidelines for activities is paramount to a child’s progression, and allows the parent themselves to become a teacher outside of the structured lesson environment.

The full benefits of a swim lesson are acquired through active participation in lessons and listening to instructor’s guidelines for activities.  An enthusiasm for all the swim lesson activities is essential… and in most cases requires the parent getting wet! While most classes don’t require you to be able to swim, young children learn from what their parents do, so demonstration is wonderful tool and hastens the learning process.  When submerging or getting wet, facial expressions and tone of voice can provide the child with much-needed confidence.  Being positive about going under the water lets the child know that it is ok to submerge, and a parent’s resistance to such activities along with behaviour such as wiping eyes after surfacing should be avoided.

Instructors will facilitate activities through the parents and as such, positive reinforcement of the child through praise given at all stages is an important role of the parent.  Children love attention from their parents, and their confidence in the water will flourish naturally with praise.  It is important to remember that every child learns at their own pace.  Learning to swim is not a race in itself, so comparisons made with others in a class or efforts made to rush the learn-to swim process often hinder the child’s swim development. 

The role of a parent in swim lessons for a child of the under 3 age group is much more than just getting in the water with the child.  It involves the parent playing an active part in their child’s aquatic learning and education, as well as a respect for an understanding of the water.

 This article was taken from swim-files 2011 written by Julie Ham

Babies having a great day at Leopold Swim School