Swim Lesson FAQs.

By Greg Treadway and George Block - Northside ISD, San Antonio, TX

When should I start my child in swim lessons?
There are many differing opinions about when to start. Some experts recommend starting as early as 6 weeks, where the infants still has a breath-holding reflex. Most will recommend (with parents in the water) 6 months to 1 year for starting. Others encourage waiting until the child is four to five years old, so that they are able to follow directions and have developed some balance, strength and coordination.

Below the age of three (3), the American Association of Pediatrics warns against placing infants underwater more than 3 times in class or for more than 5 seconds at a time. Ear and sinus problems can be attributed to excessive underwater exposure with infants. Based on this warning, Northside ISD does not offer classes below the age of three (3).

Acclimating your child to water through different exposures (i.e. bath, shower, garden sprinkler, wading pool, splash pads or sprinkler parks), or just going in the pool with your child, will create a good foundation before they take formal lessons.

How often should my child take swim lessons?
Most swim lessons range from 30 – 50 minutes per lesson. Children progress faster with more practice. The problems that many students and parents face are availability, affordability and scheduling. Is there a program close by? Is there room in our every day family schedule? Can we afford all the lessons? Everyone’s situation is different, but a continuing regiment of lessons throughout the year is best. Whether it is once-a-week during the school year and every day in the summer, or twice-a-week year ‘round, the results will be good with that much exposure.

Parents and students get frustrated when they are not as good at the beginning of “this summer” as they were at the end of “last summer”, yet they had no lessons or only a few exposures to swimming all during the school year.

Swimming is a skill that takes practice. You don’t learn over-night and you can’t retain the skills year-to-year without practice. Think of taking piano lessons for 2 weeks this summer and then again until 2 weeks next summer. Did you improve your skills? Without practice during the year you are probably staring over. Swimming, unless practiced, will have the same results.

How do I know when my child can swim adequately?
The American Red Cross says: 500 yard swim any stroke combination, 200 yard freestyle, 15 yard underwater swim, 50 yard breaststroke, 100 yard backstroke, 50 yard sidestroke and 25 yards of butterfly.

The American Swim Coaches Association / SwimAmerica says 300 yard freestyle, 100 yard backstroke, 50 yard breaststroke, 100 yard individual medley, 50 yards elementary backstroke and 50 yards sidestroke demonstrate long-term swimming safety. (They have no underwater swimming requirement.)

The YMCA recommends 100 yard crawl stroke (freestyle), 100 yard breaststroke, 50 yard inverted breaststroke, 50 yard over-arm sidestroke, 25 yard butterfly and a 200 yard individual medley.

USA Swimming endorses both the ARC and ASCA standards.

There are other safety aspects and requirements for all of these programs, such as treading water, diving, surface diving, the use of personal floatation devices and general pool and waterfront rules. All of these programs have different requirements. They all differ in the distances for the strokes, but they all agree that the need to swim at least 200 yards continuously using a variety of strokes is a necessity.

The underlining fact is that your child needs to have a good endurance base as well as proficiency at several different strokes to be considered safe in the water. At the same time there is never any guarantee that there won’t be an accident. No one is “drown- proof”!

How long does it take for the average child (6-12years) or adult to learn to swim?
The average child takes approximately 30 hours of swimming lessons before he/she can swim consistently and confidently 25 yards of the pool freestyle. This is only an average. It may take some kids more and some kids less. Adults who are starting for the first time usually take around 20 hours.

Adults tend to have more fear of the water, but since they can think abstractly and have more coordination and strength, they learn at a faster pace. There are always exceptions. Students in their teens are usually very fast learners.

Why should my child take lessons when they already “know how to swim”?
After your child has successfully completed a nationally recognized program (this could happen as young as 8 or 9 years old) the best advice is that they take at least one session of an organized swimming program per year. This could be swimming lessons, a summer league or year ‘round swim team, synchronized swimming, diving, water polo, or even scuba. Some facilities offer Junior Guard programs as well as Lifeguard classes.

We all need periodic technique instruction ion any sport or activity. Do you play golf or tennis? How often do you need a “tune-up” with a pro? Many adults find that they forgot how to swim after several years of not being in the water or having someone correct their stroke. Children forget year-to-year if they don’t have the structure and practice time. (Remember piano lessons?)

