I always get a few tentative, if not disguised as controlled panicked, calls about cramming in more swim lessons right before Labor Day. Although dangling money is enticing and the need sounds dire, I close the pool cover (so to speak) after the first week in August and refrain from returning to teach lessons until this holiday passes. This is a time where everyone just needs to take a break. Summer is over and we’re ALL burned out, from moms to swim teachers to kids. School is rearing up and the seasons are changing. It’s not a time to add panic into the mix.

These are the secrets from having taught swim lessons for a long time. So here is your year-long swim plan to make swimming run stress-free:

August: Take a mental note of your kid’s swim ability. I think of August as the end of swim lesson season. However, if you live in somewhere warm like I do, you can still cram another month or so in. But in regards to all the changes and chaos going on, I’d refrain from pushing for more lessons. The swim instructors are far from fresh at this point and could cause more damage or just give you very limited services.

September: Let your school schedule settle and then look into indoor swim lessons. Swimming makes a great after-school activity. Choose a pool that is at least 85 degrees with a year-long swim staff. Most therapeutic pools are heated pretty high.

October: Close-up the family pool in a proper manner. Make sure the cover is in good condition and the gate gets locked. Stow away any toys so the pool isn’t as enticing for a little one. Ask any neighbors if you can help them do the same, as kids do wander into other yards. And remove all plastic pools from the lawn!

November: Get into a once-a-week swim lesson routine. The idea is to keep your swimmer’s skills refreshed. This can be achieved through group or private lessons at the rate of one visit a week, which remains affordable and do-able.

December: Hold off on lessons during the holidays. Guess where parents stick their kids during winter solstice? If you cannot ski, you go to a community center with a warm pool! Any smart swim teacher takes this time off, as space in the pool becomes limited causing the quality of your lesson to go downhill.

January: Contact your private home instructor. Talk about getting a jump on the game! Make sure he/she will be available this summer and when. Because things change. In my case, I’m pregnant, and will just be ending maternity leave when my summer lessons start (and probably won’t be as available). If you contact me six months ahead of time, I WILL secure you lessons for sure.

February: Ask around if you’re new to the swim lesson game. The goal is to find out which facilities have the best instructors and best prices. Ask your local mother’s club for advice. Gather data.

March: If your kid hasn’t had a lesson since summer, get one now. You want to see once again where you are at with your child’s swim ability in order to plan ahead. Kids do forget how to swim! This is also great if you’re thinking about putting your child on a swim team: Get a private swim teacher’s opinion on how they would fair. It is very common for “great swimmers” to draw a blank during try-outs — a few lessons ahead of time eases the nerves.

April: Tackle the bulk of beginner lessons NOW. This can mean either signing up for them or taking them now. Because the rest of the swimming-parental world will be clawing at pools and instructors in 8 short weeks. Resources will be limited.

May: Go on a vacation and do some swimming! It is SO rewarding for a parent to take their child somewhere special where they can enjoy their swim skills without the daily grind calling at them. You can also get more specific and in-tuned with what you think they need to be working on. Work on pool safety, too.

June: Be strategical on how to get a pool or use yours. Is it too costly to heat your pool and you want home swim lessons? Schedule during a time of day and month when it is hottest to keep the electric bill down. Another idea is to pull a group of moms/kids together — and one must have a pool — and filter swim lessons through there. Look into a local pool summer membership, too.

July: Find out if swimming could be their thing. Ask the instructor how they are doing, as in what their strengths or weaknesses are when it comes to swim ability and character. Ask if they are doing anything above and beyond for their age. Swimming is such a unique and individualized sport that it is the answer for many kids who are turned off by team sports or traditional competitive activities.

Any additional suggestions, you seasoned swim lesson parents? I know you can come up with some good ones! Coming up next: Your Year-Long Swim Plan for You! This entry will include be tips for beginning lap swimmers of any ability.

