Swimming season is almost here, and now is a great time to enroll your little ones in kids swimming lessons! If you’re like most families, you have a busy schedule. Maybe you have one more kid in multiple different extracurricular activities that you need to schedule and keep track of, so the question is, as parents, how do we make the most out of the time we have in the pool to ensure our kids learn to swim and be safe around water? Here are some tips you can follow to set your child up for a positive and productive lesson.
- Be Prepared: We want to make sure your children have the best possible experience at their swimming lessons and that you, as a parent, also benefit. What can you do to help? Be prepared! Take time before you leave for swim lessons to ensure you have everything you need, which are usually the swimming basics such as towels, swimsuit(s), extra change or clothes, water or juice, healthy snacks, and depending on your child’s age or swim level, goggles. Being prepared with items from your home that will make your child’s time in the pool as comfortable as possible will make for a stress-free lesson (for both you and your child).
- Be on Time: Rushing into the pool puts your child at a rocky and stressful start. Creating unnecessary stress before swim lessons can be distracting during lessons when walking in late and make learning to swim more difficult for kiddos. We get it, there are times you might be late to class, but putting a routine in place to avoid walking in late will benefit your child, yourself, and the other little swimmers in the pool.
- For Younger Swimmers, Get to the Pool Early: The most important thing you can do as a parent of toddlers or kids who are new to swim lessons is arriving early to class. For many little ones who are just starting out, getting to the pool with a parent as early as possible will help ease nerves. This will give them a chance to observe other lessons and can take time to understand how swim lessons work and what they will be doing. Similarly, if your child has been in swim lessons but is advancing to a new level or will have a new instructor, arriving early will give you a chance to introduce your little one to the staff and their new instructor and make them feel comfortable, which will help reduce meltdowns!
- Keep Lessons Consistent: Another way your child will get the most out of lessons is through consistency. Schedule your child’s lessons on a consistent basis at the same time every week. This will ensure that what they learn in class sticks and becomes routine.
- Follow the Same Pool Rules at Home: Make sure that any rules your child learns stay with them at home: No running or pushing near the pool, no diving in the shallow end, and observe safety precautions at all times when getting in and out of the pool. Keeping rules consistent in your own pool at home is not only keeping your child safe but ensuring that they don’t get confused or begin to think lightly of the rules in swim lessons.
- Practice Outside of Class: Consider joining your child in your pool at home or at a community pool, whether through practicing swimming skills or playing games in the pool, it’s an excellent way to bond with your child and practice skills outside of class.
At Little Otter Swim School, we want you and your child to get the most out of the time in the pool that’s why we encourage you to follow these tips to make for a positive lesson! Contact us if you’d like to learn more about our kids swimming lessons.
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