How to Ensure Your Child’s Swimming Success
At Steve Wallen Swim School, we guide children and adults of all abilities toward swimming success every day, all year round. Being the experts at teaching swimming that we are, we want to share our tips for success; learning to swim is so much more than a fun activity.
Our decades-long experience has taught us that children learn to swim best when lessons are conducted all year long and not just saved for a summer activity. We also know that as a physical and mental skill set, learning to swim is most productive when children are offered lessons at least two to three days per week.
Why Consistency Is Key…
Our founder Steve Wallen, his family, and their carefully trained and supervised swimming instructors recommend swimming lessons on multiple days of the week for several reasons. Importantly, we know from our experience and from research into how children learn best that children rely on and thrive when repetition forms the foundation of learning. Very young children, from birth to about five years of age, are growing their brains in unique and critical ways.
At this developmental stage, repetition is vital as it deeply embeds learning. Think of your efforts at potty training, feeding, and other developmental skills. You are likely relying on providing your little ones with a consistent message matched with consistent body actions. For little ones, repetition is not at all monotonous; they thrive when they know what to expect! When children know what to expect, it allows for success; see the joy when they are instantly gratified when they can complete the required task. The Steve Wallen Swim School team knows that your child can reach all of their swimming goals through patience and regular practice all year long.
Consistency Is Already Your Secret Weapon…
Here’s an example of how you are already harnessing the power of consistency. Your little one is already accustomed to and responds automatically to the process of being harnessed into a car seat. They know that there is no getting out of the seat, that they must sit still, and that the job isn’t done until all the straps, buckles, and belts are fully secure. This use of consistent repetition has seen you through potty training, feeding, and other baby activities. Similarly, we want their responses to the water to be just as automatic! This car seat example demonstrates that through consistent, expert water safety and swimming lessons, they will respond in a desired, safe, and productive fashion when they encounter water.
For example, when children encounter water, they will wait till an adult enters the water first. Further, they will know that blowing bubbles or holding their breath are the desired responses if their face enters the water. As they continue on in their swimming lessons, knowing that a fall into the water means recovering, finding the surface, and finding safety will be their natural response. These appropriate responses take time, practice, and lots and lots of repetition.
Consistency Is Your Child’s Safe Space…
The unknown can be a source of anxiety for many children. For example, your child’s very first visit to the pool might go swimmingly, or it may cause some stress. However, regular swimming lessons at the same facility will allow your child to become comfortable with this environment, the staff, and other swimmers. We are a family at Steve Wallen Swim School; come join us and learn to swim!
