How Do We Define Swimming?

Last week, we randomly interviewed some of our parents at the West Little Rock pool to ask them how they define swimming and what their goals are for their children in swim lessons.
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So, what do our parents have to say about what swimming is and what their goals for their children are in swim lessons?

"Being able to not drown in the water. I want my child to be comfortable in the water and to be able to swim if she finds herself in the water when an adult is not there." - Thea Noggle

"Swimming is not drowning. My goal for my kids is to learn how to get themselves out of the pool to safety if they happen to fall in and to be able to hold their own when they're in the water and swim and have fun." - Chad Hendrix

"The ability to not drown. For my child, there are two goals, one is to make sure she doesn't get in a predicament where she would drown, and then two, she enjoys swimming." - Ron Purkiss

"Swimming is being able to support yourself in the water and not drown. My kid is only a toddler, so my goal is, in case there was ever a horrible accident, that we have done everything we could to make the best out of that accident." - Sandie Leding

"Swimming is not drowning. The goal for our grandchild would be to be able to stay above the water until an adult gets to them, and be able to climb up on the edge, because if they can hold on until help comes, that's really important." - Shannon & Lawrence Donley

"For how young my daughter is, playing in the water is swimming. When she goes in the water, we want her to be able to float, and we want her to get used to the water and have a safe place to play." - Pei Wang

"I guess swimming is being in the water and moving around. My goals for my child are for her to not drown, know what is safe and unsafe, and what her abilities are, and be comfortable in the water so she doesn't freak out." - Lauren Daugherty

"Swimming is not sinking, but I would really define swimming as strokes, floating, even on the inner tube, being able to tread water and have forward motion in water. The goal for our daughter is not drowning. We are going on vacation in August, and the house has a pool right off the back door, so that really pushed us to taking swim lessons this year. We were going to wait until next year, but we decided this is the year to try it!" - Angela & John Cottrell

What do some of our coaches have to say about what swimming is and what goals parents should have for their children in swim lessons?

"Swimming is safety in the water. Goals for parents should include being safe and knowing how to survive." - Coach Anna

"To me, swimming is moving your body in a way that allows you to stay on top of the water. A good goal for parents for their kids in swim lessons is for them to be safe when they are in the water." - Coach Noah

And finally, what does our founder and head coach Coach Karen have to say about what swimming is and what goals parents should have for their children in swim lessons?

"To be considered a swimmer, one should be able to swim more than one stroke with the face in the water controlling the breath for a distance of at least 25 yards each. A swimmer should also have distinct survival skills which include the ability to move in any direction and on any plane in the water, including the ability to float on the back to breathe and call for help if needed. It’s also important to note that no one is drownproof, not even the best of swimmers. So we must always apply layers of prevention which include never swimming alone, constant and dedicated supervision, use of a life jacket in open water, barriers to water, and knowledge of CPR." - Coach Karen

An action so common as swimming can have so many different definitions! Whatever your definition is, you can be sure that your child will learn safety skills and how to be comfortable in the water before they start to learn to "swim" at Safety Before Skill!