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Are you new to the world of obtaining swim lessons for your family? And even though it is early May, are you ready to pull your hair out in confusion and frustration? Securing swim lessons in the summer is a very competitive business. Based on the feedback I get, which comes from hundreds of moms and dads and nannies and grandparents, they can tell you it can be quite a process, from finding (and sticking with) the right swim instructor to figuring out exactly when your child really is water safe.

Never fear, instruction is here! I’ve written about entires perfect for families new to the swim lesson process — I will save you tons of time (and money) with The Best Entires About Learning the Ropes of Swim Lessons:

• Could you be jumping the gun, or is your child to young to start swim lessons? You’ll need to learn about the pro’s & con’s of starting your child early in Part One. Be sure to follow up with Part Two.
• Don’t panic if they are age 5 and cannot swim! This is a great age to learn to swim and the most cost-efficient. Visit this post to find out how you can get your 5 year-old to start swimming in one lesson.
• How to prepare a fearful child with swimming lessons. Here is what you should know to break the fear. Also, make sure you know the difference between water fears and water trauma.
• Stop tearing your hair out and figure out how to beat the swim crowd. Know how the instructor and swim program cycle works. And don’t wait until summer — the “off-season” is a great time to take lessons, and my very first post tells you for many reasons.
• Do-it-yourself ideas. Here is a review of a swim book I recommend for teaching babies, as well as Level Cards — you’ll be able to assess where your child is at using Red Cross Safety Standards. Man, I should charge for these cards!

If you’ve been following my posts on the New York Times Best Seller, The Abs Power Diet for Women, you know we’ve talked about the ABS DIET POWER, a clever acronym to remember the foods to eat (ie. A = Almonds or W = Whey) or to just stay away from fake foods (when you can’t remember anything). We know The Abs Diet promotes 6 smaller meals a day and a focus on working muscles, as in more fuel and more muscle equals less flab.

What’s great to hear is the author Zinczenko beings his ab exercise formula by first starting and stressing the importance of working a very large muscle group in your body, which happen to be your legs, not your abs.

Most of your body’s muscles are found below your belly button, writes Zinczenko. Working these leg muscles “triggers the release of hormones that stimulate muscle growth throughout your body, kick your fat-burners into overdrive, and give you that thin-as-a-dime stomach you want.”

He goes on to share a Norwegian study where people who focused on lower-body work actually gained more upper body strength than a group who spent the majority of their time on upper-body exercises.

Who would have thunk. But that is great news for use water-lovers because most water workouts are 85% lower body, especially when it comes to water aerobics.

So much of what we think makes sense in health and fitness — drink 8 classes of water a day, always stretch before working out — well, some of it proves to be false. I remember one of my water aerobic instructors telling me when she started 20 years ago, she used plastic milk jugs filled with water as weights; in our field, we now understand the properties of using floating Styrofoam weights and working muscles opposite than you would on land due the laws of gravity, or the laws of buoyancy .

New or corrected studies and information is what makes fitness so interesting, and working out in the water is definitely cutting edge. Another interesting unknown I have for you is that you might not know an entire water aerobics class can be all about abs. Because 85% of the water workout is legs, and The Abs Diet just shared with us that working our leg muscles in various exercises stimulates muscle growth throughout our bodies.

It’s not about doing 1,000 crunches on land to get great abs. The headlining news is that getting great abs is really about having a holistic look at your body, from what you put into it to your posture to the exercise regime you choose. Think outside of the box.

I wrote a post in late January about Business Week magazine naming Novato, California (my hometown and current place of residence) as one of the best affordable suburbs to live in. That post is here.

Now CNN Money has come out with their 100 Best Places to Live & Launch with Novato making its mark in the Top 20.

The article claims Novato has an “educated workforce” and that “in recent years, the local economy has generated numerous small, knowledge-based startups oriented toward global markets.” KRON-4 news out of San Francisco also picked up on the story and ended up interviewing a Realtor who said 11 new business opened up on the main street (Grant Avenue) in the last three years. Not one has closed its doors.

