Unsafe Swim Lessons

It's summer time. Time for swimming, BBQ's, fun in the sun, playing, and staying up late. But lots of children die accidental deaths because they don't know proper pool safety or are not properly watched around the pool. This is my main reason for making sure that my children learn how to swim. So for many summers now we have signed up for swim lessons with the town pool with Red Cross trained Life Guards. Kaitlyn started out in the Parent/Child classes with me when she was just 18 months old and now CJ is doing the same class with me starting at 7 1/2 months old. Over the years the girls have had their good teachers and their not so good teachers, but never as bad as what I saw today.

Kaitlyn, my 6 year old, is in Level 1. She has been in Level 1 since last year. In Level 1 they advertise the class as being Introduction to Water Skills. Exit from the Parent and Child Aquatics course is recommended. Children learn breath control, buoyancy on front and back, alternating arm and leg actions, and general water safety rules. I have been putting my children in these lessons long enough to know though that they hold the children in the water when they are learning their alternating arm and leg actions and front and back floats. If you've seen the pictures of Kaitlyn swimming lately you will see that her teacher was always with her. Well, today started the 2nd session of swimming lessons and thus a new teacher for everyone. Kaitlyn got the teacher that Natalie had last session for Level 4. Now I wasn't overly impressed with him as a teacher for her because he never got in the water and would show the kids how to do the strokes by standing outside the pool. But Natalie can swim and in Level 4 is just building up her strength and stamina and also learning the breast stroke and butterfly stroke. So it wasn't a big deal that he wasn't in the pool with them because they all knew how to swim at this point. They also are not five and six year olds.

Now, he did get in the water with the kids for Level 1, but he mine as well have been standing on the side of the pool watching them. He played a little Simon Says with them and then really started the class. He had them throw out their "wet pet" one at a time and then swim out to get them, but he never once put his hands on them. Now some of the kids tried walking out so he would pick them up to put them on their bellies to kick and scoop out to their wet pets and then swim back. And then because he had no control over the kids he would have to chase the ones who were wandering out into the deep end and completely ignoring his instructions to get back on the wall. He did this while he was supposed to be helping Kaitlyn swim. So he was half way down the pool retrieving another child while Kaitlyn was barely keeping her head up above the water. I just about lost it. Finally the teacher that she had last session finished teaching the Parent/Child class (that one is only 30 minutes long while the rest are 45 minutes long) and he came over and rescued these poor little children. I calmed down a little once he was there because he at least had control over the class and I knew he wouldn't walk away from my child while she was barely keeping her head above water.

I wished that I had the director's phone number while I was sitting watching this so I could call and have him come see what his life guards are doing to these poor children. I didn't have it though. As soon as I came home I called and complained though. I told the person that I spoke to if this happens again tomorrow while I'm in the Parent/Child class with my son then I will be taking all of us out of the pool and demanding reimbursement of our money for these lessons. He said he would speak to the person who taught the class. I'm going to be a nervous wreck tomorrow though and unable to concentrate on what I'm supposed to be doing worried sick about my daughter. Swim lessons are not supposed to be dangerous for the children. It is supposed to give them the knowledge they need to be in and around water and the confidence to be in and around water. Neither one of these things was this teacher giving my daughter today. I am actually hoping that they don't even allow him to continue teaching the young ones because he is just not able to handle it.

I have a few words for the parents of the four boys who were making the class even more difficult though. That was just as wrong. There wasn't a single parent scolding these children who kept wandering out into the deep end. That's actually very scary. I never rely on just a lifeguard to watch my children when they are in the pool. I am always watching them even throughout swim lessons. Maybe that's the overprotective mom in me or something, but whenever Kaitlyn is not following the safety rules I yell at her. Natalie too, but that usually doesn't happen. If that were my child who kept wandering away from the class like that then he would have been pulled right out of the water to sit on the side and watch until he could follow the rules.