Stuff happens. Maybe your child fell into the water when he or she was really small and it was super scary. Maybe they’ve had experiences with one too many aggressive swim lessons. Perhaps, as a parent, you’re not the strongest swimmer and are a bit nervous in and around the water. Either way, we are headed towards summer in South Florida and your child hates to swim.
And you don’t know what to do about it.
Of course you understand that learning to swim is a safety must. And even though your child may hate to swim, we as parents can work to reassure them that water can be a safe place. Because learning to swim is a NECESSITY, not a LUXURY in our area.
With our partner, Florida Swim School, we’ve come up with several helpful tips for coping if your child hates to swim. Read on…
1. Turn a scary experience into a learning experience
Falling into a pool or a body of water and the subsequent reactions of witnesses can be very scary for everyone involved. If it happens to you and the child does not have serious injury, use this time as a learning experience for everyone. Who was watching the child? It is an adult’s responsibility at all times to watch children near water. Children can be taught that it is not safe to go near any body of water without an adult present. However, their curiosity may still draw them to the water, so keep watching!
2. Don’t pass on your personal fears of the water
Parents who are nervous about swimming can transfer that fear, even unintentionally, to their children. Kids hear everything and parents are their number one example. Parents who do not know how to swim should not participate in “Child & Me” swim lessons. They should ideally enroll in adult swim classes to hone their skills.
3. Show your parental pride
At every swim class, tell your children how proud you are that they are learning how to swim! Parents really need to voice that swimming is good and that lessons are necessary to ensure safety. Make sure that all guests know your pool rules. The safer kids are in water, the more fun they can have!
4. Say bye to swim lessons that cause crying or fear
Aggressive swim lessons where children are forcefully submerged or submerged when crying will understandably cause fear of the water. If your child is crying, it is probably from separation (from you), at which time the parent should be invited to join the class. Illness and/or tiredness can also cause children to become upset (obviously). The last thing you want is for your child to become afraid of water and avoid it when they are older. Find a new swim class…like at Florida Swim School!
5. Use your pool at home or in your community
If you have a pool at home, get in together and enjoy it! It is important not to make pool time at home feel like a swim lesson. A child who hates to swim may rebel and refuse to get in at all! At home or at friends’ pools, let children explore safely. And, if you are nervous about your child being in the pool outside of swim lessons, put them in a life jacket that is stamped “US Coast Guard Certified”. Otherwise, it is not a floatation device- FYI
6. Even though your child hates to swim, don’t bribe them
It will snowball. Trust me. Don’t give your kids that kind of power. 😉
CONTACT:
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FIND US: 1082 S Rogers Circle, Boca Raton, FL 33487
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CALL US: 561-288-3817
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WRITE US: [email protected]
Sponsored: This post is sponsored by Florida Swim School. All opinions expressed in this blog post are my own. They are not influenced in any way by the sponsor. Any statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with provider. Please refer to this site’s Disclosure for more information. I have been compensated for this post, but that does not impact my views or opinions.
