Posted by Rebecca Wear Robinson on July 18, 2011 · 3 Comments
Last updated on July 2nd, 2018 at 12:09 am
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” …Albert Einstein
Sometimes the usual methods just aren’t as effective as innovative ways of teaching.
Ballroom dance can teach students how to respect the opposite sex. Huh? Ballroom Dancing? Yes. Watch “Mad, Hot Ballroom” or “Take the Lead” to learn how schools in New York are using ballroom dance classes to help improve children’s self-esteem and to teach respect for the opposite sex.
One child drowns every minute. Drowning is the leading cause of death globally for children ages 1-4. Yet conventional wisdom says that we need to keep young children away from the water until they are old enough for swimming lessons. The problem? Toddlers are escape artists. It takes only 2 minutes to drown. True coordination for swimming rarely occurs until children are about 5. And we, rightfully so, make water fun for children from the time they are babies and then don’t teach them how to be safe in the water. We give them mixed messages and we wait too late. Water safety isn’t just swimming or avoidance.
Don’t fall into the trap of following conventional wisdom when it comes to water safety. Young children need to be taught how to relate safely to the water the same way they are taught to cross the street safely. Positively, repetitively, and age-appropriately. Start when they are infants – teach them to never go near water without an adult. Show them their limits in the water by gradually introducing them to the water and teaching them how to hold on and turn around, do monkey hands around the side of the pool, and how to push off the bottom of the pool to grab the side.
Contact your local YMCA about Parent and Me swim classes or use the book Jabari Makes A Splash to talk to young children about water safety. Start when they are very young.
Listen to Einstein.
It is also important to make sure that you keep a cell phone next to the swimming pool area in case an incident occurs.
Great suggestion Kenny! Having a cell phone is ideal as well, you can put the phone on speaker while you talk to 911 and get some help on CPR.