Tips For Being An Awesome Swim Parent

The best gift you can give your child is swimming lessons, whether they are for a baby or a toddler. Your child will benefit from kids swimming lessons for a lifetime of health, enjoyment, and aquatic safety. However, attending a child’s swimming session is not the only thing needed to ensure learning success. There are a few things you as a parent can do to support your child while they learn to swim.

Take a look at the advice below to learn how to be a fantastic swim parent for your kids!

Just show up

If you’ve taken the time to arrange for your child to take swim lessons, you’ve already come a long way toward becoming an outstanding swim parent. You’re showing respect for the value of learning to swim by taking the first steps to enrol your young children in classes and get them to the pool. This kind of financial commitment to your child’s physical education is priceless and will improve their long-term health and capacity for water safety.

By simply being there for your child as they acquire a new ability, you are also bestowing onto them a priceless gift. Whether you are physically holding your child’s hand in the water or are simply cheering them on from the sidelines, your support and encouragement will go a long way toward reassuring your child that you are there for them anytime they need it. In terms of fortifying your relationship with your child, this is priceless.

Avoid going too far

Your kid needs the space and encouragement to study at his or her own pace, which could be more leisurely than others’. If you actually or figuratively thrust them into the deep end, you won’t accelerate their learning.

Fear and trepidation are totally acceptable emotions that typically surface when somebody is exposed to anything new and has not yet fully grasped how it functions.

Pushing our children beyond their comfort zones can increase their dread and mistrust of the water. Our children may sense these things when they first enter the pool. Don’t push your youngster into the water if they aren’t ready to let go of you and submerge their head or leap in. When they are prepared, they will attempt it with enthusiasm.

And what if your kid isn’t verbal yet? How do you know when they’re prepared? The following indications that your kid is afraid of the water are possible.

• Restlessness
• Reluctance
• Avoidance
• outright rejection
• Panic
• Aggression

The most crucial thing to do if you see these symptoms is to be patient, exude calm and assurance, and use encouraging words like “let’s try,” “it will be ok,” “you can do this,” or “it will be fun!”

Ensure that your child can enter the water at their own pace. As they test out how the water feels on their hands and feet, sit at the poolside with them. Toys can be used to engage with the water and foster fun.

Never use force. Your child’s swimming future will benefit from the small steps you take along the route.

Never compare

You’re aware of the fact that children develop at various rates. Never attempt to compare how quickly your child is learning in the classroom to how quickly other children are learning in the water.

Swimming lessons for children are meant to help your child experience their own path, not to make you or your child unduly aware of someone else’s.

Sure, remark something if a different kid has a clever trick that you believe your kid should attempt, but watch how you say it. You want your child to learn that they have the time, space, and support to develop at their own speed in the long run.

Be impartial

When evaluating your child’s development in the pool, it’s crucial to refrain from passing judgment on them. The swimming instructor for your child is there to offer advice on how to get better at swimming. Our Supervisors will evaluate your kids and be able to let you both know what they are doing well, what skills they need to improve on, and how you can help at home.

Swimming is ultimately something you do with your body. Words don’t always work, and if the incorrect ones are spoken, a child could find them demoralizing. The best approach is to encourage.

Encourage the teacher

It’s possible that your youngster will question or criticize a teacher’s techniques if they overhear you doing so. Therefore, if you’re going to pay for your child to take swimming lessons, do your best to support the instructor’s teaching style (or at least appear to be). Your child can concentrate only on learning to swim in this way.

If you have any inquiries regarding what is occurring in the class, you can speak with the Supervisor when they are on shift.

Be mindful of water safety

No matter what age your child is, you must always keep an eye on them in the water. You’ll probably be in the water with them during baby swimming classes or toddler swimming lessons, keeping them up and making sure they don’t swallow water. However, it’s still crucial to keep an eye on kids of all ages at the swimming pool, both in and out of the water. You can’t rely on swim instructors or pool monitors to catch your kid in trouble. You must always make sure your child is being watched during their swimming lessons, so if you must leave, make sure another adult is keeping a tight eye on them.

Become eager to attend lessons

If you are excited about taking your child to swim lessons, they will be as well. On the other hand, if you complain about driving them to school or suggest it’s okay to occasionally miss a class, your child may begin to doubt the value of classes (after all, if you don’t value them, why should they?).

Your child’s attitude toward swimming will drastically change if you involve them in positive activities. They won’t be as inclined to desire to skip class or drop out.

Additionally, it prepares your youngster effectively for the future. If they discover how simple it is to skip an event because they don’t feel like it or don’t have the energy, they might do the same in other spheres of their lives. So it’s important to keep going even when you lose interest. In fact, those lulls frequently occur just as your child is about to acquire a new aquatic ability. You wouldn’t want them to pass up the chance to learn.

To that end, it is strongly advised for children who are ill to stay at home until they have fully recovered. If your child needs rest, it’s best for them to stay at home until they feel okay.