Academy Swim Club

We like to say that we teach kids to be water smart – but what if swimming lessons actually made your child smarter altogether? This was the question posed by researchers at Griffith University in Australia – a country famous for it’s water sports. The study, conducted from 2009 through 2012, collected almost 7,000 questionnaires from parents of children under five years old in swim schools around world (including Academy Swim Club!) The researchers also independently assessed over 200 children in swim schools in Australia. Although the last year of accumulated data awaits analysis, their initial findings have been published.    

Just as we suspected, swimmers are smarter.

It seems babies and toddlers that participate in swim lessons are hitting milestones ahead of schedule – and before their non-swimming peers, regardless of social or economic background. The swimmers are not just excelling physically (i.e. running, jumping, climbing trees), which you would expect from lessons that teach a physical activity, but also in the areas of cognitive and language development. Basically, early swimmers are primed to do better in school.

Not all swim schools are created equal. As the researchers noted, there is considerable variation in swim programs that may influence the quality of learning, so choose wisely when deciding where your child will receive swim lessons.

To read the study go to www.griffith.edu.au and search for Early Years Swimming.

Over the summer most of our staff (along with the rest of the planet) saw this little movie called The Avengers.  Thumbs up from everyone here at ASC , by the way.  What’s not to love?  A bunch of attractive super heroes, each with a unique skill set, working together to save the world.  In examining those skills, it occurred to me that, put’em together, they’d make an awesome swim instructor.  Over the next few weeks we’re going to showcase the unique quality each member possesses that would make him (or her!) a valuable addition to Academy Swim Club.

Iron Man: What he brings to the team – Equipment. Tony Stark has all the cool toys.  Each has a purpose, but most can be adapted to other uses.  We’ve got our own toy box full of barbells and dumbbells and belts.  Our instructors have found more uses for them than WD-40.  Even our playtime toys serve a purpose.  A simple game of catch with a ball or rocket is actually a trust building exercise that strengthens the bond between instructor and swimmer – and that’s worth more than Stark Industries when you’ve got a weepy 3 year old at his first swim lesson.

Next week – Thor brings down the hammer.

Meet the humble swim diaper.  It’s got a dirty job to do, and it does it well.  All swimmers under 36 months must wear TWO health department approved swim diapers at Academy Swim Club.  If you’ve got a swimmer who is under three, or is perhaps older but not yet, shall we say, reliable, we’d like to get you guys together.  Below is a quick rundown of what a swim diaper is, why you need it, and where you can get it.

What is a Health Department Approved Swim Diaper? A fancy name for underpants with two layers of tightly woven fabric and heavy-duty elastic around the waist and legs.  This stylish, reusable garment has one purpose – to keep poop inside the diaper (making it eco-friendly in more ways than one.)  It should fit snugly, but not so much so that it cuts off circulation.  They are sized by weight and age.  You may want to buy a size up for the outer swim diaper.  Huggies Lil’ Swimmers or other disposable diapers won’t work.  The only thing they keep contained are baby bottoms, not what comes out of them.  Some parents do layer a Lil’ Swimmer under the approved swim diapers to keep clean up simple in the case of accidents.  Just remember that a disposable Lil’ Swimmer does not replace one of the required reusable swim diapers.

Why are two swim diapers required? Firstly, because the Health Department told us so, and we never say “no” to the Health Department.  They don’t have to buy us dinner first or anything.  Secondly, because a fecal incident (those are the actual words on the form we have to fill out after one occurs) creates an unbelievable mess.  Our pool is a pretty high tech affair, with pumps, jets, filters and all manner of diagnostic whatsits designed to circulate the water and ensure it is contaminant free.  You could probably launch a space shuttle from our equipment room.  However, all that circulation works against us once a little digestive waste hits the water and gets spread from end to end.  Then we have to shut down the pool for the remainder of the current lesson and all of the next one while we vacuum and scoop – and the reality of that is even more disgusting than it sounds.  That’s also a lot of parents who wasted their time driving to our facility for their child to only receive half a lesson or none at all.  Worst case scenario, we’re shut down for the rest of the day.  Double diapering doesn’t seem like much bother compared to all of that, right?

Where can I buy swim diapers? Academy Swim Club sells them at the front desk, but you can also find them during the warm months at Target, Walmart, Babies R Us, Buy Buy Baby, etc.  We don’t care where you buy them, as long as they meet the health department’s standards.  Some baby swimsuits come with built-in swim diapers that can function as one of the diapers, which is handy.

If you have any questions about swim diapers, give us a call, shoot us an email, or just stop by the front desk.  We are more than happy to help!

This is it.  We’re in the home stretch.  Your instructors have only one last thing they want to tell you . . .

