Eloise had her first swim lesson when she was 6 months old. She hated it. Hated getting wet, hated getting in the pool, hated the swim diaper, hated it. But we insisted on ‘lessons’ if you will, and by lessons I mean ‘let’s just get comfortable with the water.’ She continued to cry about swimming until she was four years old. It was about that time that her sister, then two, started jumping off the sides of the pool into our arms and seemed to laugh and actually enjoy this thing called ‘swimming’ because it seems most of the other kids were also having fun. Eloise decided to try it again and now loves to swim.
I admit the last thing I wanted to do was push swimming on any of my kids. I grew-up in a long line of women who were terrified of the water. My own mother would not be able to save me in a pool and my grandmother was rarely seen in water over her ankles. I was determined to change our legacy. But the last thing I wanted was for Eloise to associate the water with fear.
However, I felt and feel strongly that my kids need to be able to swim…..
Did you know that drowning is the 2nd leading cause of accidental death for kids ages 1-14? Now that Summer is in full-force here – the pools are open, the lakes are busy and most everyone is swimming. Our community has already been touched by the tragedy of a fellow child drowning and I would do anything to make it all stop.
I admit that I have a hard time relaxing at a pool or lake with my kids – even when there is a lifeguard present. I am constantly counting for them 1-2-3 and am doing a pool check nearly every second. I don’t believe in putting my kids in floatation devices like rings or wings because I believe they actually hinder their learning to swim and give them a false sense of security. So I am in the water with them at all times because I don’t believe they are great swimmers yet.
My kids are still in swimming lessons and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.
I want to share a great resource with all of you today if you are looking for information about swimming. SwimToday.org is an online resource that provides parents with a one-stop shop to get all the information they need to make entering swimming as easy as possible for them and their children.
At SwimToday.org you can find a place to swim in your area, you can self-assess your ability and your child’s ability, and learn the benefits of swimming and fitness.
Learning to swim has so many benefits like Safety: Lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by 80%, Fitness: Swimming is a whole-body, low-impact and life-long fitness option, and Social: Swimming is an individual sport and team sport which builds social skills and it’s fun!
I was honored to have the opportunity to chat with members of the USA Swimming organization last week. They provided so many great tips on getting kids into swimming that you can find on SwimToday.org – like the health benefits of swimming, lessons for adults, getting into competitive swimming, and the training tips and strategies.
Now I don’t know if my kids will join a swim club but I do know that they will continue to improve their abilities and thus the comfort and safety in the water while still having a great time with their friends. And maybe eventually I can just sit on the side of the pool and watch them. Or heck maybe I’ll even start doing some laps.
Do your kids take swimming lessons or are they on a swim team? At what age did they start swimming?
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Disclosure: This post was sponsored by The Motherhood for USA Swimming. I was compensated for my time but all words and opinions are my own. If you’d like more information on Swimming in your area please visit SwimToday.org and we would love for you to watch the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Swimming airing live on NBC June 25-July2. Check your local listings for times. Also, this campaign is using the hashtag #SwimToday so watch for the tweets to follow along with important information about USA Swimming.
I think that you are reading my mind. I’m mulling around a post about my son and his swim lessons. He loves swimming & lessons but something spooked him and now he refuses to get into the pool. It’s frustrating for me as both Mommy and as a swimmer who desperately wants her kids to love swimming. Not sure what’s going to happen because I do not want to push him and have him end up hating it. SIGH.
BTW – I can’t wait for the Olympics. Swimming is my favorite and I like to yell at the TV when I watch.
Christine @ Love, Life, Surf recently posted..Dare you to rock climb
My eldest was so scared of the water for so long. She loves it so much now. xo
tracy@sellabitmum recently posted..Confidence
I put Cady in lessons at four and she completely freaked the freak out. She was terrified of the water. We stayed away from the pool. After that I had a friend that worked with her for awhile, but she was still completely terrified. Finally now at seven she is back in traditional lessons. She had her first one tonight. She said she was a little scared, but stuck with it. Her four year old brother is in the same class and is loving it. I agree that lessons are so, so important. Last year we had a record number of children drown in our area. Every case was heart breaking. My advice is that if they have a huge fear you just keep trying. Don’t give up.
Jennifer recently posted..I have issues
We swim tons in the summer – bith girls love it – and so do I! But I get very nervous. Sometimes when we have plans to swim the next day- I find myself laying awake in bed picturing various drowning scenarios.
Havalah has been swimming since she was 3 – taking lessons once a week almost year round. Now she knows all of her strokes and is swimming competitively so I don;t worry about her so much.
Miriella has had one session of swim lessons ad will start again in the fall. She will confidently walk out into water above her head if I let her. Tuesday when we went swimming she insisted she wanted to go off the diving board ad turned to swim out to it. I let her start to head out and go under while I held her by the back of the swimsuit hoping it would give her a little bit of a healthy fear – but no luck. For some reason she *thinks* she can swim.
I’m impressed with her confidence and exuberance but I am terrified of her drowning. We may double up on her swim lessons for my own sanity!
Growing up in Duluth MN all of my water experience was in Lakes. First time in a pool was 7th grade! I had to learn how to swim and I did exactly what I needed to do to pass the class – end of swimming lessons. I always admired everyone who could swim and determined you and Troy would be able to swim (success:) I am a great back floater:)
I’ve had my little guy in lessons since he was about 10 months old. Now he’s two and a half and still can’t swim swim, but he loves being in the water and just a few weeks ago the light bulb about kicking in the water went off for him!
