A question of confidence

Teaching your child to swim is not just fun – it is also an essential and potentially life-saving skill

 

Being taught to swim is a priceless gift for so many reasons. The stimulation, liberation and fun that this simple yet essential skill can give are reason enough. However the fact that drowning is the third largest cause of accidental death among children in the UK makes learning to swim paramount to your child’s health and well-being.

Konfidence have been working closely with the Swimming Teachers Association (STA) and many leading swim schools for some years now developing relevant products and helping to promote water safety. The STA has been at the forefront of raising water safety awareness for 75 years and through its teachers, training and education programmes will have prevented countless accidents. The STA’s Water Safety Advice leaflet looks at all these common areas and offers advice and information. A copy of the leaflet can be downloaded at www.sta.co.uk/docs/STA_Toddler_Brochure_ENG.pdf

When can my child learn to swim?

The STA says: “It’s never too soon to introduce your baby to the water” and this is borne out by the popularity of swimming classes for very young children, from babies upwards, which have become increasingly available across the UK. At these very young ages, teaching formal swim strokes is not possible but building water awareness and teaching babies and toddlers how to cope and react to water most definitely is. There are many benefits and hardly any risks from introducing a baby to water if parents adopt a gentle, sensible approach. With regards to immunisation, the current directive from the Department of Health is “your baby does not need any immunisations before they go swimming”.

The principal benefits to an early introduction to water are:

• It encourages the development of a newborn baby’s natural swimming reflex in the water – if these early reflexes are not strengthened by regular stimulation, they will disappear in most babies after five or six months. However, when babies are introduced to water before this age, then through regular and repeated instruction, your baby can be taught to use their arms and legs.
• It sustains and builds these reflexes, which then leads to the natural development of voluntary arm and leg movements, or what we know as swimming.
• It is a sure way of avoiding fear of the water – some children are frightened of the water and their fear, whatever the cause, is often difficult to overcome when they become adults.

There are many swim schools and individual swimming teachers throughout the UK providing swimming lessons from the absolute beginner through to competition standard instruction. Once again, the STA and its website (www.sta.co.uk) are an enormously useful resource for finding a local approved swim school or teacher.

How soon will my child learn to swim?

When you take your baby along to baby swim classes, the teacher will not be teaching your baby to swim. The emphasis will be on making your baby relaxed and comfortable in the water. The STA recommends that in lessons, your baby is taught “as much free movement in the water as possible, not in a formal way but through play and encouragement. This will lead to swimming when your baby is physically and emotionally ready.” The focus should always be on having fun in the water without any pressure for achievement. It is a wonderful sight to see babies learning to “swim” to the surface and turn onto and float on their backs.

For children, the ability to understand and react to verbal instructions is a key requirement to learning to develop swimming technique. However, from as early as 18 months children can be taught to paddle to the side of the pool. This alone can be a crucial skill to learn.

What can I do?

We are not all natural swimming teachers and therefore good tuition from as early an age as possible should be a priority. Educating your child to respect water but not fear it goes hand in hand with tuition. The STA makes some very useful recommendations:

• Register your child with the STA’s Learn to Swim club.
• Start young. Buy a paddling pool and let your child splash around from the time they can sit up.
• Bath time is often a child’s first experience of water, so make it a fun time.
• Think about joining a special Parent and Baby swimming programme.
• Bring toddlers into the water by holding them close. Once they know you will protect them in the water, they will feel more at ease.
• Swimming lessons for three and four year olds are a good idea, but make sure you choose a class that suits you and your child. Make sure you are comfortable with both the class and the teachers before enrolling.

What will my child need?

For babies and the very young swimmer water temperature can be a real issue. If the pool temperature is too cold, babies and younger children can become agitated very quickly. A specially designed neoprene wetsuit such as the Konfidence Babywarma™ and Warma™ wetsuits can keep the little swimmer warmer for longer, enhancing the baby classes or swimming lesson by allowing them stay comfortably in the water.

When outside of formal swimming lessons and before your child has fully learnt to swim, a buoyant aid to swimming can give peace of mind to both parents and the kids wearing them. The Konfidence Jacket™ and Float suit have built-in buoyancy situated around the chest and torso, allowing freedom of arm movement and allowing them to practice the strokes they have learnt in class. The bright colours are helpful for keeping an eye on your kids in crowded pools or on the beach too.

Visit www.konfidence.co.uk to see the full range where you will also receive another little gift: a 10% discount on any purchases. Just enter the code CSJT08 at the checkout.