Stay the Course. Translated, that means DON’T PULL YOUR CHILD OUT EARLY! If you do, even once, she will cry all the harder during the next lessons because, hey, it worked before, right?  This is the same intermittent reward system that hooks gamblers.  So read a book, call a friend, go to the front desk and watch the lesson on the TV – just make sure her bikini stays in the water for the full 25 minutes.  Ultimately, this approach shortens the time it takes for your child to adjust to lessons.

Why do kids stop crying?  Wish I knew.  Sometimes an instructor finds the trick that soothes them.  I know one instructor who can get almost any kid to stop crying by repeatedly bouncing a ball off the wall.  It’s hypnotizing.  Others feel it is simply a matter of time.  One day, after a pre-determined but unknown amount of time, a switch flips and the child comes to the lesson ready to play and learn.  And it should be reassuring that a child’s initial reaction to swim lessons has absolutely nothing to do with her future liking or aptitude for the water.

Just wait, a few lessons down the road and you’ll be the one patting some new parent on the shoulder and saying, “Hang in there; it get’s better.”

It’s Week 3 in our series of things we wish parents knew before the start of swim lessons.  This time we want you to

Watch From A Safe Distance. That means the viewing area.  If your child is really crying, preferably the back of the viewing area.  You would think the sight of you would reassure him.  Unfortunately the only thing he wants from you is the reassurance you are going to come and get him, pronto!  Unless you are walking towards him with a towel, it’s best to play least in sight.  Many an instructor has spent long, long minutes singing nursery rhymes, making funny faces and noises, to finally be rewarded by a small moment of silence or even a smile.  Then, the child spots his parent and it’s back to square one.  Square one is not a happy place.  Please don’t make us go there.

Next week we finish up with Staying the Course.

So you’ve made the decision to stick with swim lessons for at least 3 lessons, but your work is not done yet. . .  

Keep Calm and Carry On. Your attitude will set the tone for all the lessons to follow.  Try to stay cheerful and moderately excited, as if you and your child were having an outing in the park.  Your child is tuned into your feelings and looks to you for security.  If you are nervous, tense, worried, unsure, you can bet she will be, too.  If you treat the lesson as normal, safe and possibly fun, she’ll have an easier time believing it – it just may take a few lessons first.

Next week we’ll discuss Watching from a Safe Distance.

*** Interesting side note:  The slogan “Keep Calm and Carry On” was first thought up by some bright bulb British civil engineer around 1939 or thereabouts.  The British Ministry of Information released a couple of morale boosting propaganda posters during the early years of WWII, but was saving this one in the case of invasion by Germany.  Luckily, it was never distributed for it’s original purpose.

Some kids never cry.  You know the ones I mean.  These are the babies that have never met a stranger.  As toddlers they launch into new activities with enthusiasm.  They sleep through the night at birth.  If you’re lucky enough to have such a child as this, well, good for you.  This article is for the rest of us, because when starting swim lessons a solid percentage of young kids are going to wail their heads off.  It’s nothing personal, just biology, really.  Babies and toddlers are hardwired to communicate by crying.  What they are really saying is a salty version of, “No, I’d really rather not go with that stranger in the big bathtub.”  We understand, kid, but we’d really rather you didn’t take a header into a pool and not be able to save yourself.

Our experienced ASC instructors have a few things we wish every parent bringing their child to swim lessons for the first time knew.  Over the next four weeks we’re going to lay it out for you.  Here’s the first thing you need to remember:

Stick It Out. Three lessons is the average amount of time it takes for the instructor to stop being a stranger and a bond to develop.  For many kids, the first swim lesson is his first experience with being entrusted to a teacher without Mom or Dad present.  A child may also protest for the first few lessons strictly on principle; an automatic, knee-jerk “NO” to anything new.  If you haven’t experienced this colorful bit of toddler behavior yet, wait – you can count on it making periodic appearances at the family dinner table.  (“It’s disgusting!  I hate it!”;  “What do you mean?  You’ve never had it before!” But I digress. . .) In any event, give it three lessons.  If you still don’t see any hope of your child ever enjoying himself, or at least quietly resigning himself to the inevitable, talk it over with your instructor and the office staff.  There are other options you can explore in your quest for a watersmart kid.

Come back next week when we Keep Calm and Carry On.

Every instructor at Academy Swim Club wants their students to be capable of saving their own life in a water emergency.  What we’d like even better is to prevent the emergency in the first place.  Supervision is, of course, imperative, but there are easier ways to police your pool.