The second chapter by author Stever Robbins (who podcasts at Quick-and-Dirty Tips aimed to help readers get things done better) is about tackling procrastination. His advice is to perform an action every single day that is related to your goal. Think outside of the box here: he’s avoiding limiting actions to that four-lettered word we call work. Robbins encourages us to take back the terms hobbies, inspiration, exercise, breaks and daydreaming. (And yes, the work stuff like meetings and phone calls and networking as well as personal things likes cleaning the house). He reminds us all our actions can have purpose.

It’s ‘fear’ that is the root cause of procrastination. A fear of not being perfect so a simple task withing a bigger goal gets raised 1,000 feet above ground from where it should be. And therefore nothing gets accomplished or started.

Like working out and getting to a physical and metal state we want our bodies to be in but that seems so far away. And I’m talking to myself here! But here’s how we can squash the doubts:

#1: Simple actions ARE related to your goal. So you didn’t walk 5 miles but only walked just 1. And you performed this downsizing two times this week (and you’re fearful you might comprise tomorrow’s exercise schedule too). So what. This is where you are at right now. Your best changes from day-t0-day. Be a big enough person to realize that. The alternative is hating yourself.

#2: Inspiration isn’t a planned event. Be open to exercise change, from deciding to switch out a much-anticipated spin class for a spontaneous swim session with a friend. This might be what you need to be lifted to a higher place mentally and physically. Exercise stops being fun when it becomes rigid.

#3: Exercise holds hidden fun. Especially with a silly soundtrack (one-hit wonders are my favorite). Or if you go to a dance class where you have no idea how to move. Or if you go for a walk, zone out and remind yourself of a funny story a friend told you (or listen to a David Sedaris book on tape).

#4: Nobody ever really knows what they are doing. You ask some great swimmers how they got to be so good, and they are at a loss for words mainly because they didn’t know they were even good at all. Nobody feels likes they have the perfect exercise outfit, nobody really knows if they are doing the yoga position totally correct, and nobody really knows if they are working to their potential. This takes the edge off.

#5: Screwing up doesn’t necessarily make you a screw up. I’m always disappointing myself, but I wish like crazy I didn’t take it that way because I’m only making getting back on the horse that much harder. So you go off the diet and flake on your exercise classes and lose focus. So what. Don’t waist time questioning your self-worth. You save time by just going back to advice #1, which is where you’ll end up anyway after your self-lashing.

This entry is part of a Squidkid series on swimming basics. The below provides information about lap swimming and is applicable to any ability, age, pool and state:

• You can learn to swim laps at any age. Assuming the student has enough cognitive development and basic coordination, anyone can learn side breathing which is performed on the freestyle or crawl stroke.
• You must be water safe or have basic swim skills. You should be able to tread water in the deep end for ten minutes and feel comfortable floating. It would be like trying to make a souffle when you cannot boil an egg if you want to swim laps without first being water safe.
• You don’t have to be athletic or in shape to start laps. In fact, it’s better if you don’t or you will be disappointed. Learning to swim laps requires humbleness and success that can only built one lap at a time. It’s like learning to walk all over again.
• You need a pool that offers a comfortable temp. You won’t be coming back if you don’t feel comfortable in the pool. An ideal temperature is 80-degrees. An ideal length from one end to another is 25 yards.
• You need goggles and a good swimsuit. Goggles give visibility. Sight increases ability and comfort. The same can be said about a suit that stays on well.
• Have patience. You won’t turn into a decent swimmer upon first lesson or attempt. You will probably move slow and be exhausted after one or two back-to-back laps. This is normal. You are learning to breathe all over again when it comes to side breathing.
• Be persistent. Swim on a regular basis. It isn’t luck that will get you there, but simply stick-to-it-ness.
• You must practice. Lap swimming success is built on one lap at a time. You get a little better each time, but can only build if you get in the pool and practice.
• Always put safety first. Become aware of the multitude of water hazards that exist in all types of water. Don’t over-estimate your abilities or those around you. All bodies can hyperventilate, become exhausted, or overpowered by large bodies of water.

• Have basic water safety skills. Be able to swim out of the deep end. Know how to tread water. Understand the importance of a back float.

