If you are interested in getting your 2 to 5-year-old child into toddler swimming lessons, there are a few things you should know in order to help comfort them and gain confidence in water. You may read our article on why your child might be afraid of water. It may be a daunting experience for both you and your child to begin swimming lessons at such a young age, but by introducing your child to the water young, you encourage a love of swimming later in life. Plus, it is a safety measure to make sure your child knows how to swim.

Here are a few simple things to incorporate as you introduce your toddler to a swimming pool.

Making it a habit during bath

Fortunately, your toddler is old enough to know that when they take a bath, water will get on their face. Therefore, they already know how this feels. This is an important first step to achieving successful toddler swimming. When you initially take your toddler to the pool’s edge, be sure you stay with them and keep in constant physical contact with them. Never leave your child unattended because of the risk of drowning if they slip or get too far from the edge of the pool in deep water. You want their pool experience to be fun, not traumatizing.

Bring their favorite toys

Bring some familiar toys from home for them to play with in the pool. This will help to comfort your toddler if they seem to be having a hard time in the water. Encourage them and make sure they know that swimming is fun, but mommy or daddy need to stay close at all times. This will help them become more confident in the water but not too confident that they will attempt to swim without your supervision. This is an important balance that must be established with toddler swimming.

Never leave them alone!

From now on when you and your family take a trip to the beach, a lake, or a water park, you will have greater confidence in your child’s ability to stay afloat. Of course, you should still never leave them unattended. Even older children are at risk for drowning if they are not very strong swimmers. Still, you should never be afraid to expose your child to water as long as the environment is safe enough to do so.

Your experiences with toddler swimming will surely be enjoyable as you see your little one take to the water and have fun in this new, wet environment.

The decision to sign up your child for swimming lessons is probably one of the best recreational activities you could choose for them to participate in. Swimming has many great physical benefits, and being in a class setting to learn how to swim has many social advantages as well.

Here are the top 5 qualities we look for in a swimming instructor.

1. Fun yet responsible

Children do not learn a new skill from someone who cannot relate to children. Because of this fact, this is one of the qualities to look for in a swimming instructor. Along with being fun, the instructor must have a high level of responsibility to ensure the safety of your child in the water.

2. Professional

While swimming instructors should certainly be friendly and lighthearted for the children, they should be professional in the way they deal with the parents of the children. Any enquiries you have should be answered politely and with understanding. Without this important quality in a swimming instructor, you may regret your decision to have them teach your child.

3. Disciplined yet kind

Water safety and new swimming skills are taught through proper education and discipline, not with trauma. Therefore, some qualities to look for in a swimming instructor include those that show they are willing to drill a certain skill until the class gets it, but they will be kind in the process to avoid traumatizing your child. Trust is a huge issue with swimming, so the instructor should have this quality.

4. Patient

Teachers who have a big ego and expect the children to perform up to their level are not the kind of instructors you want teaching your child. They should never show off but encourage and praise the children in the class when they do something right while gently helping them along when they are struggling with a certain concept.

5. Lack of favoritism

In any kind of class situation, some students may excel more quickly which can turn them into a teacher’s favorite student. This may be inevitable, but it should never be displayed for the class to see. This is one of the qualities to look for in a swimming instructor to keep your child from getting down on themselves at lessons.

Your Feedback

Your child should look forward to swimming lessons each time they are held, and these qualities to look for in a swimming instructor will help this become a reality. There is only how much we can do, and the most important part is still your feedback on our instructors!

The License

In order to obtain a valid license, one must go through the NCAP Swimming Coaching Level 1. In this course, you will learn the basic fundmentals of coaching in particular to lesson planning, class organisational skills, water safety, and teaching of swim strokes etc.

The Criteria

Now, this is the part which takes a bit of time before you can actually go through NCAP Swimming Coaching Level 1.

