Methods
There are three phases of learning that equate to true water safety:
Skill Discovery; Skill Advandcement; and Skill Enhancement.
Phase One
Skill Discovery skills stressed: beginning breathing/acclimation to underwater activities/gliding in prone position/proper flutter kick/floating and rolling/identifying safety zones.
In this phase the child explores his environment from a safe place. He experiments with new ideas, skills, textures and positions. He makes mistakes under careful guidance from his instructor/facilitator, and learns the most basic skills necessary for true water safety such as awareness of body position in the water, breathing, listening and respect for the environment.
This is the most crucial stage for young children and is often the phase missed during boot camp/intensive style lessons. It is imperative that a young child not skip this phase as it is where true water safety and understanding for an aquatic environment begins. Remember that learning takes place through exploration, through a relaxed unhurried environment. Placing a young child in a position of stress and duress in order to achieve a goal is only giving the parent a visual – a superficial salve that looks like the child is swimming, however, there is little to no true harmony or inherent understanding of the environment.
The younger the child is upon starting lessons, the longer the exploration phase will last. While in this phase, it is up to the instructor’s instinct and experience to determine when the child is ready to begin incorporating phase two.
Phase Two
Skill Advancement skills stressed: advanced breathing techniques/correct form for freestyle and all other racing strokes/underwater swimming/beginning and intermediate diving/treading water and other safety drills.
In this phase, your child should be able to regulate their breathing enough to swim short distances, look under water long enough to read hand signals and should comfortably be able to leave the steps and glide in the proper prone position to the instructor, often with good, strong flutter kicks. This phase obviously lasts the longest as it is here that your child learns all their strokes, including elementary backstroke and sidestroke. Emphasis is placed on freestyle and one other racing stroke, usually breaststroke or backstroke. Your child will learn various water safety drills and the skills necessary to swim confidently with endurance and speed. Endurance swimming requires excellent breathing skills, that can only be taught during phase one. A child who has skipped phase one will have a much harder time learning to breathe when they are already in phase two.
Typically a child is ready to begin this phase when they are between 3-5 years of age, depending on when they started, maturity, familiarity and if they have experienced any regression due to aquatic trauma. **A child who is five years or older and has had no previous swim lesson experience can handle a combination of phase one and two from the beginning. The older a child is when they start, the less time is needed to acclimate them to their surroundings as they have become reasonable, rational beings. The younger a child is, the more their responses are based on pure emotion and instinct. A very young child comes with a built in fear factor that is there for a reason; they are in a sense being their own lifeguard and protecting themselves from things that feel unsafe. It is disrespectful and counterintuitive to try to override this instinct.
Phase Three
Skill Enhancement skills stressed: racing dives/flip turns/fine-tuning swim technique/endurance building drills/mock swim team drills.
Here obviously is where the older child has achieved a level of confidence, fluidity and safety that will last a lifetime. In this phase, your child will work on refining skill technique, diving, flip turns, deep water diving, and general practice to keep the skills fresh. This would be the time to explore advanced swim teams if your child shows true interest. If not, she should continue with lessons until at least age 8 for reinforcement and exercise benefits.
Remember that swimming at this stage is a true sport and while children’s bodies are changing, their bones are still growing and have not fused. Swimming is the only sport that does not put pressure on the bones from dryland impact. It is one of the safest, healthiest ways to build muscle and cardiovascular strength.
