Saturday, August 7, 2010
Swim Lessons 101
Thank you for your interest in the one-on-one swim lessons that I offer! I look forward to getting to know you and working with your child(ren)!! Below is just a general run down of what your child may be learning during their first week with me. There is also a lot of information that I would like for you, the parent, to be aware of, so please take a moment to sit and read this. Also, please note that much of this info is based on a younger child who cannot swim. I will assess, individually, where each child is in their swimming abilities and will go from there. That, along with their age and size, can sometimes make small differences in how and what they are taught.
Infant Safety 101
This program will provide for children from 18 months and up. This is the first class and mastery of these skills are required before any other classes can be taken. Each child will learn to kick to propel himself through the water. He will learn to make his way to the side of the pool, the steps or ladder in order to exit the pool.
I will condition the child to react to submersion by holding his breath, then breathing when he surfaces so that he is ready to go down again. When drowning, the child who has had no training will end up breathing in water and sinking to the bottom of the pool, which is a sight you never want to see. The child who can bob up and down and breathe while he is up and hold his breath to go under will stay afloat unlike the child who takes water into his lungs immediately when he hits the water. This takes repetition until the child learns the response to going under the water is to hold your breath. Since the child will be crying, if he finds himself alone in the pool by accident, it behooves him to learn that crying is a deadly response. Therefore I will ignore crying and endeavor to condition the child to stop the crying when they go under. Crying leaves the mouth open and the lungs empty of oxygen rather than full. Empty lungs have room for water to fill and sink the child. Oxygen filled lungs float. Please don’t worry about your child’s crying. It is normal and is simply the child’s response to being forced to do something new, much like when he goes to the pediatrician.
I will teach the child how to kick by patterning the child’s movement. I will assist the child in achieving a prone position while manipulating his legs in a kicking pattern and reinforcing the process with the words, “kick, kick, kick.” Eventually I will ask the child to kick while floating freely in the water. This is accomplished fully when the student reaches the developmental level necessary. Non-crawlers, crawlers, and walkers will vary in the amount of time and the distance they will be able to cover when self-propelled. Our goal here is to have the student to propel themselves from the middle of the pool to the closest exit, which could be the stairs, the side or the ladder.
My other goal is for the child, infant age, to learn to flip to their backs and float. This can be accomplished by the youngest child. Even newborns can do this, but as soon as they get older they have developed a strong will to be independent. Teaching an older toddler to float is more difficult and requires some serious patience. The child must be held on the back until they give up their struggle. Some go easily and others take a lot of persuasion. To help you understand how important this is you can just visualize a crying child on his back because he has struggled until he is tired. He cries, swallows water, and sinks and the lungs are filled. Listen for him to cease the crying and become calm in the water, so that if he falls in when he is alone, you find him floating quietly on the water and not on the bottom of the pool.
This process takes different amounts of time for a child.
Older children who are two may learn the entire regiment in 4 days, particularly if they had the earlier sessions. If your child doesn’t start until age 2, he may not perfect it without two sessions. The same is true of 3 year olds, they may learn in 4 days or take longer if they have not had our type of instruction. Rely on your instructor to evaluate the stage of learning where your child is. She has your child’s safety as her focus.
You should repeat the steps you have seen with your child as often as possible, optimally every day or so during the summer and at least once a month to maintain what he has learned. The Instructor will review these techniques with you at the end of your session so that you will know exactly how to help your child practice what he has learned. Some children may need two sessions or multiple sessions over a period of time.
Parents are welcomed to stay and watch the sessions. If you choose to do this then I’d like for you to understand/be aware of a couple of things:
1-Your child may cry through the entire lesson. This is completely normal! They will have to do things that are new and out of their comfort zone…so many do cry esp the first two days.
2-Some parents find it too hard to hear/see their children cry and tend to interfere. If this happens, the child will not be able to build full trust in me, but rather, they will turn to the parent to “rescue” them. Not from harm, but from something that is just a little different and scary to them. Some things will be hard for them, but at the end of each day, they will leave knowing that they did something new and they will build more and more confidence each day! This behavior can also take up a lot of time that needs to be used for instruction., so I do ask that you please do not interfere.
3-Please know that I have your child’s best interest at heart! When they are screaming and crying, I will ignore it and continue through the lesson until we are done with our work for the day. This is good for them! It teaches them to automatically know that, even if it were by accident, that whether they are talking or crying or laughing when they fall in a pool, to shut their mouth and hold their breath. These skills will save their life if such a thing were to happen.
The other option is to drop them off. Some parents would rather sit in their car and listen to music than to listen to their child cry or run a quick, little errand. The choice is yours, just please be sure you are back promptly to get your child.
