I’m a successful adult and child swim teacher with 15 years of experience, but here’s how I almost gave up on learning lap swimming. Don’t let this story intimidate your swim goals. I’ll get you there in three steps.

Years and years ago, at the age of 23, during my first day of the lifeguard training at the part where we do 8 laps in the pool back-to-back, 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. What I didn’t get was why a very athletic person like myself wasn’t just picking lap swimming up. I could see why the instructor had concern — after four laps I was totally winded. I was struggling to breathe. Yet everyone else around me was calming swimming that 200 yards, back and forth, doing flip-turns and pushing off the wall like a ping pong balls. No choking on water, no heavy panting. Yet I was almost hyperventilating. What was I doing wrong?

Step #1: Not being winded has everything to do with how you are breathing and blowing. 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 by making your breathing work for you.

• 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 not too tight with two hands. With your head looking at the bottom, start to slowly blow bubbles. Now let your left hand go and pull straight down, bringing the arm all the way around to grab the kickboard once again. Move onto the right –  but when that right arm has finished pulling down and is stretched behind you, roll your body to the right side and take a breath. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Soon this exercise is modified to a simple phrase: One arm (bubbles), two arm (bubbles), roll and breathe.

Step #2: Prepare to humble yourself with one-lap victories.Seriously, how many times do you think you need to repeat this process to make it 25 yards, or one end of the pool to the other? For a newbie, I’d say 35 times. That’s 35 inhales 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 without stopping AND not be winded. Then your next goal would be to do two laps and not be winded. And then three laps and not be winded. We call that progress.

• FIRST-TIMERS LAP SWIMMING WORKOUT GOAL: In swimming one lap is there and back. Each distance is 25 yards. We would be bored to tears (not to mention totally lost) if we just counted laps. So we breakdown a workout like so:

1. Warm Up/4×25 straight or flutter kick only w/ board (100 yd. or 4 laps);
   
2. Conditioning Phase/ 4×50 freestyle stroke (150 yd. or 8 laps with stopping on same end and not both ends);
3. Cool Down/ 4×25 freestyle slow (100 yd. or 4 laps).
4. TOTAL WORKOUT = 16 laps or 400 yd.
   

Step #3: Getting good at lap swimming 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. There’s really no other way. You cannot “power through” or “bite the bullet” with the sport of swimming (like I did with lacrosse, softball and tennis).

There is a great quote by Arthur Ashe I like to recall when I feel intimated or overwhelmed with something (kind of like how you might be feeling with lap swimming). “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” So start with one good breath at a time. Speed and technique comes later. Want to learn more about how to swim laps on Squidkid.org? My life is dedicated to turning beginners like you into lap swimmers.  Check out these links:

What’s Wrong with My Freestyle Form? Squidkid Answers Your Questions

Freestyle Notes: The Power of Less When You Swim

Freestyle Notes: The Importance of Rotating Breathing

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.

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.

Any body of water in your backyard — from garden fountains to filled up buckets to extremely shallow portable pools — is a drowning risk. It’s so easy to overlook these things, because we become so used to their presence. Or the safety associated with owning them gets neglected because it’s a downer or a hassle to do the right thing.

It’s kind of how I feel when someone I don’t see too often wants to hold my baby: I feel bad for asking that person to take a squirt of hand sanitizer, like I am some kind of germ-freak. And it sort of kills the mood. But it is what I need to do. I’m glad I’ve done it, because it turns out Josie has been exposed to whooping cough. And one time, strep throat. And then slap-cheek fever. And this past weekend, the flu!

Take precautions around ANY body of water! Don’t feel bad about being an advocate for safety. Hmm. Maybe next post is about how to be proactive around a pool (especially hard when the pool isn’t yours) without being annoying or taking away the fun.

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.

For example, is your child acting up in school or maybe having trouble sleeping at night? Get rid of the screens (computers or televisions) in your home and cut your child’s toy cache by 75%, tossing out “fixed” objects (toys that don’t make you think but are loudly entertaining) or marketing-induced things (Little Mermaid dolls).

It made me start thinking how swimming provides a marketing-free, clean and simple environment. Here’s 5 ways swimming supports simplified parenting:

You don’t need much to get started. Just a bathing suit, really, and a pool of course. The water provides everything you need to stay engaged. From the sensation of floating to the feel of the water, swimming ignites all your senses and makes you exist in real-time.

Pool environments support creative free play. Once upon a time we told our kids to go outside and play. We’re so afraid of our kids being under-achievers or being bored that we schedule the heck out of them. Swimming takes back the idea all the creativity and confidence we need lives inside us — we just need the proper playground to get back to it.

Material items aren’t required to enjoy. You don’t need professional paint brushes to excel at swimming. Nor do you need sparkly shoes to be accepted at swimming. Goggles can help, and diving toys do increase the fun, but they aren’t necessary. It’s also very hard to carry stuff around the pool when your arms are needed to move and when I do see kids swimming with toys, sooner or later they abandon them.

Marketing to children doesn’t exist. There are no underwater banners painted on the pool walls to buy Pampers or McDonalds. Rarely do swimsuits advertise a brand. There aren’t any television or computer screens involved. The worry about owning and buying gets tossed out the window when swimming.

Swimming gets kids moving again. There is nothing about swimming that is sedentary. No matter your kid’s body or brain size, swimming supports all shapes and abilities. It is kind on bodies because it is low-impact and water makes us weightless. Yet it is a 3-D work out because resistance is everywhere.