• Water is 830 times thicker than air and 12 times the resistance. Water offers a 3D resistance or workout in a low-impact environment. This helps build muscle and creates a supportive medium to increase flexibility.

• Use perceived exertion as a measure. Since many water exercise professionals argue about whether or not you can properly measure your heart rate in the water, pay attention to your breath: If you are out of it, you have done your job.

• Pain is wrong. Work at your ability and comfort in the water. Many water aerobic students have are recovering for knee injuries, hip replacement surgeries or even childbirth. Instructors are not the masters of your intensity — you are; they are just the driving force.

• You can burn more calories than on land. Depending on your weight and effort, you can burn more calories with water walking or jogging than you can on land.

• You can really develop a strong core. At first, you will literally be “thrown off” because you are now dealing with the laws of buoyancy versus gravity. No matter which exercise you are performing, from jogging in place to flutter kicking, the entire workout can be about abs or your core if you are aware or contracting this region of your body.

• You don’t need a lot of equipment or clutter. While float belts are helpful to stabilize a position, additional gloves, boots and Styrofoam barbells aren’t necessary to reap from water’s excellent exercise benefits.

• Both shallow and deep-end water workouts offer benefits. The deep end allows you to get in different positions and the shallow end serves as a great measure of extension. The wall has a way of being a great coach, too.

• Always put safety first. Do not think your equipment, ability or endurance can keep you out of harm’s way in a body of water.

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

• Determine the ability of the swimmer. Is your child a beginner, afraid of the water or recovering from a pool trauma? Do you know how to swim and just want to learn how to perform side breathing better? Keep in mind the American Academy of Pediatricians says parents over-estimate their child’s cognitive ability and under-estimate their physical ability.
• Visit various pools and their programs. You should be able to visit as many public and private pools as you want to see how swim programs are run. Ask yourself if the environment you are witnessing — from the pool temp to the shallow end — is a right match for the skill or ability level in mind. Remember swimming is a temperature-contingent activity, so think about a warm indoor or outdoor pool no cooler than 80-degrees.
• Ask around, and in your on-line community. Word-of-mouth referrals are always the best recommendations when it comes to swim programs and swim instructors. Contact your local Mother’s Club or friends in your circle.
• Know what you’ll get for the lesson structure. Are you looking at private one-on-one, groups lessons with a ratio of 6:1, or a non-competitive swim club for your child? An adult class of all levels or a master’s team? Pay attention to the time frame, the size of the pool and members, and number of lessons you get for the cost.
• Do a price-shop comparison. Find out what you get for the price and call other contenders on your swim lesson list. Remember with swimming that quantity doesn’t always triumph quality and private lessons often deliver better results.
• Pick a pool big on water safety. The Red Cross believes no one is ever drown-proof. Pick a pool that enforces — and teaches — pool safety and that has a large lifeguard on staff.
• Get ahead start of the busy season. Call for lessons in June and it could be too late to get any. Settle for August and your swim teacher is way too burned out to deliver. Choose a pool and time frame that can teach swimming from Sept. — April.

To a newcomer, at a pool like this you might be feeling like you signed up for the wrong place. Who in the world wants the welcoming wagon to be some 17-year old boy telling you what you cannot do in the pool while looking down at you from his vintage white-rimmed Ray-Bans? But you know what … I get it. The longer I teach and the more drowning data and stories I come across, the more I realize it is absolutely important to be super-conservative around a body of water at all times. From a kiddie pool to a river stream, put safety first.

I know lifeguards can look dopey and young.  But if they aren’t giving you slack about something be worried: The tougher the pool policies are, the better trained the lifeguard staff is. And the safer your family will be. Here’s 5 ways to understand where a lifeguard is coming from.

• They don’t want to tell you what to do, but they are forced to. It takes TONS of courage for a teenager to come over and ask you or your child to stop doing something. They are only doing it because their job is on the line if they don’t. If an accident happens, their response behavior will be reviewed. If they are found negligent, depending on the severity of the accident they can be fired, and the person who certified them is also held accountable, along with the pool manager. It’s a chain of people that take the fall.