Excerpts from the STA “Starfish Water Safety & Swimming for Babies & Toddlers – A Guide for Parents” are reproduced with permission of the STA. For a full version, visit www.sta.co.uk/docs/STA_Toddler_Brochure_ENG.pdf

Konfidence are proud sponsors of the STA Starfish Baby Swimming Programme.

For more information, contact:
Konfidence Limited
1c Treburley Industrial Estate
Launceston
Cornwall PL15 9PU
Tel: 01579 371000
Website: www.konfidence.co.uk

Confidence in and around water Being taught to swim is a priceless gift for so many reasons. The stimulation, liberation and fun that this simple yet essential skill can give are reason enough. However the fact that drowning is the 3rd largest cause of accidental death amongst children in the UK makes learning to swim paramount. Konfidence have been working closely with the Swimming Teachers Association (STA) and many leading Swim Schools for some years now developing relevant products and helping to promote water safety. Water Safety falls under 7 broad headings: in the home in the garden in swimming pools in rivers, lakes and canals on the beach whilst boating on holiday abroad Much of this is common sense though we all can benefit from reminders. The STA Water Safety Advice leaflet looks at all these common areas and can be downloaded at http://www.sta.co.uk/docs/STA_Toddler_Brochure_ENG.pdf The real key to your child’s safety and development is learning to swim.  When can my child learn to swim? Traditionally swimming lessons begin at 3 or 4 years of age,  often when they start at Primary School. Prior to this Mum and Dad may take their children to the local swimming pool for a splash around. Recently swimming classes for very young children and even babies have become increasingly very popular across the UK. At these very young ages teaching formal swim strokes is not possible however building water awareness and how to cope and react to water most definitely is. With regards to immunisation, the current directive from the Department of Health is “your baby does not need any immunisations before they go swimming”. The principle benefits are: It encourages the development of a newborn baby’s natural swimming reflex in the water – if these early reflexes are not strengthened by regular stimulation, they will disappear after five or six months. However, if babies are introduced to water before this age, they can be taught to use their arms and legs. It sustains and builds these reflexes which then lead to the natural development of voluntary arm and leg movements, on other words swimming. It is a sure way of avoiding fear of water – some children are frightened of the water and, whatever the cause, it is often difficult to overcome when they become adults. Many Swim Schools and Teachers throughout the UK providing swimming lessons from the absolute beginner through to competition standard instruction.  STA and their website www.sta.co.uk are an enormously useful resource for finding a local approved swim school or teacher. How soon will my child learn to swim? When you take your baby along to baby swim classes, the teacher will not be teaching your baby to swim. The emphasis will be on making your baby relaxed and comfortable in the water.  This will lead onto swimming when your baby is physically and emotionally ready.’ It is wonderful to see babies learning to ‘swim’ to the surface and turn onto and float on their backs. The ability to understand and react to verbal instructions is key to learning to develop swimming technique however from as early as 18 months children can be taught to paddle to the side of the pool. This alone can be a crucial skill to learn. What can I as a parent do? Good tuition from as early an age should be a priority. Educating your child to respect water but not fear it goes hand in hand with tuition. Konfidence make some very useful recommendations: Register your child with the STA’s Learn to Swim club. Start young. Buy a paddling pool and let your child splash around from the time they can sit up. Bath time is often a child’s first experience of water, so make it fun. Join a special Parent and Baby swimming programme. Bring toddlers into the water by holding them close. Once they know you will protect them in the water, they will feel more at ease. Swimming lessons for three and four year olds are a good idea, but make sure you choose a class that suits you and your child. What will I need to get my child? For babies and the very young swimmer water temperature can be a real issue. Cold, babies and younger children can become agitated very quickly. Konfidence have designed special neoprene wetsuits such as the Konfidence Babywarma™ and Warma™ wetsuits can keep the little swimmer warmer for longer enhancing the baby classes by allowing them stay in the water longer. Outside of formal swimming lessons a buoyant aid to swimming can give peace of mind to both parents and the kids. The Konfidence Jacket™ and Float suit have built in buoyancy situated around the chest and torso giving freedom of arm movement and allowing them to practice the strokes they have learnt in class. The bright colours are enormously helpful for keeping an eye on your kids in crowded pools or on the beach too. Please visit www.konfidence.co.uk to see the full range where you will also receive another little gift; a 10% discount on any purchases! Just enter the code CSJT08 at the checkout. Excerpts from the STA “Starfish Water Safety & Swimming for Babies & Toddlers – A Guide for Parents” are reproduced with the kind permission of the STA. For a full version of the guide, please visit http://www.sta.co.uk/docs/STA_Toddler_Brochure_ENG.pdf Konfidence are proud sponsors of the STA Starfish Baby Swimming Programme.

 

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