Whether you are a swimming instructor or parent, when it comes to teaching infants and toddlers to swim–PLEASE choose your approach carefully.   It is absolutely imperative that you really research the pros and cons of the teaching method before enrolling in an infant swimming program, especially one that may promise drown-proofing or mastering survival skills.  These approaches can be extremely dangerous and even life-threatening.  Simply put, your baby’s (or student’s) life and emotional well-being is in YOUR hands.

Teaching an infant or toddler to swim can be done successfully in a naturally progressive, child-centered learning environment.   One that is gentle and kind.  It is my professional opinion that this is the ONLY method any responsible person should consider for a baby.   We certainly want children to learn to swim for safety, but there is no iron-clad, guaranteed defense against drowning.  There is no such thing as drown-proofing.

In fact, the Broward County Drowning Prevention Task Force in Florida published a program called Water Smart Babies.  They created the program to help educate parents on how to best protect their children and keep them safer around the water.  Water Smart Babies stresses that the parent is the most important factor  and encourages parents to Follow the Safer 3, a layered approach to drowning prevention.

To keep infants and toddlers safer, parents should be taught to take every precaution when the child is in or around the water.  Never let your guard down no matter how many lessons a toddler has taken or how many times they have shown the ability to swim.  To keep children safer, we must combine learn-to-swim with as many layers of protection as possible, from touch supervision, to lifejackets, to fences, to self-closing gates, and pool alarms.

But you ask:  What about those infant-survival skills that  I’ve seen on YouTube?  I believe former NDPA Executive Director Kim Burgess hit the nail on the head in the position statement for the Broward County Drowning Prevention Task Force, “The water-survival skills program make compelling videos for the internet, but no scientific study has yet demonstrated these classes are effective.”

The report also concludes that these types of programs place inexperienced swimmers in what he perceives as life or death situations.”  If practiced repeatedly this places a child in a chronic stressful situation of “saving his life” every time he swims, which could detrimental to the child’s emotional and cognitive development.

Karen King, also referenced in the report, states:  “Putting babies in life or death scenarios is not an acceptable teaching practice in swimming or any learning situation. It’s like showing a child a busy street, putting him IN the road, and watching to see if he makes it to the curb.”  Do you see the cruelty and absurdity in this?

The bottom line is that the ultimate goal of teaching infant, toddlers and young children to swim is so that they love their swimming experience and learn to be safer in the water in the process.   Like any other worthwhile skills, skill mastery is a process–not an event.  Don’t be fooled!

Here is a short video example of what the Swim Lessons University “Parent & Tot” learn to swim program looks like.

Give a child a lifetime gift–teach a child to swim using a gentle, loving approach.   An approach that has proven effective for not only my own three boys, but for the thousands and thousands of students who have safely learned to swim with a Swim Lessons University certified instructor.

The International Swimming Hall of Fame has named Jim Reiser the recipient of the 2015 Virginia Hunt Newman Award for his curriculum and approach in teaching infants, toddlers, and children to swim.  Jim is the first American to win the award in 10 years.

If you would like to learn more about the Swim Lessons University certification program and curriculum, make sure to visit us at www.SwimLessonsUniversity.com  We have training and certification programs designed for both private instructors as well as organizations like YMCAs, Recreation Departments, Athletic Clubs, and more.

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).

A Parent writes after having taken 8 lessons (4 hours of instruction with her 15 month old):

My 15 month old son and I just took the parent and me class with Coach M.   Each day was a repeat of the same thing we had done each day prior. I guess my point is to ask you, what were we supposed to be doing in class, and what is the most you can get out of the parent and me class? My son is extremely active, strong, and very comfortable with water.  Is familiarity with water the only thing we were supposed to achieve, or was there more? Again I am not trying to complain, I really just wanted an answer if you have the time. I appreciate it.

Thank you,

C.P.

Dear C.P.,

It is hard to give a true assessment without seeing your class… But here are my thoughts:

Yes, the routine shouldn’t change. Children need that consistency in approach to make progress because not only of their age, but also because the improvement depends on practicing that particular skill.  For example:   It’s like deciding you’re going to be a runner, but then instead of running to get in shape for the marathon you start playing tennis.   Do you see what I mean?  Like running, in order to learn the skill of swimming, you need to run, run, and run some more, and you won’t be ready for that marathon in 4 hours.  You can think of many other examples.   Here’s one more:  You want your child to learn to play your favorite song on the piano.   If he’s going to learn to play that song, not only will he need to practice that song often and regularly, he will need to repeat a variety of exercises to help him achieve that goal.  And yes, it will take longer than 4 hours of instruction.  Learning to swim is no different.

Now let’s talk about the skills we are teaching in Parent & Tot.   There are progressions for every skill, but as teachers we have to make a judgment on whether or not the child is ready for the next step in the progression. At 15 months, it may take several weeks before we determine the child is ready to take that next step and you CAN’T force it.  IF we do,  we take the chance of going backwards and turning the child off to the lesson all together.

For instance, if the Coach M. tries to do three dolphin dips (breath control exercise) even though the toddler’s body language, facial expressions, etc. are saying “no” then she could cause the child to regress instead of progress, and potentially create a negative experience. If the child appears ready for the third dip, then Coach M. should do it.  I can’t say either way without seeing it, but Coach M. knows her job and she has taught hundreds of toddlers to swim.

The same goes with the back kicking, surface swim with the  face in the water, and the safety skills. They are repeated every lesson. They have to be if the child is going to improve on it, but within each skill, there is a progression that the instructor has to determine whether or not to go the the next step of the progression, based on the child’s readiness–NOT the instructor’s or parent’s desire to advance them.  At 15 months, it is a great time to start developing all these skills, and the skills and activities MUST be repeated in order for the child to improve them.  Children are limited to what they can do by their age, experience, and motor development. Here is a blog I wrote that may help in determining what skills toddlers are “capable” of mastering, but each child is unique, and each child needs to be treated as an individual.  There are so many factors in addition to age that go into the process of whether or not a child is ready to move on in a skill progression.  And that is what our instructors are trained to do.

I do think Coach M. is a great teacher.  I can’t say with certainty whether or not your son should have accomplished more or not.   It may or may not be a case of high expectations or it may be a case where Coach M. took a more conservative approach based on what she felt was best for your son.   I do know Coach M. would do just that.   I look forward to talking to you more.

SwimmingSafercerely,

Coach Jim

The International Swimming Hall of Fame has named Jim Reiser the recipient of the 2015 Virginia Hunt Newman Award for his curriculum and approach in teaching infants, toddlers, and children to swim.  Jim is the first American to win the award in 10 years.

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).