Although SquidKid doesn’t have a store front, we’re a new Novato business with all those assists CNN Money speaks of. Remember my stats entry, about how I saw SquidKid go from 35 hits a week to 25 hits a day? I have even bigger viewer news: SquidKid got 400 hits last week. And I’ve topped 1,000 visitors in just 3 short months. So thank you to all of you who are reading!

With Spring well underway and parents flocking to swim programs for an early start on swim lessons, it is time to revisit this popular topic about the benefits (and detriments) of starting your little one (4 months to 2 1/2 years of age) off early in the water.

To summarize Part 1, we discussed while it is definitely important your infant or toddler partake in lesson or pool exposure, and that amazing things can happen at this age, the question When will my child be able to swim on their own? is a very loaded question with answers that hinge on a hierarchy of expectations. Swimming takes a certain physical strength and cognitive development, and while that develops daily for each young age, it will not be until much older, say 7 or 8, will your kid be able to handle the kind of true swimming independence where you can turn your back. If you need a refresher on Part 1, go ahead and click here.

Part 2 is about getting closer to the pros and cons with starting swimming at 1 1/2 to nearly 3 years of age.

The Cons: Moodiness, Lack of Judgment & Comprehension
This is usually a very difficult age for me to teach. I think this is a very difficult age for mom or dad. Lessons, or water exposure sessions, can go sweet or sour or any given day or moment. I’ve had 2-year olds love going underwater so much they didn’t want to leave after the first lesson, only to start screaming-crying at the start of the next.

I think it must be hard to have opinions and separation anxiety and not be able to express yourself verbally, which is what I feel is going on with this age group spread. I can only think to refer to this moodiness as early (and extended) “Terrible Two’s.”

• My advice: Sign up for one private one-on-one lesson or group class where you can get in the water — a situation where you can be told and showed how to do skills and if your child isn’t having the best day, you can walk away without disrupting the class or loosing too much money. If you’re curious on what to work on skill-wise for this age, go here.

Another con to discuss is how at this age, children lack a sense of judgment. They might love the water, but they don’t know how to not run straight for it when they see it. Cognitive development — the kind we instructors need to have a retaining conversation about pool rules — isn’t there yet.

• My advice: Always, alway, always, get into the pool first before your child, and make them climb out first as well. Use cuing. Meaning before they jump or swim to you once in the pool, make them wait until they hear your cue, such as 1~2~3! before they do it. No matter what your child can do, it is unacceptable to leave them in the pool unattended. Do not teach your child that swimming without you, or without someone else, is okay. Work on pool rules and safe behaviors now.

This leads us into comprehension, or communication. Instruction is about taking in information and applying it. What your early/extended Terrible Two’s cannot communicate through words is done through tears (and only a parent knows how to make it better). Crying in water, for any reason doesn’t grow happy swimmers.

• My advice: Use adult words or swimming language from the beginning, especially on the safety front. Manage the communication barriers yourself. You cannot inflict an instructor with the impossibility of getting your child to do something they can’t mentally understand or emotionally carry out until their age allows them to.

The Pros: Submersion & A Good Start
The pros don’t need much cheering. The best thing you can do for your child is take them underwater, or fully submerge them.

• My advice: Introduce the sensation of water pouring on the head using “water play” tactics. Sing songs and dribble over the face and head to establish comfort. Use your cuing before you dribble. Move on to secured lifts or jumps off the side of the pool, where you are holding your child the whole time and have eye contact. You cue into the water — and under the water– at your control and confidence. You build up to a full submersion together.

If you notice, most of the advice I give for this age requires you get into the pool with your baby or toddler. That means having a pool or a membership at a pool. Most of my advice requires you being the first experience of a good swimming example, which means being patient and working on age-appropriate skills until the cognitive ability to understand more is present. Yes, to have a swim kid, you must be a swim parent and swim by example. That’s probably not just the safest advice I can give you, but the best head start too.

There are two lessons I teach my students that go against good parental instincts but can make you safer in the water.

