How you can help your child learn to swim | THE MOM STOP

I was sitting by the pool recently watching my 9-year-old swim in the shallow end, snorkeling and looking for diving toys. That's when I overheard another mom talking to a lifeguard.

She was asking for recommendations for a swim instructor. Nearby, I saw the woman’s daughter swimming happily, likely close in age to my own daughter. I felt for the mom, since I’ve been in her shoes.

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There are some things that are plentiful in our town. Chicken restaurants, for one. Mattress stores, for a second. Waffle House restaurants, churches and college students, for more.

But swimming lesson instructors are not plentiful or easy to find. In fact, I’ve discovered, that getting a child into high-quality swimming lessons is about as difficult as finding space for an infant in a high-quality day care. Just as people get on waiting lists and sign up months in advance for child care or preschools, many swimming classes book up way in advance of the summer months.

I was lucky enough to get my older two kids in a one-week swimming lessons several summers in a row, taught by an instructor in her backyard pool — someone who lived a good 45-minute drive from my home. She was someone who people flocked to for lessons, so much so that the lessons were full months before the summer  began.

That same instructor taught each of my older two kids to swim. But when it came to my third child, she didn’t quite grasp swimming independently. The pandemic hit at an age when she probably should have learned to swim.

The only problem was, we didn’t go to a pool regularly in 2020 or really even 2021. By the time she was 7, she had become overly dependent on the “floaties” in the pool. When we are in the lake, we require her to wear a life jacket. And when I tried to find her swimming lessons, I was out of luck. I never was able to get off the waiting list.

Thankfully, by the time she turned 8, she no longer wanted to wear the “baby” floaties. She wanted to jump off the diving board and swim in the deep end at the public pool with her older siblings. And so, last summer, we made a point of going to the pool most Sunday afternoons, sometimes with the other kids, sometimes just me and my youngest daughter. But I’d always get in and we’d go to the deep end, working on teaching her to swim.

She had had the basics down for a few years, but lacked the confidence not to panic, and to know she could swim on her own. And amazingly, within a few short Sundays at the pool, she was gleefully jumping off the diving board and swimming across the deep end with the rest of the kids.

I still think swimming lessons are the way to go when it comes to ensuring kids learn swim techniques and water safety. But when swim classes are hard to find, sometimes it means getting in the water and becoming the teacher, yourself.

Here are some basic tips on water safety and teaching your child to swim, from Parents.com

• Always practice close supervision when children are around water. If your kids are five years old or younger, practice “reach supervision” where you are with your child, holding your child or can quickly reach them if needed.

• Never assume another adult is watching, even if there is a lifeguard.

• Don't force them to do an activity such as swimming until your child is ready.

• Practice at home getting their faces wet in the bathtub or in the shower.

• In the shallow end, work with your child in teaching them how to float independently, submerge their head under water for five to 10 seconds, and swim to the wall of a pool or an exit point quickly.

• More advanced swimmers can work on swim techniques.

• Look for swimming classes that focus both teaching how to swim as well as water safety.

Lydia Seabol Avant writes The Mom Stop for The Tuscaloosa News. Reach her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tips can help make your child a better swimmer | THE MOM STOP