Building Confidence to Swim

Disclosure:  Suburbia Mom loves supporting local businesses and entrepreneurs.  Goldfish Swim School has partnered with Suburbia Mom to share information about their wonderful establishment for little swimmers.  While this post is sponsored, Suburbia Mom thanks you for supporting local businesses. 

Building Confidence to Swim

I don't know how many times I've heard the story of a child who learned to swim by their parents throwing them into a river or lake and telling them to swim or drown.  My hopes is this long told story is more like a tall tale that is far from the truth.  Recently, a movie I watched had this same scenario.  A drunk dad trying to teach their teenager (who couldn't swim) how to swim by throwing her in the deep end of a pool for her to swim for her life.  Pretty harsh...huh.  The entire scene was hard to watch and luckily it was just a movie.

Where did these stories originate from?   Did people really learn to swim by being thrown in?  My guess is no...not most.  Possibly these stories came from a fearful time in the water. The first time a person realized they could sink and couldn't swim. I can only imagine how freightful that would be.

Not every child receives swim lessons and many children may only visit a pool once or twice a year.  If you don't swim often, water can be very intimidating.  A pool or lake can be a fearful place if you don't feel comfortable and are not a confident swimmer.

Every parents wants to keep their child safe around water and help them learn to swim.  Swimming is a ton of fun and splashing around in a pool is one of my favorite childhood memories. Here are a few tips on helping your child overcome the fear of water starting at a young age.

Start Young

My oldest went underwater for the first time when he was 6 months old and my youngest had her first underwater experience when she was just 3 months old.  Prior to my oldest having swim lessons, I would never have thought to take a baby underwater but thanks to the Mini One Parent-Tot Swim Class  at Goldfish Swim School, we were able to  introduce water to our babies and help build their confidence in a pool.

Swim Often

I remember growing up  swimming a lot during the summer.  My grandparents had a pool and we spent many summer days swimming.  We also had many family friends with pools.  Being around water was common during the summer which helped gain my confidence but during the winter I didn't swim much at all.  Although swimming a lot during the summer helped me become a better swimmer I had to gain my confidence back each year since I wouldn't swim all winter long.

Our swim instructor made a good point...you can't learn to swim without practicing.  Showing up for a 30 minute lesson weekly is a great start...but practice time is important too.

Swim Lessons

As I fast forward to the childhood of my own children I am faced with the responsibility of having a pool in our backyard.  This comes with a lot of fears and responsibility.  I knew before they were born that they would need to learn to swim and feel confident around water.  Just as they were learning to walk, they are learning to swim at Goldfish Swim School.

 I can't stress enough the importance of swim lessons in building confidence.  I've seen two year olds cry for the first few lessons and then a few months later are doing a back float on their own.  It's amazing to see!

Teach Water Safety

While swimming is a ton of fun it also has potential danger.  Young children need to be reminded of being safe in and around water.  Find the time to talk about water safety with your children.  Things to discuss are...

1. Never swim without an adult
2. Tell an adult immediately if someone falls in.  Don't try to rescue them until you get an adult. 
3. Don't dive in shallow areas
4. Walk safely by pools.  No running. 
5. If you are wearing water safety devices such as a life jacket or arm floats...DO NOT take them off.  

As the weather warms up it will be time to swim.  Hooray for good weather on it's way.  Until then be sure to look into swim lessons as it won't be long and we will be enjoying the sunshine by the lake or pool.

Goldfish Swim School 

Are you looking for the perfect place for your child to have swim lessons?  Goldfish Swim School has so much to offer.  Check them out here!