Although winter is here please don’t make your children say goodbye

When winter arrives some children say goodbye to their swim instructors to instead begin other sports or music lessons.

Parents don’t think twice about pulling their child out of swimming lessons to start new activity, yet when summer rolls around 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. Leopold Swim School offers year-round lessons that allow children to build upon their summer-learned foundation and continue to progress their skills.

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; and not only for the summer months.

Parents must remember that children can be around water even in cooler months such as dams, spas, baths, swollen waterways and even uncovered back yard pools.

Swimmers who have lessons year-round get a more robust education and have a higher success rate in 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 -drowning is the largest cause of children’s deaths in Australia.

At Leopold Swim School we focus on safety, making sure each child knows how to grab the edge of the pool safely.

We also have a huge focus on teaching every child to doggy paddle correctly. 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 memorised 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.

Parents can also find themselves frustrated financially by paying to bring their swimmer up to speed from a previous swim season or round of lessons.

Just as with any new hobby, practice makes perfect and chances are, you would need a refresher after a long hiatus from a new sport or activity.

But 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 at swim practice. Our comfortable, 34 deg. C temperature waters ensure childrens’ 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.

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 winter!!