I don’t know that I’ve ever mentioned this, but my husband deals with child deaths all day long. He deals with at least one drowning a week. Please, teach your kids to swim. While nothing can make them drown-proof, it gives them a chance.
On a happier wave, great post! We are all fish around here. Kiddo’s first swim lessons were at about 6 months. Now, at 8, he’ll brave the ocean waves with a boogie board like a pro.
Kerry Ann @Vinobaby’s Voice recently posted..Run For Cover
I cannot swim. Still. I plan on taking lessons (again) this summer (I have a serious fear). I put my girls in swim classes at 4 and 6. The 6 yr old stood on the side of the pool with her arms crossed and refused to get in the water. At class 3, the instructor offered a full refund. Meanwhile, her sister would have to be restrained from simply jumping in. It wasn’t until she was 9 that she would willingly go near the water. On a whim, I put them in a less structured class, one that wasn’t lesson oriented, but play/fun based, more water readiness as opposed to do this this way. Once the teachers were hands off and giving her the “whatever, you ain’t gotta get in” option, she eased in — and she loved it. That camp lasted two weeks and by the end of it she could fully submerge and float a bit. She was even trying to kick and actually swim. She went away for sleep away camp at 9 and came back even more comfortable. Now, I can’t keep her out of the water. Although neither of them is still a full-on swimmer, I am much more comfortable with their being in the water (and glad I didn’t project my fear onto them).
This boy, at 2, though, is going the refusal route (at least at daycare. He screams and cries at their small round pool that can only fit 6 of them at once whereas at our neighborhood pool he’s all lemme go, hi pool, I want to be in you).
Arnebya recently posted..Sometimes I Win
Swim lessons are a non-negotiable here. Everyone takes them every summer starting at about age 3. I think last summer was the first summer that Elise didn’t take them. She is 10 now and a really strong swimmer, so she is off the hook for lessons now unless she wants them. All the kids seemed to learn to swim between ages 5-6. Elise and Nina are both strong swimmers now, and if I just take the two of them to the pool, I don’t even need to put on my swimsuit. I read a book and look up every paragraph or so to check on them. Addie is still learning.
Ann recently posted..Pending Litigation
Fred is going to be poppin’ up the white-trash pool this week. It was okay in the old neighborhood. I’m sure we’ll be arrested for trashing the place in our new location.
Yes, the kids most definitively should be happy and not fearful of the water. Panicking isn’t good. m.
Mark recently posted..The Settlement
My daughter is on a summer swim team. The kids learn so much faster on a team than they do with lessons. Like anything else – it is all about practice. I laugh every summer when we all stand around the pool and cheer while a four or five-year old takes what seems like hours to accross the pool and by most standards they are clearly going to drown any minute. If the littles are afraid one of the older kids gets in the pool for the “race.” I also love when an older child joins without experience. It is fun to watch how fast they improve. We have a buddy system where the older kids take a younger one and mentors them. I highly recommend summer swim team!!!
This is awesome, Tracy. I keep meaning to sign V up for swim lessons but keep missing the deadline for our local rec center – whose web site is not user friendly to begin with, and thus it’s like a scavenger hunt trying to track the info down. Hopefully, this site can make the logistics a little easier. Thanks!
Kristin @ What She Said recently posted..The Demise of Caillou
I think it is so very important for kids to learn how to swim. Big T who is now 8 is an extremely confident swimmer, and we had him in lessons since he was 6 months old. Sweet Pea (6) is still a little tenative, but he will get the hang of it. It was hard to get him in lessons with Big T in preschool. Buggy, well at 2 he loves the water but doesn’t know a lick about swimming yet. We are hoping to help all of them this summer at the lake. While keeping an extremely watchful eye!
Great post, with fabulous info!!
Hopes@StayingAfloat! recently posted..What a Difference a Mountain Range Makes
Your post resurrects all the summer angst I get when my kids start lessons. I wrote about it @ Segullah. About the importance of making kids do hard things. And how swim lessons have not been just for my children. They’ve been for me, the sideline parent.
http://segullah.org/daily-special/lessons/
Cath recently posted..The Other Half
Lessons for kids…I am certified SCUBA diver and even have my Rescue Certification. I love diving and have never been afraid of the water…but I competed in my first triathlon last summer and after the 1/2 mile swim I realized I needed lessons. So I hired a USTA certified level 2 tri-coach this past spring and started swimming lessons. It is amazing what you can learn even if you already can swim.
I do remember absolutely hating swim class in gym in the 8th grade but I really wish I would have paid a little more attention to what was going on instead of worrying about the horribly unflattering swim suit, what my hair was going to look like afterwords and lastly why it always seemed the girls never had to swim…I knew enough about biology to realize this “event” did not happen this long or this often yet somehow they always seemed to manage to scam out out the swim portion…Tracy I know you remember what I am talking about in the 8th a grade.
I accompanied my son’s class to the pool yesterday and I was pleased to see that the kids are being taught to swim. They don’t just bounce around in the water, they actually have relays and have to jump into the deep end with one of those tube thingies.
I used to be a lifeguard and you’re right about flotation devices – they don’t help.
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