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...

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...

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 during 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 a pool are likely to cultivate within a young child a negative attitude toward water, and in turn will magnify the difficulties...

Parents are enrolling their children in water-familiarisation lessons at a younger age than ever before to ensure their child’s acclimation to the water at an early age. Also, given we inhabit a continent surrounded by coastline and live in a climate where aquatic recreation is available to many, becoming aquatically adept can be regarded as an important element in making the most of what Australian lifestyle has to offer. As strong a reasons as these are to have a child taught to swim, there is a tendency for parents to get caught up in how far their children can swim, rather than to focus on how long their child is able to stay afloat or if their child can get themselves or others out of danger if required. While the #1 reason indicated by parents for taking their child to swim lesson is to enhance their child’s water safety and survival skills, are parents confused as to the relative importance of their child becoming a strong ‘technical’ swimmer as opposed to becoming a strong ‘survivor’ or ‘rescuer’? If...

There is no debate; the #1 reason parents enrol their children in swimming lessons is to enhance their child’s safety in and around the water. However, before, during and even upon completion of the learn-to-swim process, parents may consider having their child use a flotation aid as means to provide added security against their child accidentally drowning. A variety of flotation aids designed to suit children of different ages and at different stages of the learn-to-swim process (including armbands, backpacks, vests and noodles) are available. In my role as a swim instructor, I feel I have a good understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of each type of flotation device from the perspectives of both learning-to-swim and safety. First and foremost, it is important that parents understand that flotation aids are not a life-saving device, and that they are not an excuse for the absence of constant supervision while the child is in the water! Unfortunately, too many children drown each year in Australia, and the majority of these tragedies occur as a result of the child falling accidentally into a body of water. While no drownings with the child using a “wearable-type” flotation aid have been recorded, the use of a flotation aid may create in both the parent and the child a misplaced sense of child’s confidence in water....

There are plenty of wonderful reasons to teach your child to learn 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 contributes to the happiness, health, and development of the “whole” child!...