• 1) Possess a valid Lifesaving 1, 2 & 3 Certificate OR a Bronze Medallion Cert.
• 2) Possess a valid CPR Certificate OR a recognised Standard First Aid Cert.
• 3) Possess NCAP Level 1 Theory Certificate
• 4) Age limit: 18 years & above as on 1st January of the year of intake

Before the applicants are allowed into the course, they must pass the Skills Test. The Skills Test requires the applicants to swim 4 mandatory strokes: Frontcrawl, Breaststroke, Butterfly & Backstroke

Only the Top 40 applicants who pass the Skills Test will be accepted into the course.

SwimSafer

All instructors who pass the NCAP Swimming Coaching Level 1 will also need to adopt the SwimSafer Programme in order to keep their license valid.

All information above are extracted from Singapore Swimming Association

If you are looking to teach your infant age 2 or below how to swim, you need to know the 5 steps of baby swimming to ensure it is a safe, fun experience for both of you. After all, introducing your child to the water at a very young age can be great, but only if it is done properly.

Step 1: Outfit your baby with the right swimming gear

Your baby should wear a swimming diaper that is designed to not leak. A snug swimming suit that is sure not to come off should completely cover the surface of the diaper. Inflatable arm devices might be a good choice as well as long as your child does not fight wearing them.

Step 2: Start small

For your infant’s first baby swimming experience, opt for the infant area of a pool that is typically only 12 inches deep. This will encourage your infant to play in the water with a much smaller risk of drowning.

Step 3: Keep your eye on your infant

Watch his or her reaction to being in the water. If your baby is having a hard time, it might be too soon to encourage pool time. If this occurs, revert to simply walking along the water’s edge and observing other swimmers. Baby swimming should never be forced on your child, especially at such a young age.

Step 4: Stay near your child

It does not matter how deep or shallow the water is. To ensure your child’s safety during baby swimming, you should keep your hands on them at all times. Avoid a traumatizing experience for yourself and your little one by not risking any danger to them during pool time. At this young age, you cannot expect your baby to really swim, but rather simply enjoy spending time in the water to encourage a love of swimming later in life. You can being to briefly let go when they become more accustomed to the water.

Step 5: Have fun!

Don’t just sit at the edge of the pool—encourage your infant to kick, blow bubbles, and play with water toys, all while remaining near your baby and ensuring they are happy and safe. As the years progress, your child’s early baby swimming experiences could turn into a strong love of swimming that can be both a recreational activity and a way to ensure they are safe near the water’s edge.

Your child can begin the process of learning how to swim at a very young age. It is very important that your child learn how to swim. Not only can the entire family have fun at the lake or water park, but also because their lives could be at risk when in a pool if they do not know how to swim.

You may automatically be thinking that this means you should sign up your child for swimming lessons. However, we highly recommend that you teach your own child to swim! Here are 5 reasons to teach your child swimming on your own, particularly if your child is under 5 years old.

Saving Money

Swimming lessons can be expensive, especially if you enroll them into private classes. Here in Singapore Swimming Academy, we concentrate on children swimming lessons for those above the age of 5. Most parents will enroll their child to private lessons which can be quite costly, at a minimum of $60 per hour.

If you know how to swim, you can easily teach your child either in your own backyard pool or at one of our public swimming complexes. Once they get a grasp of the basics, then you might want to sign them up for lessons to learn how to dive or do other more advanced swimming techniques.

Parent-Child Bonding

A good reason to teach your child swimming on your own is that you can bond with your child. Instead of handing them off to a stranger, you can use the time you spend teaching your child to swim as a time to have fun and bond as parent and child.

Avoid Infections

You can avoid infections spread by social activities. When in close proximity with other very young children, they are susceptible to getting an ear infection during the time they have a weakened immune system. When you teach your child swimming on your own, this can be avoided.

Know your child better

Also, another of the great reasons to teach your child swimming on your own is that you grasp their progression firsthand. This means you will not make the mistake of assuming they can swim better than they can on your next family trip to the lake or water park. You are the teacher, so you understand how much they know and how confident they are at swimming so far.

It’s not as difficult as you think!

Finally, teaching your child to swim is easy! Many parents turn to lessons because they think teaching their child to swim will be difficult. However, with instruction videos or tips from friends, you can easily learn how to teach your child swimming on your own without the ongoing cost of professional lessons.

Fisting

Fist swimming drills are the first of the 5 great swimming workouts, and it means exactly what it sounds like. For this to give you a workout, you must concentrate on your body position and swim with your hands in balled fists. When you return to swimming with your hands open, they will seem to be larger than kickboards!

Kiciking

Kicking is another workout idea. You can either kick with or without a kickboard. Depending on the stroke, you will kick differently. For example, if you are a doing a backstroke, you should kick on your side with your head facing up and with both hands above your head. For the butterfly, position yourself on your back, side, or in butterfly position. When you kick, do so from your hips and torso, which will give you a great ab workout.

Hybrid style

Drill combos are great swimming workouts as well. Alternate between a backstroke and freestyle every four strokes. Be sure you drive the rotation with your hips while keeping your rhythm light and easy.

Alternate Sides

4 to 8-count drills can be done with either backstroke or freestyle. For 4, 6, or 8 counts, kick on your side. After each set, take a full arm stroke and rotate onto your opposite side and repeat the set. Be sure to focus on body position no matter which side you are on. These are great swimming workouts because you use your core to rotate yourself while using your bottom hand to “hold” the water.

Backstroke Gallop

Backstroke gallop drills make great swimming workouts as well. Arm speed is the focus here. While on your side, kick for 6 to 8 counts while holding your recovery hand about six inches out of the water instead of at your side. Lower it back to your hip and propel yourself forward with three fast, intense strokes. Don’t forget to focus on your hip rotation while maintaining a solid body position. After three strokes, the process should be repeated.

Swimming is an ancient activity that has taken place since both water and humans were on the earth. Prehistoric drawings from the southwestern part of Egypt show original documentation of people swimming. The images seem to show the dog paddle or breaststroke, but these may have been more ritualistic than anything. Of course, anciently, swimming was done because it was necessary for survival. Whether people needed to cross a river to safety on the other side or simply know how to tread water to prevent drowning, swimming has certainly come a long way since its ancient days. Here is the history of swimming in a competitive sense as it is known today.

Recognizing swimming

England is recognized as the first country to participate in swimming as a recreation and competitive sport. In 1837, competitions were held in man-made pools in London. The National Swimming Society in England organized the competitions which grew quickly in popularity. The very first indoor pool in the history of swimming was constructed in 1862 in England. Soon, more pools were built and another swimming organization was established in 1880. It was known as the Amateur Swimming Association of Great Britain, an organization with more than 300 member clubs. The main swimming styles utilized in competitions were the breaststroke and the recently-developed sidestroke.

Entering the Olympics

Swimming joined the Olympics in 1896 as a men’s sport. They competed in the categories of 100-meter and 1500-meter Freestyle. These were held in open water. More Olympic events were soon added during the history of swimming, including breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly, and individual medley. The first few Olympic Games that featured swimming did not include women. It was not until 1912 that women’s swimming made its debut. There are now 16 races held for men and women, totaling 32 altogether, in each Summer Olympic Games. The Special Olympics also has 22 swimming categories for men and women, totaling 44 altogether.

Modifying for speed

Modifications in swimming techniques occurred through this point in the history of swimming as different counties changed the way they accomplished the backstroke and breaststroke. This occurred between 1935 and 1945 and into the 1950s, creating controversy at the Olympics. Around this same time, war shortages demanded a reduction in fabric for making swimming suits. Thus, the first two-piece swimming suits were invented in 1943. Techniques for winning Olympic gold medals changed at this time as swimmers spent more time under water to gain an advantage of speed. It is a technique that is still used today.

1. Tag

A modified version of tag is a great game to play in the water. Just like on land, one person is “it” and must tag another player who then takes their place. This is one of the fun games to play during swimming which can improve strokes and stamina because swimmers will be able to escape the “it” person if they improve their strokes, and the activeness of the game certainly improves stamina. To keep one player from feeling singled out, two people may be “it” at the same time.

2. Racing

Races are another of the fun games to play during swimming which can improve strokes and stamina for obvious reasons. Both children and adult swimmers will enjoy showing off their stroke abilities. A skilled adult swimmer can stand at the edge of the pool to observe the stroke methods of the swimmers and provide tips when the race is over.

3. Retrieving

Diving to retrieve items is fun and certainly improves strokes. The items to be retrieved can be anything small that is heavy enough to sink such as coins or pebbles. You can either have the participants race to get one sunken item each and return to home base or have many more sunken items than participants and declare the person who retrieves the most items the winner. The better their strokes are, the faster they will be able to swim to retrieve the objects.

4. Volleyball

Pool volleyball is a classic fun game to play during swimming which can improve strokes and stamina. Any beach ball would be good enough so that it doesn’t hurt children. Be sure everyone understands the rules and think about setting up different requirements than usual to incorporate strokes into the game.

5. Colours

Colours is a unique game, certainly one of the fun games to play during swimming which can improve strokes and stamina. One player, called the “catcher,” turns his back on all others while they all think of a colour. The catcher calls out a colour. If anyone has chosen that colour, they must swim to the opposite side of the pool quietly. If the catcher hears them, he will turn and try to catch them before they reach the other side of the pool.

Swimming to reduce asthma

The Department of Pedatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, found that asthmatic children who where involved in a two-month, consistent program of swim training, showed “significant improvement in all clinical variables”, including “symptoms, hospitalisations, emergency room visits and the school absenteeism compared with their previous medical history or to those of age-matched controls. In addition, these benefits were more visible even up to a full year after the program was discontinued.

Asthma – Swimming the best exercise?

If you take different kinds of exercise so that you use the same amount of oxygen in each one, some will cause more wheeziness or chest tightness than others. Running outdoors will in general be worse than swimming. In fact swimming is one of the best forms of exercise for people with asthma because it usually causes the least amount of chest tightness. Running indoors on a treadmill, or cycling on an indoor exercise bike will come somewhere between outdoor running and swimming.

Other factors influence the amount of worsening of your breathing which you get from a particular form of exercise. Generally for example, if the air you breathe is cold and dry, the asthma will be worse. If it is warm and moist, the asthma will be less bad. This explains why swimming generally causes less asthma than outdoor running.

Myth – Swimming causes asthma

There had been many reports that states swimming can cause asthma due to the use of chlorine to treat the water. This might be true in poorly maintained swimming pools, but swimming pools in Singapore meets a certain criteria in order to operate. In many countries, strong chlorine gas may with a pH level not even fit for usual swimmers without asthma, which has been put into the study.

In Singapore Swimming Academy, we have set up a research team to evaluate the number of students having who has asthma, and the amount times asthma is being triggered in the course of swimming and when they are not swimming. Up till now, the number of asthma being triggered in the course of swimming is 0%.

Swimming can also be far more varied than running around a track or on a treadmill, especially when you take it to the beach and out into the blue ocean – very much more entertaining than cycling at your local gym or punching a heavy bag.

With tennis and other team sports, you have to rely on other people not only to show up, but to put in as much effort as you to make sure you get everything out of the workout that you want. And all those who are serious about getting fit knows that they’re often alone, and counting on other people isn’t a good idea.

Swimming pools available almost anywhere
The best option for a program that you can do on your own to reach all your fitness goals will be swimming. Swimming pools can be found in country clubs, public swimming pools, condominiums etc.

The only thing you need to know now is to learn swimming and the art of the four main strokes, how to adopt a proper swimming program suited specifically to your goals, and how to maintain the proper nutrition you will need to fuel your workouts and the program that will help you change your life for the better.

Benefits of swimming
The bottom line is this: Swimming is a fantastic full-body workout that can increase your endurance, build muscle mass, and improve your body composition and cardiovascular system. Aand swimming can be the main component of an exercise program for anyone young or old. It can be done indoors or out, and stay fun and fresh every single day. Also, read up on our article on the benefits of swimming for a more detailed information in this topic.

With swimming, you have none of the pain that running or lifting weights everyday can bring you. Yet you will still see all the positive results comparable, or even better than to hitting the gym!