25 Days Until Summer!

"How long does it take to teach a child to swim?"

By James L. Reiser III, M.S.

Do these calculations surprise you?
Spring I - 8 Lessons @ 1x per week = 8 days
Spring II - 7 Lessons @ 1x per week = 7 days
Maymester - 10 Lessons @ 2x per week = 10 days
25 DAYS UNTIL SUMMER!!!

How long does it take to learn how to swim?
At one (1) swimming class per week in the spring AND two (2) classes per week in the Maymester session - your child has just 25 days of swimming lessons before summer. Considering that on average, IT TAKES MOST STUDENTS TWENTY (20) to THIRTY (30) LESSONS to learn to swim well enough to perform basic safety swimming skills (or graduate from our level 1 program). SO THERE'S NO TIME TO PROCRASTINATE if you want your child to b safer in and around the water next summer.

Learning Formal Strokes
Learning to swim formal strokes, such as freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, sidestroke, and elementary backstroke can take considerably longer, depending on the child's age. While I feel it's extremely important that children AGES SIX (6) AND UNDER learn formal strokes (Swim Lessons Company levels 2, 3, & 4), the formal strokes are complex skills that require more coordination than does a paddling stroke or underwater swim with a pop-up or rollover breath. And while those basic skills may be the most important to a young child for basic water safety, mastering the freestyle, backstroke(s), breaststroke, and sidestroke are nearly as important is a child found himself in a more challenging situation, such as in the middle of a lake from a capsized watercraft or in a river with fast moving water.

Infants and Toddlers
As far as INFANTS AND TODDLERS, these little ones can make great progress toward learning skills that could save their life over the winter and spring months. however, because of their motor skills are not as well developed, learning advanced safety skills takes considerably longer than it does for older children similar skills. My son, Jeb, for example, was 18 months last December and 2 years on on June 16, 2004. By his second birthday, he could perform our Basic Safety Skill but that wouldn't have been possible without consistent practice as an infant and young toddler. This Basic Safety Skill (which we teach in our Parent & Me program) demonstrates that the toddler can fall in the water from a standing position and is capable of surfacing and then swimming 6-10 feet back to safety without assistance. By Jeb's second birthday, I could sit on the side of the pool and cue "1, 2, 3," and Jeb would lunge into the deep water only on my command, and perform that Basic Safety Skill consistently time after time! This very important safety skill can be developed thru consistent practice. Jeb was in the water religiously once (1x) per week from the time he was 6 months old. And while he could not perform that skill at a younger age, it may not have been possible without the consistent time in the water at a younger age.

At the same time, it's NEVER TOO LATE or TOO EARLY to learn how to swim. INFANTS BETWEEN SIX (6) and TWELVE (12) MONTHS can learn to hold their breath long enough to buy a parent a few valuable extra seconds in the case of an accidental water entry. By NINETEEN (19) months, a toddler can learn to return to the side of the pool, and by TWENTY-FOUR (24) months, the skill can be executed with ease if you've kept him/her exposed to our lesson program. SO WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO LEARN TO SWIM? My professional opinion... "YESTERDAY!"

How many days per week should we swim?
I've always been a big believer of frequency. My son is in the pool twice (2x) per week and I'm shooting for three times (3x) per week starting in January. To do that, you'd need to sign up for more than one class which many of you are doing... and seeing the benefits. But because the majority of parents can't seem to fit twice (2x) per week in their schedule, once (1x) per week seems the best way to offer the classes in the off-season, Nevertheless, keep in mind:

• Three times (3x) per week is three times (3x) better than once (1x) per week.
• Two times (2x) per week is two times (2x) better than once (1x) per week.
• But onetime (1x) per week is 100% better than ZERO TIMES (0x) per week!

Twenty-five (25) days until summer - there's no time to procrastinate! Sign your child up for swimming lessons today!

James L. Reiser III is the founder and C.O.O. of The Swim Lessons Company, a Columbia, SC-based swim school that teaches children year-round ages 6 months thru adults. Jim has presented at three national conferences for both the National Swim School Association and the American Swimming Coaches Association. He has produced two instructional swimming videos which have sold over 1,000 copies, has written numerous articles and manuscripts, and it working on his first book.