Have you ever tried a wetsuit for teaching?

Have you ever thought about a wetsuit for your “learn-to-swim” students?

While I started wearing a wetsuit back when I taught in “unheated  pools,” now even when I teach in heated, warm water pools (87 plus degrees)–I won’t teach in anything else!

Why?

1. I’m a better teacher when I’m warm!
2. I use a fraction of the sunscreen which is not only quite convenient, my savings in sunscreen probably will pay for the wetsuit in a few years (as much as I’m in the pool)!
3. When I wear my speedos, my fellow male instructors are usually intimidated by my overpowering muscular physique (LOL)!

What about babies & young children?

Both of my boys, Jeb almost 7 and Nolan  20 mos., love to wear their wetsuits.  Now that Jeb is getting a little order, he doesn’t wear it exclusively, but he still wears it alot.   In fact, last summer we visited Johnstown, PA and went swimming at the Windber Recreation Pool.   Even though the water was like 75 degrees tops, Jeb had a blast and was in the pool for hours because of his wetsuit.

The Konfidence swimming wetsuits such as the Baby Warma and  the Child’s Swimming Wetsuit are just awesome investments.   Not only are the children happier in the pool because they are warm, I have found there are several other benefits:

1.  The neoprene material lasts forever!  Nolan is now wearing Jeb’s old wetsuit and it’s in fantastic condition.

2.  Children don’t grow out of the wetsuits overnight.  With adjustable velcro shoulder straps, Jeb probably got two years out of this first wetsuit that Nolan is now wearing.

3.  Even when the water is warm, even 85 degree air can feel cool when your wet if there’s a little breeze.   But with the wetsuit on, your child never catches a chill!

And of course all the same benefits I mentioned for adults or swim teachers apply to children, such as sunscreen savings and UV protection.  If you thought you or your child liked the pool before, wait until you get a wetsuit–you’ll never get out!

Should babies be DUNKED in swimming lessons?  Listen to this FREE PODCAST!

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My Definition of Swimming and Swimming Skill Benchmarks

What does it mean to learn to swim?  In an effort to help my “swim lessons parents” understand what a child can potentially learn at a variety of ages, I developed a list of “Swimming Skill Benchmarks”  for infants, toddlers, and young children.  Because the question, “How long will it take my child to learn to swim” is asked so often, I thought it would be helpful to define swimming in terms of a child’s reasonable capabilities at a variety of ages.   This, of course, is assuming the child is being instructed by a swimming professional (not your local pool lifeguard).

While I don’t believe it is necessary or even a good idea for children should  to be enrolled in swimming lessons 12 months out of the year, I do believe that learning to swim should be TOP PRIORITY and even take priority over other activities (if necessary).   To clarify further, my own children participate in a variety of activities for both fitness and skill acquisition, i.e., soccer, basketball, karate, and gymnastics to name a few.   Nevertheless–it is my professional opinion as both a physical educator and water safety professional every child should be able to swim freestyle and backstroke across a pool (5 year old benchmark below) by 6 years of age.  AND I don’t think that spending month after month in other activities INSTEAD of learning to swim, for example, is a good idea.  Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in children age five and under for a reason, and while  learning to swim should never replace Constant Adult Supervision–it does save many more lives than t-ball, soccer, dance, etc.

It is very important to me that the following set of benchmarks be used to help parents understand what their child is capable of doing in terms of swimming skills, but this list should NEVER be used as a critique of any kind.  Children should be allowed to progress at their own pace in a child-friendly, child-centered environment.  FOR YOUR CHILD’S SAKE–KEEP THESE SIMPLE GUIDELINES IN MIND:

1. Encourage and complement your child on what he/she is doing well.
2. Leave the constructive criticisms to the teacher.
3. Love and support your child unconditionally.

You want your child to develop a life long love affair with the water.  Allow him/her to progess at their own pace.   With that in mind, here are my SWIMMING SKILL BENCHMARKS:

3 months: Baby is capable of happily having water gently poured over the head using our conditioning method (as shown in my Bathtub Baby 101 DVD available on our website for just $19.00).

6 months: Baby is capable of performing a “brief underwater pass” with our Parent & Me class experiences.

12 months:  Baby is capable of a “brief underwater swim” with our Parent & Me class experiences.

18 months: Toddler is capable of maneuvering himself thru the water for 3-5 seconds using the legs for propulsion (independently from mom/dad to the teacher) with our Parent & Me class experiences.

24 – 36 months:

• Toddler is capable of getting back to the side of the pool from a sitting entry with our Parent & Me class experiences.