Going through a Lifeguard class, even if they don’t intend on working as a lifeguard, teaches young people how to react in an emergency. Too many people panic in an emergency situation. Having the knowledge that you get from lifeguard training not only may save the life of the victim of an accident, but also the life of the rescuer.

Olympic swimmers all have a coach watching and correcting them while they swim. These are the best swimmers in the world.
The bottom line is that swimming is a life-long activity that needs to be practiced for a lifetime.

Why do you require a SwimAmerica suit?
There are 6 primary reasons why we REQUIRE SwimAmerica suits.

1--Kids can learn.
The SwimAmerica suit is an old-fashioned racing suit. It doesn't hold water weight.Mid-shin baggies on boys places them in a permanently vertical position in the water.
2--Instructors can teach.
When 8-year-old girls show up in bikinis, where does their instructor
hold them to help them stay horizontal in the water? Covering the lower
back and abdomen allows appropriate touching.
3--We can tell "Who's who".
We teach in a few lanes in a large, busy public pool. The SwimAmerica
suits tells the cashiers and guards to let them (and their parents) into the pool and it tells the staffs (pool and SwimAmerica) who the lesson kids are
and where they belong.
4--It adds value.
If the child comes to our pool any time wearing their SwimAmerica suit,
we let them in free. It lets them get used to the pool before their
first lesson and it lets them practice what they have learned during and
after their lessons.
5--They're part of the team.
Our instructors wear SwimAmerica suits. When the kids show up wearing the same suit as their instructors, they feel immediately like a part of the
"team".
6--It smooths the transition.
We let kids wear their SwimAmerica suits for swim team practices and meets
until they outgrow them. That is just one less thing a parent has to
pay for to get started with our swim team. It makes the transition from
lessons to team just that much smoother.

What are the swimming strokes?
There are four (4) competitive strokes and two (2) “lifesaving” strokes. The 4 competitive strokes are:

Freestyle / Front Crawl: This is an alternating, over-arm stroke using the flutter kick. The face is in the water and breathing is done by turning the head to the side every 2 or 3 strokes. Freestyle is the most efficient stroke for speed and distance.

Backstroke / Back Crawl: The same alternating arm motion and kick as freestyle is used, but it is done on the back.

Breaststroke: This is a both a competitive and a survival stroke. It is done on the front with the arms working together in a circular sculling motion, raising the head forward to breath. The kick is also done in a circular motion simulating a frog’s kick.

Butterfly: This is a competitive stroke where the arms recover simultaneously over the water and pull simultaneously under the water. The kick is the dolphin kick.

The two (2) lifesaving strokes are:

Elementary Backstroke: This is used as a survival stroke. It is performed by sliding both hands up the sides of the body to the shoulders and then extending the arms out, away from the body, and pushing the hands down toward the feet back to the starting position.

The kick is a breaststroke kick (frog kick) modified for the back position. There is a glide after the completion of the stroke.

Sidestroke: This stroke is used for lifeguarding and as a resting stroke. It is done in a side floating position with the face out of the water.

The armstroke starts with the bottom hand extended ahead of the body and the top arm at the side. They move toward each other where the bottom arm is pulling the water and the top arm is sliding up the side of the body. They meet in front of the chest at shoulder level where the top arm now pushes the water toward the feet and the bottom arm slides back to its’ glide position.

The legs do a scissors kick. This is where the top and bottom legs bend up toward the abdomen and the top leg is extended forward, the bottom leg is extended backward into an “L” and the both are squeezed back together in a straight glide position.

The pull and kick are done simultaneously, so that there is a long glide between each stroke.

How can I help my child be successful in the swimming lessons?
All students need times when they can learn through exploration. Take your child to the pool for Family Swim time. Swimming is a sport or recreational activity that will last a lifetime. Your child, whether he/she is a beginner or more advanced, needs to go to the pool and have time just to play.

This is also a time when children will begin to practice and develop important skills and techniques while they are having fun. Many children only go to the pool for class and so never get any practice time or enjoyment from being there. Children whose parents show enjoyment for the water tend to learn faster that those who have parents who don’t.

Playing in the pool also build the child’s strength, stamina and general skills. Going to the pool and playing with your child under safe, supervised conditions is one of the best ways to help your child be successful in swimming lessons.