Example: Michael Phelps
It’s important for kids to learn to swim but it is also very important that they learn water safety.
Water safety keeps kids safe in and around the water but guess what a bonus benefit is? It inspires a passion for swimming and a desire to be the best possible swimmer in students.
One way to understand why this happens is to examine what kids get out of learning water safety.
The bonus is based on three simple things:
1. Overcoming fear.
2. Gaining confidence.
3. Blossoming with eagerness.
They overcome any fear of water they may have had.
How many kids end up in the deep end of the pool before they’re prepared for it as a swimmer? Lots – it happens quite often. A water safety class would instill in that kid the ability to get safely to the side – even if they aren’t a proficient swimmer. If this kid hasn’t had a water safety class, the fear that this experience could trigger quite possibly and probably would leave a mental mark.
They gain confidence in their ability to navigate water situations.
Confidence makes trying new tasks much easier for kids and makes them more willing –and even eager – to improve upon what they already know. Water safety knowledge helps kids develop confidence in their ability to do repetitively do the skills they’ve learned.
Safety is a big part of developing confidence – whether the kid is in the water or somewhere else. Feeling safe is what allows our bodies and brains to relax and learn. The relationship between water safety and swimming is a prime example of how this works. In short, water safety helps kids never to be held back by fear that something unknown will happen or that they won’t be able to do their skills.
Kids’ eagerness to learn blossoms.
All of these things – getting rid of fear, developing confidence in their abilities and feeling safe – come together to help kids discover eagerness to learn more. And with eagerness comes perseverance. Kids reveal their can-do attitude that will have them trying until they succeed.
This willingness to accept repetition is critical element to excelling as a swimmer.
There is a well-known example of the amazing role that learning water safety can have in a swimmer’s development. Do you know whose passion for swimming was born in water safety class? Michael Phelps
Michael tells the story best:
“I grew up around the pool with my sisters. Both of my sisters swam. I was always there. So I thought, why not? My Mom put us in the water for water safety, so we were comfortable in the water in case anything ever happened. I learned that way and starting liking it more and more.”
You can’t argue with that an endorsement like that!
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