A water fear can stick around for a very long time inside a little psyche, making it very hard to get any fearful child through a series of swim lessons or to even enjoy an afternoon swimming at the local public pool. However, the good news is there are many variables within a family’s control that can help a fearful swimmer warm up to the water quicker. If you’re willing to do a little simple pre-season legwork as outlined below, chances are you’ll be able to get your child more accustomed to the notion swimming has the potential to provoke laughter and not just tears this summer. Here’s 5 ways to Help Your Fearful Swimmer:

#1: Acknowledge your child’s fear. It is an adult’s (and often swim teacher’s!) natural reaction to tell a child ‘there is nothing to be afraid of’ when it comes to water. This statement not only disregards their feelings, but in fact we know different: Where there is water, there is risk. Tackle their discomfort by confessing your own – tell your child you were once afraid of the water, too, and that it okay to be scared.

#2: Focus on family water fun. If you feel swimming is important to your family, you have to show it. The best way is through family pool time where the focus is nothing more than having a blast getting wet. This fun helps develop trust between the parent and child – a vital bargaining chip if you’re planning on asking your child to eventually transfer that trust to someone else in the water, like a swim instructor.

#3: Get to know any new swim environments. This is important if you plan on approaching your child’s water fears through swim lessons. You and your little one need to check out what the pool is like – from the depth of the shallow end to disposition of the swim teachers – especially during the pool’s busy hours. Not knowing what to expect beforehand can create confusion, which heightens a child’s anxiety over lessons.

#4: Consider private swim lessons over group ones. You and your child have more of a chance to make a breakthrough if you reduce the student-teacher ratio to one-on-one instruction. A teacher’s undivided attention can divert uncomfortable emotions quicker whereas in a group setting, your child is uncomfortably tasked to wait their turn for their fears to get addressed.

#5: Review rules to ensure their safety and place at the pool. Kids need boundaries and limitations because they need order and to know what’s expected of them. Family swim rules or what’s posted at the local pool helps do this, creating a healthy respect between kids, parents and the water. Not to mention educating kids about pool safety can help save lives.

Although a water fear should be respected, remember, it isn’t enough of an excuse to not learn to swim!

Also, anyone know Red Cross’s recommendation for how deep a pool needs to be for a head-first dive?

Have a great weekend and be safe swimmers!

If you are visiting my site because you read about Squidkid.org in the magazine, you found the place for all things swim related! To help you really get the most out of this resource, I want to direct your attention to my most interesting posts or most popular entries:

• How to swim laps for mom. This link will take you to my most popular entry that will show you — mom — how to swim laps and perform side breathing in three easy steps.
• At your wit’s end with your non-swimmer? It’s frustrating to sign up for lessons and then have your child revolt with tears and tantrums. It’s time consuming, expensive and exhausting for all. This link tells you how to handle it.
• Swim lesson basics for children. New to navigating swim lessons? This link is part of a recent series I am creating that gets straight to the basics of swim topics — this one is about swim lessons for children and covers what you never thought to look for, from swim instructor personalities to price-shop comparison techniques.
• Wet or dry drownings. There is a lot of mystery surrounding the issue of how your child can drown on land hours after leaving the pool. Media tends to not cover of break it down (how many journalists do you know are also expert swim instructors), but I explain the signs of wet or dry drownings.
• Why age 5 is a perfect time to learn to swim. Don’t stress out if your kid doesn’t learn to swim this summer! I know the trend is to push kids and water safety is a priority, but when kids are a little older, they learn to swim in a snap because they are mentally and physically prepared. This is my very first Squidkid entry and still one of my favorites!

I really hope you will stick around and become a regular reader. With summer finally emerging and swim lesson season in full swing, you’re going to need a resource that can answer your every little question. I promise to nurture your child’s swim progress to the best of my abilities from cyberspace!

Best,

Katrina (Tina) Ramser

Target brand’s Up & Up Sport Sunscreen Continuous Spray (SPF 30). Don’t take my word for it — take Consumer Reports. In their July 2010 issue they labeled this spray sunscreen the best based on UVB and UVA protection plus its ability to stay on after water. I don’t particularly care for sprays because they feel oily and weird.  Banana Boat tested well, too.

San Diego Hat Company. A variety of cute and well-made hats with wide brims and able to take on water wear. However, the straw-made ones tend to loose their shape when wet.

Inexpensive SPF face moisturizers. I take a lot of my hair care advice from consumer advocate Paula Begoun. She loves to demystify expensive products. These products are as good as the expensive ones: Aveeno Radiant Skin Daily Moisturizer (SPF 15); Beauty Without Cruelty SPF 15 Daily Face Lotion; Cetaphil Dailt Face Moisturizer SPF 15; and just about every Oil of Oly product that has SPF 15 in it.

Inexpensive shampoos. Remember with hair: It’s dead so it cannot be ‘revived’ or the ends ‘healed.’ And the only thing that makes those so-called chlorine-stripping shampoos special is chelating agents found in all these shampoos: L’Oreal Vive Nature’s Therapy; White Rain Extra Body; and Pantene. Step it up a bit in cost to: Kiehl’s, KMS, Jason Organics and ISO.

Best inexpensive hair line. I swear by Neutrogena Triple Moisturizer found at Target. Get the shampoo, conditioner and leave-in stuff if you can find it. Before you get in the pool, wet your hair and run a dab of the leave-in through your locks.

Dolpin “Uglies” Swimsuits. Made from 100% polyester. I wore mine an average 4 days a week and it lasted about a year before the colors really started to get dull. Very inexpensive with a variety of wild styles. I suggest buying from Swimoutlet.com as I find their prices are about 20% cheaper than elsewhere. Very true to size — I’m thin and a small was too small.

Do you have a product to add? Or a question about a particular one on the market? Post your questions here and I will answer!