a) It's called "Infant Swim Resource" but the method is for kids ages 6 months to 6 years. As I said in my original post, my child is 2.5 years old. He is NOT an infant. I have talked to him about this and he understands what we will be doing. I have shown him videos of lessons. He's excited to learn how to swim well.
b) All infant swim lessons involve putting the infant's head under water. Most hold their breath and do not swallow a ton of water. It's basic reflex. most classes are designed just to be about fun and comfort. And that's fine at first. But if they're like my son, they can get to a point where they are overconfident in their swimming abilities and that puts them in danger.
c) This method empahsizes constant supervision and water safety. I'm also CPR and first aid certified and I know how to use a difibulator. Additionally, the pool in our community (HOA pool) has a fence that's over 6 feet tall and a locked gate as well as an emergency phone and rescue raft. It's very safe, there's little chance my son can get into that pool unsupervised even if I were a terrible mom and never watched him. This class is not a replacement for water safety like pool fencing and CPR classes. This is in addition to those things.
d) As I said before, I am a swimmer (not just a casual bather; I swam competitively as a teenager) so I know what I'm doing. I take this seriously. I'm not the kind of parent who is going to say "my son knows how to swim" when he clearly cannot get in and out of the water without assistance or move in the direction he wants. That's NOT swimming; that's playing. That's like saying he knows how to ride a bike when the reality is that he only knows how to "ride" a balance bike.
e) Continuing with the bike analogy, my son must wear a helmet when he rides his balance bike but I do not hover over him and hold on every step of the way. Instead, I make sure the ground is flat where he rides and I supervise and offer guidance but I let him fall when he's going to fall. Learning to walk, learning to ride a bike, and learning to swim involve some discomfort for the child. As a parent we encourage them, supervise, provide a safe environment, and give them guidance. But we don't deny them the opportunities to learn from minor mistakes. Instead, we are there for hugs, kisses, and bandaids when needed.
f) I took my son to 3 other swimming classes and I was highly disappointed in the lack of knowledge of the teachers. They don't know early childhood development. Some aren't even very good swimmers themselves. They just follow the method they've been taught, which is a method that is not customized for each child and is a method that encourages water fun and exploration, not safety. Those classes are fine to start with but they are NOT swimming lessons. They're not even water safety lessons.
Edited by marsupial-mom - 7/9/12 at 12:05pm
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