The Importance of Putting Water Safety into Context
If you take your child(ren) to swimming lessons, they will likely learn many of the lifesaving techniques below. Alongside improving swimming ability, quality water safety lessons help children understand how to stay safe around water and what to do during unexpected situations. A big part of you taking your child to swimming lessons is that you are wanting them to understand how to be safe around water, so that they can avoid incidents happening in the first place, and to know what to do if they get into difficulty. Not to mention the ability to know how to best support someone else without putting themselves in harm’s way.
What is interesting about learning how to swim, is often, the younger ones often do not understand why they are learning to swim because it is in most cases made to be a fun, an exciting activity, or for some, this thing they have to do. However, putting water safety into context and explicitly going over scenarios, with supervision, can be fun and save lives! This is why water safety classes are such an important part of learning to swim. A good swim school doesn’t only teach strokes and technique – it also builds awareness, confidence and practical skills that children can use around water.
Turn and back Technique
What most people do when they fall into water is panic (especially if they cannot swim). Knowing, learning and practising the ‘Turn, Head down and Kick & Pull Back Technique’ is vital and is taught to children as early as 6 months old. These skills are introduced progressively through structured children’s swimming lessons, allowing young swimmers to develop confidence while learning essential survival techniques.
How this technique is performed:
- Practice falling in so that their face is fully submerged.
- Once they have fallen in, turn back towards where they have fallen (180 degrees).
- Put their head and eyes down to the floor.
- Kick with their legs up and in a position remaining as straight as possible (horizontal).
- Paddle with their arms and reach for the wall.
HELP Position
The HELP position (Heat, Escape, Lessening Posture) is very important to know when wearing a lifejacket or awaiting a rescue. This technique is important in reducing the effects of hypothermia in a situation when you are waiting to be rescued. These practical skills form an important part of comprehensive water safety lessons, helping children understand how to respond calmly during challenging situations.
How this technique is performed:
- Draw your knees up to your chest
- Bring your elbows tight to your side
- Fold your arms towards your chest
- Keep your head and your body still
Bounce off the floor
Being able to bounce off the floor is a very effective technique for swimmers just out of their depth. It is less effective if you fall into a river, are in a deep pool water, or swimming in the sea.
How this technique is performed:
- Breath in
- Through your arms up, bend your knees and bring your knees up
- Exhale to release the air and sink down
- When your feet reach the floor, push back to the surface
- Repeat and aim to get closer to shallow water each time
Huddle
Knowing what to do in a situation of cold conditions and with more than one person is a valuable skill to learn. The huddle technique is a critical technique for group survival in cold conditions when wearing flotation devices. It is important that it is not performed with young or weak swimmers and without floatation devices.
How to safely perform this technique:
- Lifejacket or floatation device
- Explain that we do not pull each other down and let go if we or the other person begin to panic
- Put your arms over each others shoulders
- Put your chests in close together to keep in the warmth
No goggles
This is vital! Many children have a hesitance, reluctance or fear of putting their face in the water and therefore some only learn with their goggles on. If you take off their goggles, they can barely swim! It is debatable when children should start wearing goggles – my answer would be it depends on the specific swimmer’s situation – but it is vital that they have some experience swimming without goggles. Experienced swimming instructors help children develop comfort in different swimming environments, ensuring they build confidence beyond just technique.
How to safely perform this technique with a swimmer that can swim with goggles:
- Find a safe environment; Swimming lessons or your local pool.
- Remove the goggles
- Practice swimming safely to the side
- Blink so that you can see where you are going.
- Avoid rubbing your eyes or face as it will obscure your view
Star floats on the back
Many people don’t realise, but being able to star floating on your back is a lifesaving technique. Whilst this technique is not the most effective for everyone – as some people are not blessed with a body type that allows them to float with ease (me!) – it is a vital skill to learn and practice, as well as can save even the worst floater’s life.
How this technique is performed:
- Relax and take a deep breath to filling up your lunges to improve buoyancy
- Lie on your back
- Spread your arms and legs apart and creating a star shape
- Tilt your head back, look up to the ceiling and put your ears in the water
- Use gentle movements to adjust your body
- Keep your head back, ears in the water and eyes to the ceiling
- Breath slowly and steadily
- Stay calm
Treading Water
In some learn to swim programmes, this skill is not taught until the later stages but can be taught early on. The most efficient treading water technique is the egg beater technique and is used by water polo swimmers. However, being able to keep your head above the water without panicking and the head going under is efficient enough in the early stages! Skills like treading water are an important foundation of learning to swim and are often introduced as children progress through structured swimming classes.
How this technique is performed:
- Move your palms in and out under the water to stay balanced
- Kick your legs with just enough energy to stay upright
Water safety is not just about learning strokes – it is about giving children the confidence and awareness to make safer decisions around water. Through consistent swimming lessons and practical water safety lessons, children can develop skills that support them for life.
Help Your Child Build Confidence Around Water
At Water Creations Swim Academy, our lessons focus on more than swimming technique. We help children develop confidence, practical water skills and safety awareness in a supportive environment.
Explore our children’s swimming lessons and help your child build the skills they need to enjoy the water safely.
