CLASSES: ABCD’S OF WATER SAFETY
As summer approaches, water safety becomes a growing concern for parents of young children. We all want our children to be safe and have fun in the water! While it can be intimidating to read all the facts about children and drowning, Swim Kids Waco is committed to equipping families with the tools needed for creating a safe environment around the water, whether you’re at home or on vacation. Our new blog series will teach you the ABCD’s of Water Safety.
C is for Classes
Our third area of water safety includes classes for kids as well as adults.
Classes for Kids
When you enroll your child in swimming lessons, you’re giving them the lifelong gift of safety AND giving them an opportunity to grow in confidence by learning a new skill. Whether your child loves to swim or is nervous (or even very scared), swimming lessons can empower kids to overcome their fears and grow in new ways.
As they progress through the levels, kids gain confidence and discover how much fun the water can be! They learn to be competent and safe in the water, which every parent wants for their kids. Each level builds on the previous ones as they learn different swim strokes and build endurance as swimmers.
If your child doesn’t like to get their face wet or is hesitant to lay back in the water and learn to float, our beginner level classes (and private lessons) help children to face their fears in a safe and encouraging environment so they can begin to enjoy being in the water.
Even if your child likes to swim and can already do some things, consider if they have the skills they will need for their whole life. At Swim Kids Waco, we consider a swimmer “safe” when they can swim 300 yards, tread water and float independently.
Some day your kids will be teenagers and adults swimming without you. So, prepare them to swim well and understand water safety concepts so that as they grow, they are ready for whatever aquatic environment they encounter. Whether they go to a lake house or the beach with friends or decide they want to try surfing or scuba diving later in life, you want them to be able to enjoy their lives safely. Swimming is a life skill, a fun and life-saving gift that will last them for a lifetime. By the end of Level 3, a kid should be able to do all of these skills (swim 300 yards, tread water and float independently).
Does your child love to swim and want to swim as a sport and method of exercise? Swimming is EXCELLENT EXERCISE and something people can do through old age to stay healthy. Our stroke skills classes go up through a junior swim team where they learn all 4 competitive strokes, side stroke, elementary backstroke, flip turns and everything they would need to be a skilled swimmer and go on to competing if they want to do that!
While our traditional lessons equip kids to gradually grow in their swimming skills, usually in weekly lessons, survival swim programs (like Infant Aquatics) will train babies and young children specifically in survival skills over the course of 6 to 8 weeks with lessons four times a week. By the end of the session, babies will learn to roll over to float and those 16 months and older will learn to swim-float-swim to the side of the pool if they were to fall in. You can learn more about our survival swim program here.
Both types of lessons are good options and effective. Survival swim lessons just require a larger initial investment (time and financial) but they produce quicker results.
Swimming lessons have been found to reduce the risk of drowning by 88% for children ages 1-4! But remember – no child is “drown-proof.” Even if a child knows how to swim, they should still be supervised by an adult and never swim alone.
Classes for Adults – Swimming Lessons & CPR
While we often think of swimming lessons for children, adults can benefit from swimming lessons as well! Whether you never learned to swim or float before and want to learn the basics to feel comfortable in the water or perhaps you’re training for a triathlon and need to hone your skills before the big race, swimming lessons can be useful for beginners, athletes and anyone in between.
As parents, grandparents or caregivers, it’s also valuable to know CPR in case of emergency. You can find options to get CPR certified through American Red Cross or American Heart Association throughout the year.
At Swim Kids Waco, we offer a FREE Safety Course in the fall and spring that includes water safety, CPR and first aid. It is NOT a CPR certification class, but you’ll learn the skills needed to perform CPR. It’s just one afternoon for an hour and a half. You can email swimkidswaco@gmail.com to find out when the next Safety Course is being held.
To read about the first two letters of water safety, click here:
