Question about learning to swim?

Question

I've signed my kids (total non-swimmers) up for lessons at the park district. They're scheduled to start in about 3 weeks. I have no idea how good the teacher will be because I had 6 years of swimming in school and never advanced past learning to float. It was basically get in and do what you want. I nearly drowned with 20 people in the pool and the teacher sitting on the sideline fully clothed and no one even noticed. Needless to say, after this I developed a serious fear of the water and really haven't trusted anyone to teach me.

Back to the point: someone recommended Total Immersion swim lessons. After looking over the site it seems that this would be a really good program and I plan to sign them up.

I'm wondering if it would be counterproductive to sign them up for both lessons as I don't want them to receive conflicting or bad instructions from one of the classes. Or do you think they could benefit from having two different classes.

Another option that I'm considering is cancelling the lessons with the park and signing them up for open swim there so that they can practice what they learn in the other class.

My only concern is that they may not be as safe in an open swim session.

Please help. Any advice will be appreciated.

Answer 1

I have found that most problems in water start from a lack of proper education in breathing and balance techniques.  I make my students regularly perform bobbing drills that encourage inhaling through the mouth and then submerging while slowly exhaling out the nose while under water.  They repeat this say ten times.  No pauses between bobs.  Think of humming...making the sound as your mouth is closed so the humming sound and air comes out the nose.  Also, most people have trouble floating because teachers lack the skill to identify the balance problems.  You should submerge with your arms and shoulders under water, tilt the head back and lift up from the belly, not the chest.  The head position is crucial and the ears need to be submerged.  Chin to the sky.  If the legs still sink, tuck the legs under the butt while keeping your knees in the water.  This draws the mass forward helping to merge your center of bouyancy with your center of mass.  Total Immersion swimming is a great program, just be sure the instructor is good at it.  With regards to conflicting training, I, myself, have had students who were registered with other instructors simultaneously.  Just today, a parent told me that when she brought her child to the other instrcutor that the first comment made was how much better she was at breathing after just one lesson with me.  Personally, you will recognise if the lessons are working and can always cancel one if needed.  I do believe that the more time spent in the water the better.  I have had to counter the lessons of others at times....but always found my students improving despite any conflicts.  To be honest, in the end most parents wind up with me and cancel lessons with others.  Good luck.

Answer 2

liketoknow,

There are many types of swimming lessons available for your kids: Red Cross, YMCA, private clubs, private individuals, etc,..I've never heard of Total Immersion (unless this is the lessons given to newborns)

My experience has taught me that it's not the program that determines the effectiveness for your kids but rather the instructor. The instructor must understand the skills they are teaching, they must enjoy working with students (in your case kids), they should be energetic, organized, and passionate.

It sounds like you've investigated this quite a bit so my suggestion would be to investigate the instructors that will be teaching your children and select from this criteria.

I hope this helps.

Enjoy!

Answer 3

i have been a competitive swimmer, and im starting my seventh year. currently, i'm teaching an autistic seven-year-old how to swim.

there are MANY alternatives to the normal "lessons" given at local pools. those are okay, but during the summer, i helped teach one class. in groups, kids dont learn NEAR as fast as one-on-one. they get distracted, and the teachers are more than likely college students that used to swim, and could care LESS.

on the other hand, i'm a highschooler. i keep high grades. some of my teammates are the same. a couple of us teach lessons to kids, most likely we prefer one-on-one. we know everything there is to know [most of us that work hard at practice anyways lol] about how to float and move our arms.

i suggest you find a friend/friend's friend/LIFEGUARD [! :D] that you know is a swimmer, or knows how to swim rather decently, to teach the lessons. my friends and i have been to the red cross CPR classes, and lifeguarding classes.

if you do take them to two different lessons, they probably will conflict. you can always try though, theres nothing wrong with that! i just know when im watching the news, i hear about these kids or even adults drowning. i can't help but think that their parents should have gotten them to learn to swim! swimming lessons should be free for this reason!!! :/

and also, im sure theres a local swim team. maybe if you could find an older swimmer, and ask if they could maybe offer some lessons. maybe with pay. i know that the child i teach has learned ALOT, and his parents want to pay me tons of money. and they are so grateful that i'm teaching lessons for free. i'm using the hours i teach him as community service hours! :DD

i'm sorry this answer is unorganized and scattered, but i have a huge headache. :/ and i just typed anything when it came to mind. good luck, i sure do wish you and your children the best!!!!!!

Answer 4

there is no such thing as too much education

Answer 5

Look into signing them up for a USS team!

United States Swimming Team

This is what all the Olympians swim for before

they go to the collegiate level!

Answer 6

just make sure there are life guards. keep them in the lessons, and then take them to a pool just for fun.