• They cannot take your word for it if they don’t know you. When it comes to swimming, parents constantly over-estimate their child’s cognitive abilities and under-estimate their physical abilities. Those are the Academy of Pediatrician’s words. Until you get to know the lifeguards on duty — meaning chit-chat, letting them see how your kids swim — they are not going to take your word for it about your kid’s awesome swim ability.

• They only have one set of eyes. Eyes that must scan the entire pool constantly, watching dozens of pool bodies and trying to see below or beyond the splashing. Drownings occur all the time in pools that are under capacity and  fully staffed with seasoned professionals. It’s a stressful job to be accountable for all this as well as what you cannot see.

• Their life could be changed forever if something bad happens. I don’t even want to “go there” with how I know a few former colleagues feel about having lost a life while on duty. When I was a lifeguard, an older gentleman had a heart attack at the pool I was guarding. He lived, but I will never, ever forgot how terrifying that was. And I will always feel proud about the time I performed a double-rescue with two kids clinging to one another underwater.

• They are putting themselves on the line to save your life. Every day they come to work they know today could be the day they might have to use CPR. If something bad happens, all eyes are on them to fix the problem. Which is why a lifeguard dedicates so much time to prevention or enforcing safety rules — so they won’t have a problem to fix.

In other words, I don’t question his performance integrity.

This summer, when your child is in swim lessons, if you get this gnawing feeling that something doesn’t seem quite right, you could be  questioning your swim instructor’s integrity. This can be perfectly normal. But the questioning usually goes one of two ways: The root of the issue is a small communication error easily fixed OR an unsolvable wedge.

Example: Let’s take crying in class. Whether caused by fear or tiredness, let’s say it is very uncharacteristic like of your 4-year old child to be crying. Are they testing you or the instructor? Do they not understand the behaviors expected of them? This is could be a small communication error that the parent and teacher can fix together by focusing on delivering the same message and tone: Be willing. I’m not saying the crying will stop immediately (sometimes it takes several more lessons to get the message), just that the adults need to help turn the tide of the child’s attitude.

Now let’s take that uncharacteristic-like crying kid. If you know in your gut they have put forth a 100% willing attitude, you’ve got to decide if the reason for the tears is caused by something unchangeable about the swim instructor or your child. You’ve got to decide very carefully whose performance integrity to question.

I think more than one sign exists when you start to question a swim instructor. You hear things from other parents. You look around the pool and don’t like what you see (or you see someone better). So what do you do?

I think your chances of changing how someone teaches or how a pool program is run is very slim. It’s an unsolvable wedge. So you move on to a different teacher or place. You get a refund. You mention something, but your strategy is to move on.

The same approach is used if you suspect its your child that’s the problem. I think your chances of changing how someone feels about being taught when they truly aren’t ready is very slim. So you move on to a different activity. You get a refund. You mention something to your child, but your strategy is to move on.

And now I’m right about another summer swim story that has hit the newsstands: A recent drowning. And there’s nothing to be smug about when you’re right on something like this.

An 11 year-old girl was swept away into the Pittsburg Marina on Saturday, which is located in the San Francisco Bay Area. These are rough sea waters. She slipped off a jetty rock in a county park and her body was found the next day about 50 yards from where she fell. She did not know how to swim. She was attending a birthday party.

I did a search for 11 year-old drownings and I came across some very surprising, sad — and preventable — drowning stories. An 11 year-old drowns taking a pool cover off. An 11 year-old drowns while babysitter was making a snack inside. An 11 year-old drowns with three seasoned lifeguards on duty. In some of these stories, the kids could swim. In some of these stories, they were warned to be careful.

It just goes to show you no one is drown proof. It’s time for me to re-think a question I like to throw back to parents when they inquire how soon they think their child will be pool safe: When you’re ready to drop them off at a pool party with limited adult supervision, then you know they’re pool safe.

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!