How Can I Reinforce What My Child Has Learned in Swim Lessons – Steve Wallen Swim School in Roseville and El Dorado Hills, CA
The best way for your child to learn how to swim is by enrolling them in lessons with a highly trained swimming instructor, like those you will find at Steve Wallen Swim School.
In order to be water safe, you and your children must have at least basic swimming skills and a good understanding of how to prevent drownings. Our facilities offer the perfect learning environment and a great place to practice what you have learned in our programs. However, you will have many opportunities to reinforce and practice your swimming and water safety skills with your child in many different settings.
Each time you and your children are at a pool, river, lake, ocean, or boating, there is an opportunity to reinforce and build on what your child has learned in swimming lessons.
Reinforcing Swimming Skills
Bath time is an opportunity to practice front and back floats, and blowing bubbles. For toddlers and young children, the bath is an opportunity to get used to having water in their faces and over their heads. Bathtime is a time to splash, learning that the water is a place of fun and exploration. Bright, colorful toys, especially buckets, offer a way to increase your child’s comfort in the water by pouring and splashing in that tub water!.
Come to Steve Wallen Swim School as a family, and enjoy the pool during our family swim. Our state-of-the-art facilities are an ideal and safe place to reinforce what your child is learning during their swim lessons as a family. Register your spot by phone or by email, and come play! Check out the opportunities for swimming near your home; your local government officials and tourism agencies can direct you to safe locations where you can enjoy the water, practice your swimming skills, and practice water safety. Ask about local water hazards and water quality and if lifeguards monitor these locations. Make sure that your abilities are a good fit for the water setting you intend to enjoy.
Watch and Observe During Your Child’s Swim Lessons
Observe your child’s swim class and try to replicate how your child’s swimming instructor demonstrates strokes. When offering swim stroke guidance to your child, try to replicate what their swim instructor has taught them during their classes. Watch how your child’s swimming instructor positions their arms and legs, and how they support and guide your child. Avoid confusing your child by using different terms or techniques than they have experienced in class. Build on what the experts have taught them by offering encouragement and praise, giving them opportunities to practice, build endurance, and discover new ways their bodies can move in the water. Most children will be excited to show you what they have learned, so allow them the opportunity to show off! Your children may have a thing or two to teach you!
The basics are easily reinforced by remembering a few simple concepts. Body position, when swimming on front or back, should always be streamlined. Your car has been designed to be aerodynamic, and when swimming, our bodies are most efficient when they are hydrodynamic. Think long limbs, long torso, with spine and head typically in alignment. When moving through the water, an efficient stroke is always moving in a straight line. Imagine swimming through a narrow tunnel; there is no room to snake or “s” through the water, and no room for arms and legs to pull out wide and away from the body. Breathing while swimming usually means being in control, and when the face is in the water, there should be a steady stream of bubbles resulting from controlled exhalation.
Reinforcing Water Safety
No matter your child’s age, being near any body of water is an opportunity to reinforce what they have learned about being water safe. By consistently reminding your child of water safety concepts, you reduce their risk of drowning. Take advantage of educational materials available from Stop Drowning Now and the National Drowning Prevention Alliance. These national organizations have resources that offer a great way to reinforce water safety at home.
During bath time, remind your child that bath time requires a parent’s supervision. No one runs a bath without an adult; no one gets into the tub without an adult. Teach your child to drain the tub at the end of their bath; leaving water in the bathtub poses a severe drowning hazard as it will be an unsupervised body of water into which a child could fall.
Explore your yard and neighborhood to determine if there are any drowning hazards. Discuss what you find with your child, and find solutions to any dangers that you have found. For example, is there a creek or pond nearby? Do you or one of your neighbors have an unfenced pool? Are there large buckets full of rainwater around your home? Being aware of drowning hazards, correcting any dangers that you can, and discussing them as a family are a great way to prevent drownings.
Get Your Child Started With Private, Semi-Private and/or Small Group Swim Lessons In Roseville and El Dorado Hills
When you boat or enjoy other watercraft, discuss why everyone must wear lifejackets, how they work, and maintain them to work as intended. Involve your children in gathering all the water safety equipment needed for a safe day on the water. Create a safety checklist that you and your children can complete together. By involving your children in water safety, you are reinforcing what they have learned in swim lessons. Most importantly, you are modeling the water safe behavior that you want them to engage in when not in your care. It’s absolutely fine if you are not comfortable trying to teach your child how to swim. Keep them safe, give them time and opportunity to practice what they have learned, and continue swimming lessons!
For more information on our many exciting programs, and to register, visit Steve Wallen Swim School.
