Swimming Lessons are an Investment: Get the Most from Them

Are you and your kids getting the most of the swimming lessons they’re taking? Here are three things that help you to ensure that!

1. Attend consistently. Regular attendance is the foundation of progress. Consistent attendance helps your kids and their coach or instructor stay in tune with one another. Learning is just as consistent as attendance is. Just as repetition of skills during lessons helps to ingrain them in the kids’ muscle memory and brain, skills practiced on a consistent weekly schedule are learned more quickly; milestones are accomplished more easily.
2. Be a quizzer. Reinforce what your kids learn during lessons through quizzing. It’s easy to do and kids like it. It adds a little more competition after the lesson has ended – especially if they have siblings who also take lessons. Give them scenarios that they must think through so they get good mental rehearsal that accelerates their skills mastery. Challenge yourself to think of new and different ways to ask your kids about what they did in their lessons and about water safety. For example, have several ways to ask them what they should do if they fall into deep water.
3. Make sure they dress for swimming success. Proper (snug-fitting) swimming suits make it easier to move through the water. Too much material can create drag but a snug fit solves this problem.

Making sure that these three simple things happen for each lesson sets your kids up for success through adequate repetition, reinforcement and focus. You help to provide an environment that is full of opportunity and free from distraction.