Three Reasons to Enroll Your Child in Survival Swim Lessons

Gone are the days when it was thought kids should be in preschool before they learn how to swim. As we now know (and as the American Academy of Pediatrics now openly acknowledges), children as young as one year of age should be taking survival swim lessons.

A parent’s knee-jerk reaction to this is fear. Fear of their child being injured in the water, fear of their child suffering emotionally, fear of the lessons themselves leading to a drowning incident. But it has been proven time and time again that survival swim lessons – lessons where babies learn to roll from their front to their backs and float – are an important life-saving skill.

The primary reason for enrolling your baby in survival swim lessons is simple: It can save your baby’s life. But there are a host of other reasons as well, including:

1. Water Confidence and Competency

Experiencing water in a positive and fun way is what we’re all about at Texas Swim Academy. Your child is gently introduced to the pool and taught that being in the water can be fun and enjoyable! We then build upon that confidence when the time is right by gradually teaching your child essential swim survival skills.

You may be surprised to find that as your child’s confidence grows, yours will too! You’re giving yourself peace of mind in knowing that your youngster has the ability to save him or herself should they be placed in a dangerous aquatic situation.

2. Building Stronger Bodies

As cute and tiny as your little one may be, he or she is amazingly strong! Survival swim lessons are a great way to help your child continue to build stronger muscles, and the physical activity means that they’ll likely enjoy a deeper and longer night’s sleep (which is a benefit for parents too, of course!).

3. Growing Sharper Minds

Survival swim lessons require your child to be able to respond to voice commands. Taking these lessons both increases their level of understanding and sharpens their cognitive skills.

Sound too good to be true? Griffith University in Australia conducted a study that found that children who swam in their early years (before kindergarten) were ahead of their non-swimming peers by as much as 15 months when it came to language, numerical literacy, and following direction.

At Texas Swim Academy, we offer swimming lessons for all ages and abilities. Contact us online or give us a call at (832) 4376-6186 to learn more about our Houston infant swim lessons, group lessons, adult programs and more!

SWIM SCHOOL IN KATY 

Texas Swim Academy is a state-of-the-art swimming facility offering water safety, survival swim, and kids swimming lessons in Katy, Texas. Owners Kathleen and Bruce McMordie, alongside our certified staff, help parents introduce children to water at an early age through the Infant Survival Swim Program , teaching life-saving techniques and basic swimming skills.

Our Stroke Development Program offers six different levels to help students progress in their swimming skills at his or her own pace. Our Adaptive Aquatics Program was created specifically for children with special abilities. Find swimming class registration information here. By subscribing to Texas Swim Academy’s blog , you can stay current on valuable water safety resources such as survival swim, health and wellness, Texas Swim Academy news and more. Follow our Facebook , Twitter, and YouTube pages for even more news, updates, and tips!

 

 

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The Six Layers of Protection for Maximum Pool Safety

Drowning is quick, silent and it’s 100 percent preventable. Sadly, according to the World Health Organization, an estimated 360,000 drowning deaths occur worldwide with children having access to water being among those at the greatest risk. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to pool safety. This is why drowning prevention advocates have developed what is known as the “Six Layers of Protection” for infants and children.

Layer 1: Stay Within Arm’s Reach of Your Child

Young children should never be left near a source of standing water without an attentive and responsible adult nearby. Pools and hot tubs are obvious sources of danger, but keep in mind that kiddie pools, bathtubs, and even water tables are a risk to the youngest and most vulnerable among us.

Layer 2: Adult Supervision Is a Must

When kids are near water, there should be a minimum of one adult “water watcher” present at all times. This individual should have his or her attention fixed on the pool. This means no smartphones, no books, no distractions.

Layer 3: Teach Children How to Survival Swim

A common misconception is that children under the age of four are incapable of learning how to swim. This couldn’t be further from the truth. And the American Academy of Pediatrics recently changed their stance to reflect the fact that children around the age of 1 are capable of learning lifesaving survival swim techniques. 

Texas Swim Academy offers Survival Swim lessons taught by trained swim experts. Not only do these lessons help your little one feel more comfortable in the water, but they will also learn how to safely roll from front to back in case of an emergency situation and float calmly in the water until they are rescued.

Layer 4: Create Several Pool Safety Barriers

The more walls – both physical and metaphorical – you can put between people and the pool, the better. All pool fences, gates, alarms, and drains should meet governing regulations. Potential escape routes like pet doors should be removed or secured. Pool and hot tub covers should be sturdy and not collapse should a little one crawl on top of it.

