E8 Teach Your Child To Swim

Navigating Neva

You can teach your child how to swim. Yes.

Your child does not have to go through swim lessons of the American Red Cross or the YMCA.

Hiring a swim instructor for the child is an option, but may be an expensive option. I understand.

Traditional teaching method says: ‘just throw them in, they'll swim or sink’. But that kind of teaching methods does not work for all, I know it from my own childhood experience. Your child may, on the contrary, get startled, may be scared, and who knows –may altogether quit swimming for a good number of years.

But you have to remember: if there was an incident at a pool – the child slips in or slips under for a few seconds, as a Mom or Dad, you do not have to be traumatized. Just pick the kid up, he'll be just fine. In fact, it'll actually build him confidence. Just tell him: ‘Hey! You’re okay, look you're good’. And now, he's not afraid to go under the water.

You see, 20 years of aquatic experience is under my belt, and I’ve also been certified through the American Red Cross and the YMCA of the USA. I had gotten my water safety instructor certification with the American Red Cross and have kept it current since 2005. I’ve renewed it every year, and it hasn't expired. As long as you teach, it stays current. I teach a lot – sometimes I take 12 classes of group lessons, in a single week.

So, if you’ve decided to teach your child to swim, how do you do that?

There are 5 important things you need to keep in mind. Because, these will make you a knowledgeable parent to equip you to teach your child how to swim.

Listen up as I’ve discussed in depth in this episode about: why you should be able to swim before you teach your child; water safety – safety equipment, water quality, temperature; why your child has to feel safe; need for regular exposure and practice; skills – feel buoyancy, breath control, gliding. Sound good?

Not only those…

You also want to take certain extra steps to make sure your attempts to teach your child to swim, are fool proof. You want to have a designated water watcher, a lifeguard for your kid. Don’t put them in swimming the whole time. If you have little ones that are the same age, take turns. Spend half their time in water and half their water time out of it. Put them in – work with one halfway through, switch and work with the other one.

So, my desire is that you’ll have a zero drowning summer – I want you and your child to be safe.

I want you and your kids to learn to swim and enjoy the summer.