Cost for a 4-day session is $150.00 and payment is due BEFORE your child begins his first lesson. I take cash or check. Checks can be written out to Tiffany Joyner. You can bring payment the morning of his first session and place it in the payment box.
When you arrive for your child’s lesson, you can park either in front of the house or in the driveway. DO NOT KNOCK ON THE FRONT DOOR! Rather, go ahead and walk around back (right side of the house) and I will come out the back door if I am not already in the pool.
NOTE: LESSONS ARE DESIGNED TO LAST FROM 12-25 MINUTES. You are not paying for the time, but for the instruction. The instructor has the ability and skill to determine when your child has reached his maximum time for the day. I am not trying to short change you on the time, but to assure your child’s mental and physical limits are not surpassed. I am concentrating on your child having success in each lesson while conditioning skills to become automatic responses should the child find themselves in a dangerous water situation. In this process, children tire easily when crying or when taking in amounts of water. I do not wish to push a child too far too quickly. Please trust my judgment. The time will increase as the week progresses and your child becomes more comfortable.
CAUTIONS: Your child may at some point swallow a little too much water for his stomach. This is indicated by a tight, full belly and purplish lips. The instructor will be watching for this condition and should it happen, the child’s lesson will be stopped until he burps or returns that water to the pool by throwing up. It is normal for a child learning to swim to swallow water at first. This happens until he learns to hold his breath when submersing and also when he struggles when asked to float. I will not allow him to swallow too much water. I will encourage burping as that is the best way to expel extra air taken by gulping. Some children burp easily and others will expel the extra air by releasing gas. Others will let it fill up their stomachs, and then throw it up when the stomach reacts to the water and air. For this reason, it is best if the child has very little to eat before coming to lessons. It is mandatory that whatever he eats is water soluble as solid matter is not fun to throw up. No hotdogs or bologna, etc. Crackers are ok or just juice.
A FINAL WORD: Your child is learning a skill for life. Children who learn swimming at an early age have been shown to have an increase in intelligence and coordination skills. They are comfortable around their friends who swim and are not the wallflower at swimming parties. Some receive swimming scholarships to college if they pursue swimming competitively. Others get good jobs as teenagers working as lifeguards. They can go to swim parties without you worrying. They can go boating and water skiing and out on jet skis and on vacations. They are able to impart a love of the water to their children when the time comes. And they just have a lot of fun in the water. Thank you for bringing your child and giving him the opportunity to learn to swim safely. I am glad I am able to participate in this adventure with your child.
P.S.-- When swimming, you use pretty much every muscle in your body, so don’t be surprised if your child takes a nice long nap on the days of his lessons!
For any questions or for scheduling a session, feel free to call or email me, Thanks again
Infant Safety 101
This program will provide for children from 18 months and up. This is the first class and mastery of these skills are required before any other classes can be taken. Each child will learn to kick to propel himself through the water. He will learn to make his way to the side of the pool, the steps or ladder in order to exit the pool.
I will condition the child to react to submersion by holding his breath, then breathing when he surfaces so that he is ready to go down again. When drowning, the child who has had no training will end up breathing in water and sinking to the bottom of the pool, which is a sight you never want to see. The child who can bob up and down and breathe while he is up and hold his breath to go under will stay afloat unlike the child who takes water into his lungs immediately when he hits the water. This takes repetition until the child learns the response to going under the water is to hold your breath. Since the child will be crying, if he finds himself alone in the pool by accident, it behooves him to learn that crying is a deadly response. Therefore I will ignore crying and endeavor to condition the child to stop the crying when they go under. Crying leaves the mouth open and the lungs empty of oxygen rather than full. Empty lungs have room for water to fill and sink the child. Oxygen filled lungs float. Please don’t worry about your child’s crying. It is normal and is simply the child’s response to being forced to do something new, much like when he goes to the pediatrician.
I will teach the child how to kick by patterning the child’s movement. I will assist the child in achieving a prone position while manipulating his legs in a kicking pattern and reinforcing the process with the words, “kick, kick, kick.” Eventually I will ask the child to kick while floating freely in the water. This is accomplished fully when the student reaches the developmental level necessary. Non-crawlers, crawlers, and walkers will vary in the amount of time and the distance they will be able to cover when self-propelled. Our goal here is to have the student to propel themselves from the middle of the pool to the closest exit, which could be the stairs, the side or the ladder.
My other goal is for the child, infant age, to learn to flip to their backs and float. This can be accomplished by the youngest child. Even newborns can do this, but as soon as they get older they have developed a strong will to be independent. Teaching an older toddler to float is more difficult and requires some serious patience. The child must be held on the back until they give up their struggle. Some go easily and others take a lot of persuasion. To help you understand how important this is you can just visualize a crying child on his back because he has struggled until he is tired. He cries, swallows water, and sinks and the lungs are filled. Listen for him to cease the crying and become calm in the water, so that if he falls in when he is alone, you find him floating quietly on the water and not on the bottom of the pool.
