There are many ways you can help your children at home to gain confidence and skills – and they’re not all water based!

Blowing Bubbles

• Using a bubble wand outside is a great way to learn breath control out of the pool, and encourages the long, slow bubbles we love to see in the water! Get your child to practice taking in a deep breath and blow the air out slowly to make as many bubbles as possible.

• Another way to practice breath control is using a straw and a bowl or tub of water. Float a ping pong ball or even a lightweight bath toy in the water. Your children can have races by blowing through their straws and moving the objects from one side to the other

 
Play in the Shower or Bath
Students who are afraid or not comfortable submerging their faces can practice in the shower or bath.

​The key is to start with a small amount of water (soap and shampoo free of course!) trickling down from the top of their heads – only some will reach their faces and is a great way to slowly introduce them to water on their faces in a familiar and fun environment. You can even encourage your children to wear their goggles in the bath and let them explore at their own pace – they will probably be having so much fun they don’t even realise they have submerged their face! Remember to remain encouraging, do not force it and always supervise them! Every child learns at their own pace.
 
Kicking

• Kicking their legs alternately can be tricky for little ones to master, but is something they can still practice at home. A great way for younger kids to practice kicking is in their car seat. Try playing a version of ‘Red Light, Green Light’ by asking them to freeze their legs when you say “red light” and kick fast when you say “green light.” Once they have mastered following these instructions, you can add in “yellow light” with slow kicks.

• Another way to practice kicking is lying on their stomach in bed, with their legs straight kicking fast with little, straight legs. The aim is to try to keep their legs as straight as they can – a little bend is fine to be able to move their legs up and down but their feet shouldn’t be coming up very far off the bed.

 
Arms

• Practicing the Freestyle arm action is another activity that can be practiced in bed. Lying on their stomach towards the edge of the bed, your child can rotate the arm closest to the edge in the Freestyle movement – down to the floor, back to their leg, up to the sky and stretch out in front. To practice with the other arm, get them to lie in the opposite direction!

Summer may have ended but the risk of drowning still remains. It is so important that parents remain vigilant with their children around water, not just at pools and beaches in the warmer months but around the home, especially the bath year-round. Ross Gage, Chief Executive of the Australian Swim Schools Association (ASSA) states that “drowning doesn’t discriminate, and as accidents can occur in nearly any body of water, in any season, and to almost anyone, maintaining skills is paramount.” 

According to Royal Life Saving Australia, the majority of bathtub drowning deaths occur when there is an interruption to routine, such as the phone or doorbell ringing. Many parents and carers believe that they’ll only be gone for a minute - but this is enough time for a tragedy to occur. 

In Australia, on average, 5 children under the age of five drown, and 47 are hospitalized due to bathtub drowning incidents each year. One in four hospitalizations results in permanent injury such as brain damage. As a parent or carer it is hard to be in all places at once and bath time poses one of the highest risk of drowning for babies and toddlers.

Like Col Jones Swim School, Royal Life Saving are committed to educating parents to reduce the number of drownings. They have developed the Keep Watch @ Bath Time program which informs parents and carers on ways to prevent their children from drowning through Active Supervision. It has four key elements:
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• Be Prepared - Always make sure you have everything you need to bathe your child before entering the bathroom
• Be Close - Always be within arms’ reach of your child
• All Of Your Attention - Focus all of your attention on your child and watch, talk & play with them while in the bath
• All Of The Time - You should never leave your child alone in the bath, nor should they be left in the care of an older child

Babies and children left alone in the bathtub, even for a second, can drown.

Actions to help prevent your child drowning during bath time:

• Have everything ready for bathing e.g. towels, pyjamas and gone to the toilet
• Have a small fold up chair ready in the bathroom to sit on while children are in the bath
• Cold water should be run first and turned off last
• Test the water to ensure it is comfortably warm, not hot, to prevent burns and scalds.
• Keep water to a minimum depth i.e. just enough water to wet the child using your hands
• Child should be actively supervised by responsible adult
• Never leave your child alone in the bath
• The supervising adult should always be within arms’  reach of the child
• Ignore distractions when bathing your child including phones and doorbells
• Take your child with you if you had to leave the bathroom
• Don’t leave your child in the care of an older child
• Active supervision should always used if your child is bathed in a bath seat
• Turn taps off, remove plug, drain bathtub and close the door.
• Enrol in a CPR course. Check www.royallifesaving.com.au for course details.