Swimming safety classes for the younglings?

[turil.livejournal.com]

My housemate said that she couldn't find a program that teaches little kids (think preschool age) basic swimming lessons that actually keeps them safe. But I'd be really surprised if there wasn't something like this nearby. The idea being that the kids should be able to float and tread water and maybe doggie paddle so that they don't panic and drown if they happen to wander into the deeper end of the pool or out a bit further in the pond (like they did yesterday, eek!).

The class that my housemate paid for (at the Kennedy pool, I believe) just put the kids in flotation devices and never taught them any independent swimming.

Anyone know of anything in the Somerville area? (Within a couple of miles of our fair city).

Comments

[masswich.livejournal.com]

My main experiences are with the Kennedy Pool and the Tufts swimming team classes. Neither seem to try to teach kids under 4 to actually swim by themselves- when I asked they said they weren't really ready unless they taught themselves. But in the end our son learned to swim mostly thanks to Kennedy- although it did take until he was 5.

The Tufts classes are one-on-one but only offered twice a year for a few weeks and very hard to get into (you literally need to return the form by hand the day registration opens.) We have had a good experience with Kennedy but we did need to nag the teachers to push our kid a bit (he was still in the baby pool and not learning at 5 - we encouraged them to let him try the higher level 1 class in the big pool and suddenly he was swimming. Now he swims fairly well.) I suspect many swimming classes are like this.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that Kennedy pool experience was what my housemates had. Gave the parents and the kids a dangerous (in my mind) belief that the kids couldn't be safe in the pool (or any water) on their own.

Having been involved with two preschools that taught 3 and 4 year olds to swim (and float, and tread water, and such safety techniques), I know that even toddlers are definitely capable of being excellent swimmers.

The Cambridge YMCA seems to have a similar "inferiority" approach overall, but it does look like there might be a two day set of classes for transitioning the kids into independent swimming. And I'll check out the Tufts thing. Thanks!