The Importance of Toddler Swimming Lessons

09/17/2014

We have a great guest blog entry by Kaylee Kennedy, President of Saskatoon Swim School. We are excited to have Kaylee presenting to our next Mom and Tot program. Here are some tips and great information regarding the importance of swimming lessons for your little one.

The Importance of Toddler Swimming Lessons!

In the time that it takes for you to answer the phone your child just aspirated a lung full of water, all without you even knowing. What happens next? What do you think?

Children ranging from ages 1 to 4 are most at risk for drowning. ‘Near drowning’ incidences have a 20% likelihood of resulting in severe permanent brain damage. Young children are more susceptible to drowning quicker due to their body’s inability to react fast enough to the lack of oxygen in their circulatory system.

This is not to scare you, it is to make you aware.

Owning a private swimming lesson school has helped shape my ability to assist so many children, including my 21 month old into becoming confident and happy swimmers. Here are the two focal points I ALWAYS begin with when teaching children how to swim:

1) We need to start from the basics – All the way down to how to breath. Infants for some reason understand this concept. If you blow in their face, they take and hold their breath for as long as a couple of seconds. This is exactly what you need in order to submerge your self without swallowing water. From there we build on making their breathing more of a reflex so that confidence becomes the focal point in their learning process. Don’t get me wrong, this does take a while to achieve. BUT it starts with teaching your children how to utilize their natural breathing technique.

Controlled breathing = NO panicking

2) Once that is done, we move into ‘hydrodynamic’ positioning. I make the children kick with their feet behind them at the surface of the water, all the while placing my hands under their armpits for support. This allows them to move as efficiently as possible within the water. Remember that giving your child a life jacket or floatation device does not allow them to feel the movement of the water, it just gives them false security.

A couple of ways you can work on gaining their strengths in the water:

• Practice in the bath tub!

This is where it all starts! Get their face wet when you are washing their hair. Maybe even get in here and show them how it’s done

• Be confident

Children feed off of their parent’s anxieties. If you are nervous, they will be self conscious

• Positive words

Encouragement all the time. Work on building their ego so that there is no room for ‘second guessing’ their abilities

• Make it fun

If they swallow a bit of water, shake it off and show them how easy it is to regain from a little mishap!

• Distractions

Bring in their favourite toys to keep them focused on the games more than the learning

Swimming lessons are always ideal, especially if you are a parent that is new in the water with your child. You want to be able to guide the little ones in the right direction, and that is why there are programs that help make that possible. It may be Fall, but this is all the more reason to start teaching your kids how to be comfortable with water! Summer sneaks up on us and we need to be as prepared as possible for swimming weather.

Have any questions? You can look us up at www.saskatoonswimschool.com, or contact Kaylee Kennedy at kaylee.kennedy@hotmail.com