• 30 months: Toddler is capable of swimming with face in the water for 7-10 feet with our Parent & Me class experiences.

• 36 months: Toddler is capable of getting back to the side of the pool from a standing entry with our Parent & Me class experiences.

3 ½ years: Child is capable of swimming with the face in the water and breathing as needed using a “pop-up breath” or “roll-over breath” with our Swim 101 class experiences.

4 years: Child is capable of swimming freestyle with the face-in-the-water for 20 feet with our Swim Strokes 201 class experiences.

5 years: Child is capable of swimming Freestyle with side breathing and Backstroke for 30 feet with our Swim Strokes 201 class experiences.

6 years: Child is capable of swimming a 100-yard individual medley (25 yards of each stroke:  butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle) competently with Advanced Swim Strokes 301 class and our entry-level swim team class experiences.

If you would like to learn more about the Swim Lessons University Online Swim Instructor Certification  and curriculum, make sure to visit us at www.SwimLessonsUniversity.com

Swim Lessons University is currently being utilized by recreation departments, YMCAs, America Camp Association swim lessons programs, as well as by private swimming instructors in 45 states and over 30 countries!

You can also call us toll free at 1-866-498-SWIM (7946).

Jim Reiser’s article,  How to Choose a Swim Instructor, was selected as a “Rising Star” and featured on the WikiHow home page under “new articles.”

By the way, Swim Lessons University’s feature of the week is “Bathtub Baby 101,” How to Make Bath Time Your Baby’s First Swimming Lesson, and it is discounted this week only by 20%!  So you can have it now for just $15.00!

This DVD is especially helpful for parents with babies between the ages 4 weeks and 6 months, helping parents get their baby more prepared for their first swimming lesson.  Because most swim schools don’t start formal instruction until at least 6 months of age, this is the perfect starter DVD for every parent of a newborn baby!

To learn more about it, view the sample video now!

Dunking Infants and Babies is always a big topic of discussion when it comes to learn-to-swim and swimming lessons for infants and toddlers.    Should baby swimmers or toddler swimmers be dunked or not?

View my recent article on About.com and the five rules I train swim instructors to follow when it comes to Infant-toddler swim classes.

Watch 7 minutes of sample video footage from Teaching Babies Better,  Jim Reiser’s brand new Swim Lessons DVD for Infant & Toddlers!

In Teaching Babies Better, ” The Swim Professor” shares 22 Ways to Improve Infant & Toddler Swim Lessons, while also showing awesome underwater footage and sound teaching principals throughout the Baby Swimming presentation for water safety and swim instructors.

How to Hold Your Baby in the Swimming Pool

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Have you ever wondered if you were holding your baby incorrectly in the swimming pool? Or if some holds are better than others? In this article, you will learn the holds that are the most effective.

Steps

1. Use the hug hold. The hug hold is the foundation of all the holds outlined in this article. Why? Because it is the hold that your baby feels most secure. Use it when getting in and out of the pool, use it while your baby gets acclimated to the water, and use it any time your baby needs a little TLC!
2. Try the face-to-face hold. The face-to-face hold is one of the most versatile holds a parent or teacher can use. To perform this hold, simply place your hands under the baby’s armpits with your thumbs wrapped around his/her shoulders. Not only is it great for kicking exercises, it also allows the teacher or parent to make sure that the baby’s face is always out of the water, preventing any accidental facial immersions which can be dangerous if they happen repeatedly.
3. Practice the modified face-to-face hold. This hold is performed like so: Simply place the infant or toddler on your chest while your hands are positioned just below the baby’s knees. The advantage to this hold is that as you walk backwards around the pool, you can manipulate the child’s legs as you cue: “kick, kick, kick.” Now the baby/toddler gets both verbal and kinesthetic feedback which promotes learning skills. It is recommended that you alternate the face-to-face hold with the modified face-to-face hold, so that the infant-toddler learns what you want when you give him/her the cues.
4. Use the pass hold. The pass hold is another really effective hold but it is also one that must be used with caution when utilizing it for kicking exercises. When you use the pass hold, you are holding the baby to your side, with your left hand under the child’s left armpit and the right hand under the child’s right armpit. While this can be a great position to have the child in to practice his/her kick, it is critical that you keep a constant eye on the child’s mouth in relation to the water. Once again, you do not want a baby to have multiple accidental facial immersions because they could take in water, which can be dangerous, not to mention at the very least, it could create a bad experience and cause the baby to become upset and water-shy. It is really good to use this hold on two year olds who also have a noodle under their chins when performing kicking exercises. In addition, it is an awesome way to spot the baby (using a pass hold) for safety skill entries and drills (as seen video below).

