Swimming reintroduction, it’s important to teach kids to swim

Описание: One thing I’m passionate about is teaching kids to swim, I’ve encountered and heard horror stories and don’t want to see that happen in my community. The number one reason drowning happens is because of panic and fear. Ive had babies under 2 hold their breath for 20 secs, an adult with more capacity definitely can, 20 secs seems short but if you accidentally fall in a body of water that’s a long time to orient yourself and figure out how to get out. When panicking that 20 secs of air is gone in less than 5, then you have much less time to use your brain and figure out how to save yourself.
I don’t say swim I say “water survival” don’t care if you can doggy paddle, back stroke, butterfly or freestyle, I care that you can come up to surface, get on your back for air and figure out how to get out of the water.

I started in the water first time around 6 months, she was fully swimming around the pool for fun when she was 2.5-3, with toddlers, over winter when it’s cold and no one swims they forget they know how, when they get in water again the fear comes back up and it takes a couple lessons to help them build the confidence that they can do it again.

I got some flack for having to force screaming crying kids or babies to go under when they didn’t want to, they said “you are traumatizing them” I completely disagree, I’m allowing the human nature of survival to work, in a controlled environment and allowing them to learn a skill that will enable them to have a better chance to save their life if calamity strikes.

Trauma, as an emotional or mental distress that causes severe anxiety can be overcome, when you work through it you gain strength in an area that once would have crippled you. The kids I’ve taught may have felt fear and anxiety in the unknown, but because we finished the sessions only 10 min a lesson until they got it, they are not traumatized, they are confident, they have a healthy respect for water, they are water survivalists.