When summer draws to a close, some children say goodbye to their swim instructors and new SCSC friends to begin sports and music lessons or focus on school work. Parents don’t think twice about pulling their child out of swimming lessons in order to start a new activity. Yet when summer rolls around again the following year, they are startled to find their son or daughter in the same class as the previous year or slow to improve.
Retention is the key to forward progression when fine-tuning or learning any new skill. Year-round lessons allow children to build upon their summer-learned foundation and continue to improve their skills. Consistency is important for children to learn to swim and for parents, it allows their swimmer to retain their skills on a more permanent basis.
Many parents enroll their student in swimming lessons at a young age to teach water safety and how to react in an emergency situation. These are definitely critical skills to learn; however, parents must also remember that drowning does not only happen during the summer and children can be around water even in cooler months, such as ponds, lakes, hot tubs, bathtubs, and even a back yard with an uncovered pool. Having a swimmer who takes lessons year-round provides a more robust education and higher success for knowing how to react in an emergency. Parents should also remember, swimming is one of, if not the only sport a child can learn that can literally save their lives. In fact, drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death among children ages 1-4 years old in the United States, claiming over 300 lives annually, according to Poolsafely.com
At SCSC, we practice safety on a regular basis in addition to teaching kids to swim. This in turn provides swimmers with valuable life-saving skills and a broad aquatic knowledge base. In order to ensure children’s skills are retained and not just memorized for the short-term, students must continue to swim beyond the summer months. The longer a child is away from swimming, the longer it takes him or her to work back to their initial skill level. Unfortunately, swimmers can forget these crucial life-saving and safety skills during a winter break and panic or react in a way that is counterproductive should they find themselves in a life-threatening emergency. Although every child will react differently, chances are, if the skills are ingrained in their psyche, they will respond accordingly.
Parents are also frustrated financially when they find themselves paying to bring their swimmer up to speed from a previous swim season or round of lessons. Just as with any new hobby, it takes practice to improve and chances are, you would need a refresher after a long hiatus from a new sport or activity. With year-round lessons, children build upon their foundation with scaffold learning, which allows them to not only practice and retain their skills but also regularly improve and add new skills.
The other question we get from parents is, “What about colds and viruses in cooler months?” Contrary to popular belief, your child will not be more susceptible to colds in the winter months by continuing swimming lessons. Our comfortable, 88-degree temperature waters will ensure children’s body temperatures are safe no matter what month or season. Also, keep in mind, exercise is especially beneficial for strengthening immune systems and keeping adults and children safe from illness. We also have hair dryers available and recommend that all swimmers wear hats when leaving if their hair is still wet.
Year-round swimming lessons provide several benefits to parents and children alike. They not only offer a greater overall value to your student and wallet, but they provide critical skills and opportunities for students to learn in the most quick and efficient manner. We hope to see you this fall! Classes are available throughout the week! Contact us for days and times.