According to the CDC drowning is one of the leading causes of death for children. That's one of many reasons it's so important for kids and adults to learn to swim. Becoming familiar and comfortable in and around water is essential, especially in the Pacific Northwest, where we are geographically surrounded by water in addition to a multitude of pools, lakes, and neighborhood ponds.
The earlier the better, says PRO Sports Club Aquatics Manager Erin Julius, “There are young children ages 1 & 2 who have learned to be able to turn over and float on their back, which is where you would be considered safe.”
PRO Sports Club Aquatics’ innovative teaching method encourages safety by teaching children and adults to roll to their back for breath. Children can start swimming as early as 6 weeks, and they recommend getting your child in the water by 6 months old.
“That seems really little,” says Erin, “But what you're doing is comfort. You're teaching children that it's not scary to be in the pool and teaching parents how to hold their children in the pool.”
The idea of being comfortable, not being worried about being in the water and being in a familiar environment as they start to learn helps them to not fear the water. By age 3, PRO Sports Club recommends children be enrolled in formal lessons. Their lessons focus on swim skills, safety, and also soft skills, “ You aren't going to get a child to swim unless you can reach them on their level unless you can find ways to interact with them and that makes them excited.”
An important safety skill kids learn in their classes is to wait until an instructor counts to three before they enter the pool, “Which translates to a pool or a lake where they would look to a parent and wait for a count of three.”
Many adults haven’t learned to swim and part of what is stopping them is being self-conscious about never having learned. For some, it’s simply because they’ve never had access to a swimming pool or lived around water, and others may have had traumatic experiences.
“That’s where you're really working through the mental blocks, like a counseling session in the water,” says Erin, “It takes time.”
One of the hardest things for adults to learn is breath, because if you don’t feel like you can breathe, you don’t feel in control, “Teaching adults how to then control their breath, how to then float, and then that they don't have to just succumb to what the water is doing. That they can choose. 'I need a breath so I'm going to roll and take a breath'.”
To work through the fear factor, Erin recommends one-on-one classes, “I've had clients where we're standing in the pool and we're just working on being in water.” Group classes can be fun because they build camaraderie, and learn that there’s other people who also don’t know how to swim as an adult.
PRO Sports Club Swim lessons are open to non-members. It is the world’s largest health club and features four indoor swimming pools. One of the pools is designed for swim lessons only, which helps decrease distractions and can help adults working through fear feel more comfortable. The pool is kept at 90 degrees so students can be comfortable and focus on learning. It’s ideal for young babies and the parents in the water with them.
Other amenities from PRO Sports Club:
- A built-in teaching ledge where students can stand while keeping a hand on the wall
- A 2-ft shallow end with wide stairs that is the perfect spot for little swimmers
- Small class sizes. 2 participants for 2 year-olds, 4 participants for 3-5 year-olds and 6-7 participants for our older advanced swimmers.
- Family locker rooms leading right to the Aquatics Center
- Parent seating off the pool deck
- Chaperone services from swim lessons to the child care center
PRO Sports Club, 4455 148th Avenue N.E. Bellevue, WA 98007, (425) 885-5566
This segment is sponsored by PRO Sports Club. Watch New Day Northwest 11:00 weekdays on KING-TV Ch.5 or streaming live on KING5.com. Connect with New Day via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
