The many wonderful reasons to teach your child to learn to swim:  Being part of that process can be one of the most enjoyable and rewarding experiences a parent can have with their child.

By Julia Ham (Hampton Swim School) Some parents choose to delay the commencement of their child’s swimming education, believing that their backyard pool plays a more important role in aquatic development than structured lessons. BUT WAIT, in 2009 alone in Australia over 50 children between the ages of 0-17 years died by drowning, with many more near-drowning incidents and accidents occurring around the pool or beach. As previously reported, many of these children were left unsupervised, so it's easy to see why swim lessons sooner rather than later provide an additional barrier against drowning. Safety aside, swimming is a great form of exercise and, as well as being fun, it promotes time with the family and opens the door to many water sports such as water polo, sailing and nippers. The most common question asked by prospective parents of children of Hampton Swim School is, “when is the best time to start swimming?” Opinions on this topic vary. Given Qld’s lifestyle, the likelihood that a child will be...

Everybody needs to remember not to be complacent about SUPERVISION as the primary layer of protection in the prevention of drowning. Vigilance is required, no matter how confident a young swimmer may be. Home pools are becoming more common every day. It is estimated now that more than 1 in 5 Australian homes have a swimming pool and, with QLD’s perfect weather, the water is the place to be! But beware: this great Aussie Icon can be dangerous! The RLSSA National Drowning Report for 2009 showed an alarming increase to 302 in the number of deaths caused by drowning. This is the highest figure in 6 years, and a wakeup call to parents especially when we consider that 32 deaths were in the under 5 years age group and, of these, over 60% were in backyard swimming pools. Combine this with the recent tragic drowning of 2 children at public pools, and we need to realise that supervision CAN, and DOES FAIL. Last week, Hampton Swim School conducted a Mother’s Morning Tea at which a segment interviewing a parent of a young child who had drowned was aired. There was not a dry eye in the room, and the grief and guilt of the parent was felt by everyone in attendance....

One of my swim school parents recently told me of their intention to stop their 6-year old’s swim lessons as they believed that their child was now “water safe”. When pressed as to what exactly they meant by “water safe”, the parent explained that her son had been taking swim lessons for 3 years, and could now swim 25m unassisted and float on their back, and was aware of basic water safety information. Moreover, the little boy had said to his parent that he wanted to start sailing lessons instead. Discontinuation of...

Some parents choose to delay the commencement of their child’s swimming education, believing that their backyard pool plays a more important role in aquatic development than structured lessons.

BUT WAIT, in 2009 alone in Australia over 50 children between the ages of 0-17 years died by drowning, with many more near-drowning incidents and accidents occurring around the pool or beach. As previously reported, many of these children were left unsupervised, so it's easy to see why swim lessons sooner rather than later provide an additional barrier against drowning. Safety aside, swimming is a great form of exercise and, as well as being fun, it promotes time with the family and opens the door to many water sports such as water polo, sailing and nippers....

There are plenty of wonderful reasons to teach your child to swim, and being part of that process can be one of the most enjoyable and rewarding experiences a parent can have with their child. Swimming encourages fun and learning, and helps a child develop confidence and a positive self- image. Research has shown that early swimmers perform better both socially and academically and that swimming from an early age enhances not only gross motor skill development and coordination but also the personality development of a child...so swimming...

Home pools are becoming more common every day. It is estimated now that more than 1 in 5 Australian homes have a swimming pool and, with QLD’s perfect weather, the water is the place to be! But beware: this great Aussie Icon can be dangerous! The RLSSA National Drowning Report for 2009 showed an alarming increase to 302 in the number of deaths caused by drowning. This is the highest figure in 6 years, and a wakeup call to parents especially when we consider that 32 deaths were in the under 5 years age group and, of these, over 60% were in backyard swimming pools. Combine this with the recent tragic drowning of 2 children at public pools, and we need to realise that supervision CAN, and DOES FAIL. Recently, Hampton Swim School conducted a Mother’s Morning Tea at which a segment interviewing a parent of a young child who had drowned was aired. There was not a dry eye in the room, and the grief and guilt of the parent was felt by everyone in attendance. Parents need to be reminded not to be complacent about SUPERVISION as the primary layer of protection in the prevention of drowning. Vigilance is required, no matter how confident a young swimmer may be....

Early teens and high-school students are spending less time participating in physical exercise, and indications suggest that this age group is engaging or playing sport for less than an hour a week. When it comes to the pool, a significant decline in participation is recorded in children of the primary to high school transition age group (12 to 13 years). So why do our kids stop swimming? With the additional academic pressures and challenges associated with the transition to high school and settling into Year 8, it is often an easier choice for students to drop their extra-curricular activities like swimming at this time. Some might believe that swimming is now ‘uncool’, while a lowered self-confidence and body image attributable to the physical and emotional changes the child is dealing with may be the reason some are discouraged from attending swimming. Others might now lack the motivation to compete or train, an activity they once enjoyed. With this age group being seen to now be engaged more than ever in...

As reported recently in the media, it is estimated by the Royal Life Saving Society of Australia that nearly 1 in 5 children will leave Australian Primary Schools in a few weeks time without the required aquatic skills to swim 50m and unable to perform basic survival and water safety techniques that could potentially save their lives. This statistic means that over 50,000 of our children aged 11 to 12 lack fundamental swimming and water safety skills, and comes on the back of news that a high school in Melbourne has cancelled its swimming sports because not enough students know how to swim. With aquatic activities at the heart of our national identity and lifestyle – when and how did we start neglecting to educate our Aussie kids on the basics of learning to swim safer? Does the responsibility to ensure our kids are taught swim safer skills lie with parents, our schools, or with our governments? The growth in the numbers of children under 5 years of age being taught at private swimming complexes is increasing,...

Summer holidays are fast approaching– within a month our children will have finished school for yet another year! For many of us, at least some of the Xmas school holiday period is spent away from home visiting relatives or catching up with family and friends, and of course enjoying some much needed relaxation amid the celebrations associated with this festive season. In many instances, this holiday period is spent near and around water. However, a festive and fun summer holiday can turn to tragedy in an instant, and parents need to be mindful of the increased probability of childhood drowning when on vacation. The places visited by a family while on holiday are very often unfamiliar, and the excitement of the festive season may in some cases result in the dangers inherent in these places going unnoticed. Parents need to make themselves familiar with all of the aquatic environments - including rivers, lakes, dams, swimming pools and beaches – they are likely to encounter during the family vacation, and they should take the time to identify the potential hazards of each different location....