Off-Beat Lesson #1: When I teach diving, I warn my kids I will often try and trick them into getting the first and most important rule wrong, which is always dive in the deep end. That I might ask them at any point in a lesson, Hey, let’s go dive in the shallow end! It is the only time I tell them it is okay to say to no to my instruction.

Off-Beat Lesson #2: It is okay to kick and hit someone who is panicking and holding onto you in the water.

Potential multiple drowning situations are one of the most common forms of swimmer distress. One kid gets in over his head and physically uses the child next to him/her to “climb” out of the situation. And they are extremely hard to detect, as the child being held down is out of site.

When I earned my lifeguarding license through American Red Cross, I had a 300-pound male instructor test my ability to get out of a hold by asking me to close my eyes so he could creep up on me while treading and take me under.

I bet that is how a kid feels when a slightly larger and panicked child grabs onto him. The idea is for the child to get away, using whatever means possible. The idea is for the child to go get the proper help. For water safety tips, go to this American Red Cross link.

I have an odd pattern of always picking up a new sport in correlation with starting a new chapter in my life. Softball in middle school, tennis in high school, lacrosse in college.

So when I finally got my B.A. in journalism and was asked what I was going to do with my life next, it was totally normal for me to announce I was going to get my lifeguarding license and start teaching swimming as well as competing in triathlons.

How I Almost Never Became a Lap Swimmer
On my first day of the lifeguard training, after about four laps, the instructor stopped me.

“I don’t think you are going to be able to do this,” he said to me.

I didn’t get it. I didn’t get why I wasn’t just picking swimming up, I was so athletic and strong. I could see why the instructor had concern — after four laps I was totally winded. Everyone else around me were calming swimming those 25-yards back and forth, over and over, again like a ping pong ball hitting paddles in a rally. No choking on water, no heavy panting. Yet I was almost hyperventilating.

Slow Down and Begin with One-Lap Victories
Swimming laps well isn’t about fast kicks and strong arms and getting to the side as fast as you can. Swimming laps well is first about coordinating your breathing. It is about building distance stamina.

• FIRST-TIMERS LAP SWIMMING EXERCISE: Start it out slowly and with a kickboard. Body horizontal on the water, begin kicking with straight legs, holding the end of the board with two hands. With your head looking at the bottom, start to slowly blow bubbles. Let go your left hand go and pull straight down, bringing it all the way around and grab the kickboard once again. Now do this with the right, but when that right arm has finished pulling and is stretched behind you, roll your body to the right side and take a breath. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Seriously, how many times do you think you need to repeat this process to make it 25 yards? For a newbie, I’d say 35 times. That’s 35 enhales and 35 exhales. That’s 70 arms movements, and an innumerable amount of kicks. You’d better paced yourself. Because your goal is to get to the end of the lap and NOT be winded. Not being winded has everything to do with how you are breathing and blowing — do both calmly and get enough air. Then your next goal would be to do two laps and not be winded. And then three laps and not be winded.

Getting good at swimming laps is a slow-building process. I took to heart what my lifeguard instructor said and had two weeks to prove him different. Everyday I showed up at the pool and practiced. I built up my ability slowly and conditioned myself through proper breathing. Now I tell others what they need to do to be able to swim.

You have to start somewhere. Start with one good breath at a time. Speed and ability comes later.

First I was at 35 hits a week. A week later I was at 75 hits a week, more than doubling my visits. Now I am at 25 hits a day. That means 175 hits a week.

I know you’re out there lurking because someone has to be hitting this blog. Can you share with me what you like and why you are visiting SquidKid.org? I’d love to hear from you!

Real Simple Best Blog List, look out.

It’s usually a big deal for someone who is not used to water workouts to attend to a water aerobic class. For some reason (and yes, many of them are valid), it takes a lot of effort to get the suit on and show up. Here are some of the myths surrounding water workouts:

Myth #1: I won’t get a challenging workout. Shear baloney. Water is 12 times the resistance on land and 820 times thicker than air. You get a 3-D workout and without high-impact that is hard on joints and knees. The key word in water aerobics here is resistance. You will be in charge of your own intensity, but the instructor will act as the driving force.

