WHAT IS POOL SAFE?
As a swim instructor, I get asked all the time “What exactly does pool safe mean?” There is no exact definition, but I will share with you what I strive for in trying to move my students towards my definition of being Pool Safe. When I work with my students, I use all sorts of techniques to help them develop skills which emphasize using common sense and safety as part of their decision making in and around water.
These two attributes, coupled with their newly acquired swimming skills, make it easier for students to make decisions which keep them out of harm’s way. I give great value and emphasis to helping my students combine pragmatic swimming skills and common sense with a sense of fun and playfulness. The following are pool safety skills I emphasize and incorporate into my lessons:
1) Turning around and being able to swim back to steps if they slip off them while playing (this happens more than you think when they first start enjoying the water).
2) Grabbing the top edge of the wall on the pool deck when swimming for the side (touching the side of the pool, for a beginning swimmer, might actually push them back towards the center of the pool and scare them).
3) Breathing consistently and successfully whenever they need a breath.
4) Rolling over on their back, at will, to rest, breathe and float.
5) Treading water and turning around, orienting themselves, swimming to the nearest wall, and grabbing the top edge.
6) In the shallow end, pushing off the bottom to propel themselves to the steps or wall.
7) Developing strong and consistent kicks and arm pulls.
8) Jumping into the deep end, coming up for air, turning around, and swimming back to the wall.
9) Emphasizing no running or horseplay around the pool deck.
10) Knowing only to dive and jump into the deep end of the pool, having the student show me where it is safe, if at all, to dive or jump.
11) Progressively working up to treading water and floating in the deep end without touching the walls or sides. I start with 1-minute and work up to 5-minutes.
12) Most importantly, through the display of these skills, that my students are having fun, being joyful and truly having a strong sense of themselves in water.
As a parent when you see your child using all the skills they have learned to confidently undertake these tasks, you will have a sense of what pool safe means to you.
As a swim instructor, I get asked all the time “What exactly does pool safe mean?” There is no exact definition, but I will share with you what I strive for in trying to move my students towards my definition of being Pool Safe. When I work with my students, I use all sorts of techniques to help them develop skills which emphasize using common sense and safety as part of their decision making in and around water.
These two attributes, coupled with their newly acquired swimming skills, make it easier for students to make decisions which keep them out of harm’s way. I give great value and emphasis to helping my students combine pragmatic swimming skills and common sense with a sense of fun and playfulness. The following are pool safety skills I emphasize and incorporate into my lessons:
1) Turning around and being able to swim back to steps if they slip off them while playing (this happens more than you think when they first start enjoying the water).
2) Grabbing the top edge of the wall on the pool deck when swimming for the side (touching the side of the pool, for a beginning swimmer, might actually push them back towards the center of the pool and scare them).
3) Breathing consistently and successfully whenever they need a breath.
4) Rolling over on their back, at will, to rest, breathe and float.
5) Treading water and turning around, orienting themselves, swimming to the nearest wall, and grabbing the top edge.
6) In the shallow end, pushing off the bottom to propel themselves to the steps or wall.
7) Developing strong and consistent kicks and arm pulls.
8) Jumping into the deep end, coming up for air, turning around, and swimming back to the wall.
9) Emphasizing no running or horseplay around the pool deck.
10) Knowing only to dive and jump into the deep end of the pool, having the student show me where it is safe, if at all, to dive or jump.
11) Progressively working up to treading water and floating in the deep end without touching the walls or sides. I start with 1-minute and work up to 5-minutes.
12) Most importantly, through the display of these skills, that my students are having fun, being joyful and truly having a strong sense of themselves in water.
As a parent when you see your child using all the skills they have learned to confidently undertake these tasks, you will have a sense of what pool safe means to you.
The
most important
form of pool safety is your vigilance as a parent.
Never leave your child unattended or unsupervised
around, near, or in a pool or open water (even if
they know how to swim).