Time for swimming lessons

Swimming is the one life skill you need to impart to your children earlier on in life. Here’s why, writes Margot Bertelsmann

WE ARE BLESSED with glorious swimming weather in South Africa, but we are sadly lax in enforcing safety laws. This can be especially dangerous with bodies of water everywhere. Take special care to get your children water-safe as soon as is realistically possible. You might just be kick-starting a lifelong love affair with the sport of swimming.

Gail Pawley of Headstart Swimming School in Johannesburg says: “There are swimming pools, dams, rivers and fish ponds everywhere, which present a danger to children. Children need to respect water from an early age and understand, to a degree, what is safe around a body of water without being terrified. “A terrified child is more dangerous. The more experiences in water a baby has, the more their respect for the water grows and they become aware of their comfort zone,” says Gail.

She says becoming safe in water is a process and what your child is able to manage in the water depends on their age. So, tailor your training accordingly.

BABIES

Many parents start “swimming lessons” at the age of six months with their babies. “At this age, it is really an introduction to water for the babies, with much of the teaching going to the parents: how to hold and handle a baby safely in the water,” says Marlize Maree, an Aquatots instructor in Alberton, Johannesburg.

“We try to get the babies happy and confident around water,” she adds.

These “lessons” usually last half an hour. The parent joins the baby in the water, and for that reason it is often as good a place for moms as for babies to get out and get some social contact, especially if they are still adjusting to being cooped up at home with a baby.

Gail concurs and says at this stage it’s all about fun. “Pre-walking babies love floating on their backs.” She suggests that bath time is a good time to get babies happy in water. “Make it lots of fun with splashing and dripping water over their face and head, so they become accustomed to water.”

LEARN TO SWIM (LTS) Once a child has mastered the basic safety skills such as putting their head under water or blowing bubbles, the next step is for them to learn to swim – i.e., to keep themselves above water by moving their bodies in a deliberate way. This usually happens from around age four – and LTS instructors say there is no upper age limit to this class. Any adult who has not learnt to swim can join and become water-safe. Consider this if you have children but cannot swim yourself. Note: A childcarer or helper who cannot swim herself is NOT safe as a supervisor when children are swimming. You can enrol your helper in a nanny’s swimming class, offered countrywide – Google your area.

Dean Price of Mandeville Dolphins Swim School, who is also the highperformance manager for Swimming South Africa, says: “Swimming is a life skill for everyone – people tend to shy away from learning it but those same people could get into trouble near water one day. It is never too late to learn how to swim.”

Marlize adds: “The question I am most commonly asked by parents is, ‘How long until my child is water safe?’ But I tell them a child can never be water safe. You cannot afford to relax because you think your child can swim now. It doesn’t work like that. Accidents do happen; there must always be adult supervision around water.”

Swimming is a great sport for children with special needs as relatively few adaptations usually need to be made. Six-time Paralympian swimmer and gold medallist Tadgh Slattery offers classes to children with disabilities at Mandeville Sports Club in Johannesburg.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR CHILD HAS FEAR OF THE WATER Laurelle and Monique say: “Start at home in the bath. Have lots of water play and make it fun for babies with toys. Start by splashing the face with a bit of water, or blowing bubbles (initially with a straw). If a child is crying do not submerge them. Swimming should be fun, not traumatic.

“Once a child is okay in the bath, take them to a pool, but don’t force them to go in. Let them take it at their own pace, even if you go back to the pool every day for a week just to see. The following week, they may put their feet in. Be patient, and move on from there.”

Gail says most babies are not scared of water. “It is the parents who make them fearful. Go slowly from the time of entering the water, hold your baby confidently and have some toys to play with as this serves as a distraction. The fear normally comes in from about three years old. Let the child progress at their own pace if they are a bit nervous and never force a baby out of their comfort zone.”

WHAT FLOTATION DEVICE TO USE? “The best device is still the oldfashioned armbands,” says Gail. “A baby should not be able to fall headfirst into the water and then struggle

As the babies age, they master certain skills such as attempting to float, to turn over in the water, or to grasp for the edge should they fall into a pool unexpectedly. “Most little ones can move a short way in the water unaided from about 12 months,” says Gail, “But they are unable to lift their heads to breathe until they are stronger.”

“The youngest ‘swimmer’ I have ever experienced was an eight-month-old baby who could keep above water,” says Marlize.

Later skills for toddlers and young children include jumping into the pool and turning over to grasp the edge, swimming with a kickboard, and so on.

“Every child is different, but at around 18 months old, they move towards you and swim under water, but at this age they haven’t yet mastered breathing,” say Laurelle Heasman and Monique Visser from Aqua Athlete in Johannesburg. They learn to breathe properly at around two years of age (with previous lessons).

to right himself to the upright position. Armbands allow a child to swim on their tummy and not in an upright walking position. Other flotation aids such as the starfish and a device on babies’ backs tilts them forward. I would only recommend this once the baby is already almost swimming.”

FAQS

How often? You could have lessons once or twice a week, for half an hour to an hour – or more, if you like How much? About R600 per month Who? Look out for accredited teachers: a Learn To Swim or a TOD Swim certificate accredited by Swimming South Africa and a coach registered with his or her regional aquatics body means they attend courses and are up to date with changes in their sporting code. YB