1. Fences.  Nothing could be simpler.  You can opt for a permanent, wrought iron masterpiece or the flexibility of a removable fence.  Whichever option you choose, we recommend installing a key lock of some type (an ordinary padlock will do).  We’ve heard too many stories of precocious preschoolers able to operate the latch on a pool gate (by balancing on lawn chairs, tricycles, pets, etc.)  Just make sure the key is placed in some unlikely, inaccessible spot as well.
2. Safety Pool Covers.  These are mesh or solid covers that are pulled taut and secured to the deck at recessed brackets.  Flimsy solar covers offer no protection against drowning, but safety covers are strong enough for an adult to walk on and offer warranties of up to 25 years.  The mesh ones also allow rain to pass through while keeping out leaves and debris.  We’re keeping pools clean and saving kids’ lives – how’s that for multi-tasking?
3. Alarms.  You’ve got a lot of options here: in-pool alarms, gate alarms, door alarms.  The technology for in-pool alarms has improved in recent years so that the siren doesn’t go off every time a leaf falls into the pool.  Gate alarms not only alert you when a child opens the gate, but also when an adult fails to close the gate.  Door alarms are placed at all house doors that lead to pool access.  Our absolute favorite “alarm” isn’t an alarm at all.  One of our ASC parents has a security system that announces any door that is opened (“Back Door – Open,” in a feminine voice like the computer in Star Trek).  Pretty handy when you’re as worried about the kids escaping into the front yard as the back.

So which one should you get?  You need to judge what will work best with your family, but ideally you need more than one barrier or alarm.  There is no ONE sure fire way to protect your children from drowning; the trick is to wrap them in layers of protection.  Swim lessons, barriers and alarms, and educated supervision all work together to keep kids safe, each making up for deficiencies in the other methods.  Think of it like planning a balanced meal and choose one from each group.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has recently updated it policy on swimming lessons for toddlers.  Until now the AAP advised against swim lessons for children under four.  However, in light of studies that show that children ages one to four are less likely to drown if they receive formal swim instruction, the AAP has revised its recommendation.  A news release on the AAP website now states that, for children one to four years old, “Parents should decide whether to enroll an individual child in swim lessons based on the child’s frequency of exposure to water, emotional development, physical abilities, and certain health concerns. . .”    That sound you hear is thousands of swim instructors giving each other a big high-five!  Don’t tell us toddlers can’t learn to swim.  We all have stories of a toddler we taught to swim falling into grandma’s pool on Thanksgiving and getting himself to safety. 

Drowning is the leading cause of death in children under five – number two in children ages one to nineteen, with toddlers and teenage boys most at risk.  It is true that each child learns to swim at his own pace based on many factors including general temperament and ability, the attitude of his or her parents and past experience with the water.  Early exposure to swim lessons allows a toddler to develop his ability in the water as well as on land.  Everyone in Southern California is exposed to water more than we realize.  Even if there is not a pool in our own backyard, the neighbors have one.  Plus there are community pools, parks, lakes and rivers.  Many people now have inexpensive, large, inflatable pools that can be up to four feet deep.  Waiting until a child is four or older only prolongs the length of time they are at risk by not knowing how to save themselves in the water.  A good swim program will not only teach swimming, but also include a complete water safety program.    

The AAP also warns, rightly so, that swim lessons are not enough to prevent drowning and emphasize “layers of protection”.  The first and best “layer” is vigilant adult supervision around any water, including fountains and bathtubs.  A child that knows how to swim is still vulnerable to injury.  They also advise parents to learn CPR and completely fence backyard pools.  Early swim lessons are another vital safety net to help prevent an emergency.

Batray can be a difficult level for some kids to conquer. It’s the floating. It’s the floating. It’s the floating. It is as much a mental game as a physical skill. First let’s examine the physics of floating.

The fact is – fat floats. This does not mean that if your child is a good floater she is overweight, just that proportionally she has enough fat on her body to help hold up her denser muscle and bone. Statistically speaking, the girls have it all over the boys on this one. Sure, there are some skinny-minnies that struggle with floating (our assistant manager recalls teaching a six year old girl with a six pack to float with no small difficulty), but they are in the minority. What this means for the slim-jims and skinny-minnies is that their body position must be perfect to maintain a back float. Anybody can learn to float, but the extremely slender child does not have any leeway on form.

If only adjusting body position was all it took! Walk out on the pool deck during any given lesson and you will hear instructors shouting themselves hoarse with cries of “Tummy UP!” and “Chin Back!” Children that, by rights, ought to bob like corks in the water are sinking like diving rings. This is because floating requires mental discipline as well as physical alignment. Most kids dislike the feeling of water in their ears. Then there is that business of laying on their backs like capsized turtles – an inherently vulnerable position sure to make any child feel uncomfortable and awkward. Top it off with a heaping helping of “Relax – and DON’T MOVE!” Stillness is not something that comes naturally to most kids.

So how does anyone learn to float? Practice! Most importantly, each child needs to develop the confidence to trust his/her ability to stay above the water. Very much a chicken/egg conundrum, but with practice, every child can get there.