The Importance of Water Safety Awareness & Familiarisation
10/11/2019 | Written by Nikos Vasilellis in Water Safety
Knowledge is the key to everything. And when we speak about the safety of children in an aquatic environment, water awareness is a crucial factor for being safe. The concept of water awareness is a combination of activities and strategies that are employed for ensuring the safety of your children: Familiarisation with water, discussing with your children about water safety issues as well as the importance of following rules when being inside the water and the removal of any items that could cause danger, are only some of these activities and strategies.
A little “secret” that all parents can use for teaching their kids the value of water awareness, is to use the bathtub in their homes during bath time. This is a perfectly safe environment, when you are present, and it could be lots of fun.
Learn to Swim Lessons is a Must Activity for All Ages and Abilities
All parents in Australia shall be aware of the relevant specialised classes that are offered by institutions like the Royal Life Saving and swim instructors of high expertise, like the ones in the Nereids Aquatic Coaching Team.
It is now widely accepted by the medical community that it is perfectly sensible as well as useful to start water awareness classes for toddlers from the age of 6 months. From that age and for the next two and a half years, until the age of 3, the very young kids can learn, at a very satisfactory level, the basic skills of water awareness, such as moving their bodies in the water, getting their face wet, controlling their breath and making bubbles.
The next age group is the one consisted of children aged from 3 to 5 years old. During this stage, kids are taught the basic concepts of water confidence, such as learning how to safely enter and exit the swimming pool and how to keep themselves safe if they fall by accident in the water. Additionally, the pre-school years are ideal for teaching the basic principles of swim techniques and preparing the children for the more advanced swim lessons.
Such lessons can start at the age of 5 when the school-age stage begins. It is during this stage when children can establish strong water safety awareness and perfect their swimming skills. Furthermore, it is during this period of their lives, that the talents of competitive swimming are discovered and treated accordingly.
What is The Next Stage on Water Awareness and Familiarisation
We have already talked about the concept of water awareness in the introductory paragraph of this article. It is now important for parents to understand that water familiarisation is the next stage of the swim education of a person. The swimming classes, during that stage, are mainly held at public or private swimming pools. The aim now is not only to enhance the swimming skills of the children by starting to learn how to practice the basic swim techniques but also to increase their social, physical, mental and emotional skills in a safe environment.
Parents should also know that water awareness and familiarisation is better achieved when the teaching groups are small in numbers, so optimal attention is achieved more easily than with large classes with many students. Parents or carers must be present, at least during the first classes of water familiarisation, and take part in the process. It is great fun for all, as the swim instructors use songs, games and other fun activities.
In general, the idea is to teach all the basic principles of water awareness and water familiarisation while having a great time. Both kids and parents can confirm the beauty of it!