Layer 5: Make Pool Safety Equipment Easily Accessible

Lifesavers aren’t a decoration for your pool area. They’re a valuable drown prevention tool. Other pieces of pool safety equipment to keep nearby includes buoys, throw ropes, pool safety signs and a first aid kit.

Layer 6: Learn CPR

Older children, teens, and adults are all capable of learning CPR. Take the time to learn and then review lifesaving rescue techniques and strategies before each pool season, or at least once a year. Standard first aid and CPR courses are taught in every city and can easily be found with one quick internet search.

For more information about Texas Swim Academy’s Survival Swim lessons and other swim programs for kids and adults, we welcome you to give us a call at (832) 437-6186.

SWIM SCHOOL IN KATY 

Texas Swim Academy is a state-of-the-art swimming facility offering water safety, survival swim, and kids swimming lessons in Katy, Texas. Owners Kathleen and Bruce McMordie, alongside our certified staff, help parents introduce children to water at an early age through the Infant Survival Swim Program , teaching life-saving techniques and basic swimming skills.

Our Stroke Development Program offers six different levels to help students progress in their swimming skills at his or her own pace. Our Adaptive Aquatics Program was created specifically for children with special abilities. Find swimming class registration information here. By subscribing to Texas Swim Academy’s blog , you can stay current on valuable water safety resources such as

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Survival Swim Lessons Reduces Drowning Risk

As temperatures begin to soar, school comes to an end and the workday is over, we all have one thing on our minds: Let’s get in the water! Whether it’s hanging out in the pool, the lake, the ocean or even heading out on a motorboat, we all love cooling off by spending time in and around the water.

The unfortunate fact is that drowning remains the leading cause of accidental death for children between the ages of 1 and 4, and it is the third leading cause of accidental death for those between 5 and 19. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, close to 1,000 children died from drowning in 2017, and nearly 9,000 hospital emergency room visits were due to a water-related injury.

American olympic skier Bode Miller and his family became a part of those statistics last year when their daughter died due to accidental drowning. On June 10, 2018 during their time at a friend’s house, 19 month old Emmy slipped away from a room filled with adults and other children. The next time he was seen was moments later in the deep end of a pool.

Unfortunately, this was not the first time the Miller family had suffered a loss due to drowning. Bode Miller’s first cousin, Jeffrey, had also wandered from the front steps of his home as a child and was found in a large hole filled with rain water.

Nicole Hughes also suffered an unimaginable loss on the same day as the Miller family, when after splitting a brownie with her 3-year-old son, Levi, he managed to quietly leave a room filled with adults and children. Shortly thereafter he was found face down in a pool.

Through her tragedy, the Hughes family was able to raise awareness regarding the importance of survival swim lessons being taught at a young age and were instrumental in the American Academy of Pediatrics recently changing their recommendations regarding the age in which children should start swimming lessons. 

Layers of Protection Needed to Prevent Drowning

Pool fencing, self-locking gates and alarms are not a luxury – they are a necessity for everyone, whether or not there is a child in the home. Spa and hot tub covers with locks, emptied wading pools and emptied bath tubs are also needed to protect the youngest and most vulnerable among us from suffering an untimely death.

The Hughes family decided to turn their tragedy into a positive drowning awareness campaign and have added a layer of protection of their own. They have created a “Water Guardians: Levi’s Legacy” tag and lanyard which reminds everyone who is in charge of supervising those who are in and around the water.

Survival Swim Lessons Save Lives

Another critical layer of protection for youngsters are swim lessons. But not just any kind of swimming lessons. 

Earlier this year, through the dedication and perseverance of families like the Millers and Hughes’s, the AAP updated its swim guidelines to now state that swim lessons are recommended for children starting at or around the age of 1. Research has indicated that starting swim lessons when children are this young may help reduce drowning rates for toddlers and preschoolers.

Survival swim lessons are not like traditional swim lessons, which typically focus on strokes and swim skills. Instead, youngsters are gradually introduced to the water by a trained and certified instructor and are then taught three lifesaving skills: surface, roll back to float position and breath, and then swim to the wall. These important skills teach the child to remain calm as they wait for someone to retrieve them from the water.

The survival swim lessons at Texas Swim Academy are done with the utmost care and concern. Our accomplished swim instructors work with children to create positive associations with the water, and we guide them through the steps necessary to teach toddlers and preschoolers how to roll from their tummies to their backs so that they can float and remain safe until found.

For more information about our Houston survival swim program, we invite you to read more about our program or give us a call at (832) 437-6186.

 

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