Big Sis at 3 years old |
My family spends a majority of our spring and summer swimming either in our pool, the lake my parent’s live on or at one of Orlando’s many water parks. Big Sis is now 4.5 years old and is an expert swimmer for her age. She goes knee-boarding and tubing behind a boat, she can snorkel and retrieve dive sticks off the bottom of the pool and she has been doing all that for over a year now. People constantly come up to me asking how she became such a great swimmer. Let me tell you that the secret is to start early. She was 9 months old when I first put her in swimming survival classes. Notice I did not say swim class. At that age the importance is to teach them how to float should they ever fall in a body of water.
So here is where I tell you about a program I went to over 30 years ago when I was an infant and then I had my 4 year old take classes every summer with the same program and I have now started with Lil Sis. Infant Swimming Resource, infantswim.com, is a program that teaches young toddlers how to survive should they ever fall in the water.
The first year at 9 months they each learned to float if they fell into the water. Then the following year Big Sis learned how to float and then swim to the side of the pool while floating every time she needed to take a breathe. Then Big Sis would get refresher lessons every year after that.
Here is Big Sis floating at 9 months old. She is wearing clothes because children should be taught how to turn themselves over and float and more than likely they will be wearing regular clothes.
Today she is a super confident swimmer. She is even learning to side breathe in preparation to be on the swim team at the local YMCA next year at only 5 years old! I still watch her every single second she is near water. We have a pool in our backyard so we have to be extra careful. If there are no Infant Swim lessons near where you live that is alright. When you are looking into lessons for your little ones try and find ones that teach them the skills they need to save themselves….mainly the ability to turn themselves over and float. I am not a fan of those mommy and me classes where moms hold the babies in the water and they don’t really do anything. Those are the kids I see in Big Sis’s swim class that are crying and won’t go near the water. Research any class before you put your kids in it but more importantly make sure they get into swim classes early.
A lot of parents get all upset when their child cries during these lessons and yes they will cry…a lot. Of course they are gong to cry, they are unfamilliar with the water but I promise it is so very much worth it when you can see your toddler go face first into the water, calmly turn themselves over, then float while waiting for an adult to retrieve them.
Here in Orlando I read articles in the local paper way too much about families visiting from out of state and their child drowns. It is scary but a lot of the parents say they don’t have much water at home so please be careful when you are on vacation.
Here are some water safety steps taken directly from the ISR website:
5 Important Keys To Water Safety
1. Effective Supervision
The most critical line of defense is adult supervision. No
level of aquatic skill can replace active supervision. If your child is
ever missing, look in the water first.2. Pool Fences
Install a permanent 4-sided fence with self-locking gates. Ensure that the pool fence is at least 3-5 feet from the pool edge.3. Alarms
Make sure all doors and windows leading to the pool are locked and alarmed.4. Survival Swimming Lessons
A moment’s inattention does not have to cost a child his
life. ISR’s Self-Rescue? training is an added layer of protection,
teaching your child water survival skills in a completely safe
environment.5. CPR
If an emergency happens, it is essential parents and
families are prepared. Learn to perform CPR on children and adults and
remember to update those skills regularly.
#1
EFFECTIVE
SUPERVISION
Supervision is the first, and
most critical line of
defense to prevent
drowning.
Segment Supervision by
designating a specific
period of time to devote
your complete and
undivided attention to your
child who is around the
water (15 min.) – Don?t
answer the phone, don?t
read and don?t talk to other
adults – give your child
100% of your attention
Designate one parent as
the Water Watcher so there
are never questions about
which adult is responsible
for watching the child