This process takes different amounts of time for a child.
Older children who are two may learn the entire regiment in 4 days, particularly if they had the earlier sessions. If your child doesn’t start until age 2, he may not perfect it without two sessions. The same is true of 3 year olds, they may learn in 4 days or take longer if they have not had our type of instruction. Rely on your instructor to evaluate the stage of learning where your child is. She has your child’s safety as her focus.
You should repeat the steps you have seen with your child as often as possible, optimally every day or so during the summer and at least once a month to maintain what he has learned. The Instructor will review these techniques with you at the end of your session so that you will know exactly how to help your child practice what he has learned. Some children may need two sessions or multiple sessions over a period of time.
Parents are welcomed to stay and watch the sessions. If you choose to do this then I’d like for you to understand/be aware of a couple of things:
1-Your child may cry through the entire lesson. This is completely normal! They will have to do things that are new and out of their comfort zone…so many do cry esp the first two days.
2-Some parents find it too hard to hear/see their children cry and tend to interfere. If this happens, the child will not be able to build full trust in me, but rather, they will turn to the parent to “rescue” them. Not from harm, but from something that is just a little different and scary to them. Some things will be hard for them, but at the end of each day, they will leave knowing that they did something new and they will build more and more confidence each day! This behavior can also take up a lot of time that needs to be used for instruction., so I do ask that you please do not interfere.
3-Please know that I have your child’s best interest at heart! When they are screaming and crying, I will ignore it and continue through the lesson until we are done with our work for the day. This is good for them! It teaches them to automatically know that, even if it were by accident, that whether they are talking or crying or laughing when they fall in a pool, to shut their mouth and hold their breath. These skills will save their life if such a thing were to happen.
The other option is to drop them off. Some parents would rather sit in their car and listen to music than to listen to their child cry or run a quick, little errand. The choice is yours, just please be sure you are back promptly to get your child.
Cost for a 4-day session is $150.00 and payment is due BEFORE your child begins his first lesson. I take cash or check. Checks can be written out to Tiffany Joyner. You can bring payment the morning of his first session and place it in the payment box.
When you arrive for your child’s lesson, you can park either in front of the house or in the driveway. DO NOT KNOCK ON THE FRONT DOOR! Rather, go ahead and walk around back (right side of the house) and I will come out the back door if I am not already in the pool.
NOTE: LESSONS ARE DESIGNED TO LAST FROM 12-25 MINUTES. You are not paying for the time, but for the instruction. The instructor has the ability and skill to determine when your child has reached his maximum time for the day. I am not trying to short change you on the time, but to assure your child’s mental and physical limits are not surpassed. I am concentrating on your child having success in each lesson while conditioning skills to become automatic responses should the child find themselves in a dangerous water situation. In this process, children tire easily when crying or when taking in amounts of water. I do not wish to push a child too far too quickly. Please trust my judgment. The time will increase as the week progresses and your child becomes more comfortable.
CAUTIONS: Your child may at some point swallow a little too much water for his stomach. This is indicated by a tight, full belly and purplish lips. The instructor will be watching for this condition and should it happen, the child’s lesson will be stopped until he burps or returns that water to the pool by throwing up. It is normal for a child learning to swim to swallow water at first. This happens until he learns to hold his breath when submersing and also when he struggles when asked to float. I will not allow him to swallow too much water. I will encourage burping as that is the best way to expel extra air taken by gulping. Some children burp easily and others will expel the extra air by releasing gas. Others will let it fill up their stomachs, and then throw it up when the stomach reacts to the water and air. For this reason, it is best if the child has very little to eat before coming to lessons. It is mandatory that whatever he eats is water soluble as solid matter is not fun to throw up. No hotdogs or bologna, etc. Crackers are ok or just juice.
A FINAL WORD: Your child is learning a skill for life. Children who learn swimming at an early age have been shown to have an increase in intelligence and coordination skills. They are comfortable around their friends who swim and are not the wallflower at swimming parties. Some receive swimming scholarships to college if they pursue swimming competitively. Others get good jobs as teenagers working as lifeguards. They can go to swim parties without you worrying. They can go boating and water skiing and out on jet skis and on vacations. They are able to impart a love of the water to their children when the time comes. And they just have a lot of fun in the water. Thank you for bringing your child and giving him the opportunity to learn to swim safely. I am glad I am able to participate in this adventure with your child.
P.S.-- When swimming, you use pretty much every muscle in your body, so don’t be surprised if your child takes a nice long nap on the days of his lessons!
For any questions or for scheduling a session, feel free to call or email me, Thanks again
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