Myth #2: I don’t want to ruin my hair. You won’t, if you simply rinse it in water before you get in a chlorinated pool — dry hair soaks up whatever you give it. Tie it up if it is long. Look, I have super-long, super-thin hair and mine is not ruined by being in the pool five days a week. Only because I wet it ahead of time and make a conscientious effort not to go underwater if I don’t have to. Water aerobics classes are not designed to have exercises that take you under.

Myth #3: I’m not an accomplished swimmer so I wouldn’t know what I was doing. You don’t have to know your frog kick from your whip kick to do well in a water aerobics class. Water workouts have to do with sustaining proper alignment by using your core muscles to give you a sense of stability in dealing with the buoyancy issue. In other words, be more concerned about posture and finding balance than doing the freestyle. Plus, you wear a float belt the whole time to support your floating.

Myth #4: I look horrible and will feel uncomfortable in a bathing suit. You will not be alone in that feeling, but after a few weeks, you will a) not even care anymore because b) you will be feeling so good about attending class you’ll notice physical and mental changes. It’s not as if all the svelte people attend water aerobics — there are students of ALL shapes, abilities, and sizes; and in suits of ALL shapes, abilities and sizes. You’ll sometimes see me in water-designed cover up clothing, like shirts and shorts.

Myth #5: I don’t have all that time to change, do a wet workout, and then shower. Those are a lot of reasonable excuses, but let me reason with you on a different level that showcases the benefits of doing your workout in the water: A cheaper water bill because you shower at the gym; saving money on hair care because the gym provides it; you don’t wait around for a machine or equipment to become available; and if you are going to change in and out of clothing to workout, don’t you save some time by pulling on just a suit rather than a shirt, shorts, socks, and shoes?

So give water workouts a chance and dive in.

The best time to teach your kids to swim is in the “off” season. I’m not talking about getting a jump on things in the spring. I’m talking about getting your children enrolled in a great swim plan during the coldest months of the year — December, January and February.

I begin my first squidkid swim blog post (welcome!) on this chilly pre-New Years Eve Day by taking apart one of the biggest misconceptions about swimming: That swimming is an activity we do in warm, or summer, weather.

I can name the Top Five reasons why the coldest months of the year are the best time to teach your children to swim:

1. Swim Instructors are well-rested. Your kid will not be treated like another number and will receive better one-on-one attention, guaranteed.
2. You’ll get the consistent lesson times you want & need. Because 500 other families aren’t competing for instructors, you’ll find more flexibility when scheduling lessons. This makes a difference when juggling meals, naps, and traffic.
3. More pool peace = better progress. From more parking spaces at the facility to less crying chaos in the pool, you’ll see your child swim safer, faster, and more comfortable than if you tried the feat in the traditional busy months.
4. The best swim programs offer a year-round program in a warm, indoor pool. Definition of warm means at least 88 degrees where you can see the steam rise off the water. Call and ask.
5. Swimming becomes a year-round skill. It’s a fact of life kids can fall into a pool at any season. Need I say more?

By the way, August is one of the worst months to teach your child swim. Shall I name the Top Three reasons why?

1. Swim Instructor burn-out. You’ll be lucky if your instructor remembers your kid’s name, let alone what he needs to learn, at this point in the game.
2. Lack of Swim Instructors. All the college kids who treat teaching swimming as a summer job are going back to school and/or taking some time off for fun before they leave. I always plan for my own vacation during the last two months of August and first week of September.
3. Last minute cancellations = lost $$$. I’m talking about the cancellations you’re going to initiate due to last-minute vacations, school starting back up, and general summer burn-out. This the reason why I plan my time off at this time. Believe me on this one — I’ve measured your August swim patterns for years and you’re just not around.

For year-round swimmers and swim teachers, there is no such thing as an “off” season. Do you have your children enrolled in an “off” season swim program? Is it working out for you?