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Dear Families,
As swimming has become more popular among parents and their small children, different methods and
approaches have been formulated to teach little ones to swim. Parents need to make intelligent decisions
about the type of programming they put their child into. just as there are many swimming programs to choose
from, the quality and type of lesson will greatly vary. some swimming programs may actually increase a
child's danger around the water. if a parent chooses a program that makes water fun, fun, fun ... but fails to
teach any real safety skills it follows to reason that their child will probably be more drawn to the water and,
in fact, be more likely to have a water accident.
Last summer at my athletic club, i watched a two year old jump into the swimming pool while the parent
was nearby, but distracted. luckily, a stranger was watching and grabbed the little tike. unfortunately, that's not
always the case. this child had taken swimming lessons at the club for a while and loved the water. she also
thought she knew how to swim because she was so comfortable in the water. her parents had unknowingly
taught her a very dangerous lesson ... if you jump in the water, someone will always catch you.
My own little girl has-been in the water since she was four weeks old. I taught her survival skills at the age
of six months. at age two, she is a very capable swimmer. she also loves to swim. she can swim the width of
our 20 foot pool four different strokes. she could also survive an accidental fall into water fully clothed
and keep herself afloat for a number of minutes if necessary. I want her to love the water but i am more
concerned with her safety. I always want her to respect the water more than she loves it. so i teach
]her skills that will train her to respect the water and I put her safety first before we have fun.
I also supervise her independent swimming and play in the water very carefully.
Kelley Robinson / Associate Director
SWIMBABES TM
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