Marcos Moore, Age 3, swimming across deep end of pool

One of the most important skills a person can learn in their life is swimming.

Swimming has many benefits.  It’s a great exercise to burn calaries and fat, it’s considered low-impact and easy on your joints, and can be done for a lifetime.  It’s also great for maintaining and building a great body for toning and shaping, cardiovascular endurance and even relaxation.  You can also take it up a notch and do interval training for a super intense workout with minimal time.  And if you really want something to fulfill your thrillseeking needs, you can go surfing (only very strong swimmers can do this sport).

The best time to learn how to swim is when a person is young.  The younger, the better.  I recommend starting children at 6 months old by participating in a Parent/Child Swimming Class.  Of course they won’t learn how to swim independently at this very young age, however, they will overcome their sense of fear for the water.  This is critically important for when they take their first swimming class on their own.

At age 3, it’s good to start children in Learn To Swim Classes.  They won’t learn to swim in 1 class, or even 1 session (usually a 2 week period).  Patience and repetition are essentiall at this stage, so re-registering your child for consecutive sessions enhances their chances to learn swimming quicker and effectively.

Swimming is very similar to learning a foreign language.  You must focus on the skill and practice every day until becoming proficient.  That’s why it’s best to learn a foreign language by living in a country with the native language for at least 3 months.  In this manner, you are forced to focus and practice the language every single day.  Also, children under the age of 12 pick up a second language in “weeks.” 

My children both (ages 3 & 6) can swim proficiently now thanks to the YMCA.  They’ve been taking the Learn To Swim Classes at the YMCA all summer and have made significant progress.  I now feel confident when my children visit a friend’s house that has a pool and know that if one of my children accidently fall into the pool, it won’t be a fatal problem.  They know how to swim.

Fortunately, we live in a country where public pools and community organizations are plentiful.  Practically every city has a parks and recreation department, YMCA, JCC, and various commercial fitness centers that provide aquatic centers and Learn To Swim Classes at affordable prices.

Unfortunately, I still hear about drownings that occur for both children and adults.  Here in Houston, there’s an average of 15 - 20 drownings per summer.  Most of these drownings take place in private apartment complexes where there aren’t any lifeguards or adult supervision. 

Learning to Swim is the solution.  Contact your local parks and recreation department, YMCA, JCC or other community agency today to take swimming classes.  It’s one of the best investments you can make for yourself and loved ones for a lifetime.