Teaching Your Child Life-Saving Skills with Swim Lessons

Being prepared is essential to water safety, especially in regards to children. Although swim lessons are not a guarantee against drowning, they can significantly reduce your child's chances of becoming a victim.

How early should my child start swim lessons?

Some activity centers offer swim lessons for children as young as six months.

These classes focus on making the babies comfortable and happy in the water, which can be practiced from the comfort of your own home in the bathtub.

 Will starting swim lessons earlier help my child learn to swim

faster?

The Australian Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport published a study performed to determine whether or not there was an optimal age at which children were ready to learn the front crawl swimming stroke.

The results revealed that whether children started swim lessons at 2, 3 or 4 years of age, they still achieved Level 3 capabilities at about the same age - between 5 and 6 years old.

Should I be involved in the class?

• This answer varies mostly by personal preference and your child's age.

• Parent-child swim lessons provide you with uninterrupted one-on-one time that you can look forward to each week.

• If your child is below the kindergarten age, then swim lessons can be an excellent opportunity for quality bonding time.

Being Prepared

Being prepared is essential to water safety, especially in regards to children.

However, it is important to remember that no amount of preparationor swim lessons can eliminate your child's risk of drowning.

Successful Swimming

Always follow general precautions around bodies of water and keep a watchful eye on your child.

Together, swim lessons and these guidelines will greatly minimize the risks while creating a fun activity for your child.

About GetYourKidsOffTheCouch

Keeping kids involved in extracurricular activities is vital for their growth and learning. Get Your Kids Off The Couch has made it a mission to provide parents with the resources they need to do just that. Visit http://www.getyourkidsoffthecouch.com to search your area for trusted activity centers.