Video

Watch Jim Reiser, Swim Lessons University founder and instructor, in some highlights from his Parent & Me 101 class.

Copy and paste this link into your browser:

Warnings

• Consult with your pediatrician before participating in learn to swim programs.
• Consult with your pediatrician or a swimming professional before using any of the techniques described above.

Things You’ll Need

• Swim noodle

Sources and Citations

• Original source of article from Swim Lessons University. Shared with permission.

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Hold Your Baby in the Swimming Pool. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Here is a recent email I received:

Coach Jim,
I don’t know where you find your swim teachers, but I’ve got one thing to say… “Keep up the good work!”

My son Zach has been w/Ms Kali at Still Hopes on the Saturday am class. She has worked the class well to suit his needs.   Due to his autism, sometimes he can have trouble w/things as I am sure you can imagine.  He LOVES the water though, so we wanted to take the opportunity to utilize that to our advantage.

Zach works so hard for Coach Kali & has grown a lot over the last few weeks.  We will all miss swim class until January comes!  It is so awesome as a parent watching him striving for something & be able to acheive it.  I know it would not be possible though, without a dedicated teacher who wants to see my son excel as much as I do. This is Zach’s 2nd class & at both classes he has had wonderful teachers.

I just had to write you & let you know how pleased we are & for you to please give Ms Kali & BIG high-five & a “thank you!”  Please contiue to keep up the GREAT work!!!
– Crystal & John T.

Jim comments:

There is nothing more  rewarding than getting emails like these . . . . but these emails are not an accident.   At The Swim Lessons Company, we don’t find great teachers, we make them!  Yes, we do find good people but that is really the easy part.  The hard part is putting together a staff of teachers who will consistently earn you the testimonials like the one you read above.

HOW DO YOU DO YOU PUT A SUPER STAFF OF SWIM TEACHERS ?
Swim Lessons University was developed to do just that.  In fact,  the DVD video Teaching Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder was instrumental in the comments above on Coach Kali.

Yes, you can find a good water safety instructor here or there.  But if you want to grow your school and create a swim school where you can actually guarantee “learning and laughter,” you can’t expect just to find great swim instructors–you have to make them!  And www.swimlessonsuniversity.com holds the key to your success!

How to Teach Swimming Lessons Like an Expert Swimming Instructor

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Have you ever wondered how you could teach swimming lessons more effectively? Have you ever wondered how you could teach your swim school staff members to improve their teaching too? In this article, I will share with you 7 Steps to make your swim lessons more effective!

Steps

1. Choral Responding Technique – Have your students repeat back to you the cues or buzzwords you are teaching (there are some great examples in the video attached).
2. Check for Understanding Technique – Create a close-ended question that will require a short response or create a “fill-in-the-blank” like question. This a fantastic way to see if your swim lessons students are understanding exactly what it is that you want them to do.
3. Demonstration Tactics – There are a number of ways to demonstrate a skill. Use swim demonstration tactics like the “right way vs. the wrong way,” incorporate choral responding into your demonstration, and many more (The learn-to-swim DVD “You Can Teach Like a Pro” shows the best ways to demonstrate swim skills to young children).
4. Start Signals – Have you ever been frustrated because you lost control of your class? The answer may lie in something as simple as using good, clear, start signals. If your swim students know what you want them to do and when you want them to do it, your class will run much smoother.
5. Learn to swim Progressions – Have you ever heard the saying, “Practice makes perfect?” Of course you have . . . and it’s nonsense! “Progressive practice makes perfect.” Swim Lessons students have a hard time practicing a swimming skill they don’t have the ability to do yet! But if you, the swim teacher, have swim skill progressions in place so they can learn the new skill in achievable steps, your learn to swim students will have much more success.
6. How do you Correct Your Students? The manner in which you give your swim lessons students feedback can make or break their ability to improve their skills. Not to mention you can hinder learning by hurting their confidence. In the You Can Teach Like a Pro DVD, you will learn 7 different methods of feedback and how to use them. Once again, just click on the video sample in this article and you will a nice sampling of what we are referring to.

Video

Watch this 7 minute video sampling of Jim Reiser’s brand new “YOU CAN TEACH LIKE A PRO” DVD for Swimming Instructors and Water Safety Instructors who would like to improve their teaching! To purchase the entire DVD, go to www.swimlessonsuniversity.com

Tips

• Visit www.swimlessonsuniversity.com

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Teach Swimming Lessons Like an Expert Swimming Instructor. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.