Jordan Rumple-White and swim instructor Tiffany Jordan share some laughs during a FISH swimming lesson at Rainier Beach Pool in Seattle.
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Free and Low-Cost Swim Lessons in Seattle
Funding was discontinued this year for Seattle’s “Learn to Swim” program, which offered free swim lessons to third- and fourth-graders. However, the city continues its outreach to lower-income kids and children from underserved minority communities.
The School of FISH Program offers 10 free beginning lessons (two weeks) to all Seattle children, from first-graders on up, at three indoor pools. After the first 10-class session, lessons are $2 each for a child and accompanying parent or caregiver. Classes are ongoing. For more information or to register, call the Rainier Beach Pool at 206-386-1944, Medgar Evers Pool at 206-684-4766, Madison Pool at 206-684-4979 or download a voucher online at www.seattle.gov/parks/aquatics/school_of_FISH.pdf.
Half-price swim lessons at any of Seattle’s 10 public pools are available for children of low-income parents ($2.75 for group lessons instead of $5.50; $4.50 for 3-year-old group lessons instead of $9). Seattle Children’s Hospital has provided funds to make prices for these lessons even lower, paying up to 90 percent of the cost for qualifying families on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact your local pool or call Seattle Parks and Recreation at 206-684-4075.
Free beginning lessons at all Seattle lifeguarded beaches are available to all children ages 6 and older. Classes are offered Monday through Friday, 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. It’s best for children to come to 10 sessions over a two-week period, if possible. Madrona and West Green Lake Beaches will have the largest number of instructors. Sign up in advance at your local beach.
In an effort to reach minority communities, posters for the School of FISH and other lesson programs have been published in multiple languages. In partnership with Seattle Children’s Hospital, the Parks Department has prepared a water safety brochure in Vietnamese. This is in response to a high number of drownings among Vietnamese teens and young men in recent years.
On Aug. 8, Seattle Parks and Recreation will host Summer Splash-tacular, with water safety classes and activities at public beaches, pools and wading pools. So far, a free swim has been scheduled at the Rainier Beach and Meadowbrook Pools, 1:30 to 3 p.m. and diving instruction will be offered at Madison Beach. Visit us online at www.seattleschild.com for more details as they become available.
If you live outside Seattle, contact your local parks and recreation department or YMCA for information on free or low-cost learn-to-swim programs.
School of FISH: The New Program That Makes Swim Lessons a Family Affair
By Wenda Reed
Jordan Rumple-White hops confidently into the pool at the Rainier Beach Community Center. The 7-year-old takes three crawl strokes, taking directions from her teacher. The girl’s mother stands beside her in the water, encouraging her, then flips her onto her back, supports her for a few more strokes, and flips her back onto her stomach. After some practice, Jordan makes it all the way across the pool without having to stand up and stop. She gets a hug from mom and a high-five from her teacher – then gives a wide, gap-toothed grin.
Two weeks ago, Jordan clung to the side of the pool and was afraid to move. Now she’s well on her way to becoming a confident swimmer.
Jordan and her mother, Elizabeth White of Columbia City, enrolled in Seattle Parks and Recreation’s new School of FISH (Fun Instruction in our Swimming Holes). The program was launched in January to reach families who generally don’t take advantage of swimming lessons, perhaps because they can’t afford it or because they’re unfamiliar with the benefits of learning to swim at a young age. Lessons are open to school-age children, each with a parent. The first 10 lessons are free, and after that lessons are $2 for each parent/child pair.
“We live in a city surrounded by water. It boggles the mind that kids can’t swim,” says School of FISH swim instructor Tiffany Jordan. “Nine times out of ten it’s because the parent doesn’t swim.”
The idea behind School of FISH is to get both parent and child familiar with the water and safer around it. The classes begin with water adjustment, bubble blowing, breath holding, kicking while lying on the stomach, floating on the back and using a life jacket. It’s designed to be a supportive and relaxing environment for people new to swimming.
“We’re teaching the parents to teach their children,” says Kathy Whitman, aquatics manager for Seattle Parks and Recreation.
Progress may be measured in small steps. “We have one little boy who keeps hanging on to the wall and bouncing along in the water,” Tiffany Jordan says. “He went from crying for the entire half hour to crying for 10 minutes, so that’s an improvement.”
When Should Children Learn to Swim?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends delaying swimming lessons until children are developmentally ready to learn, after their fourth birthday.
“In our studies, we found that most children are not developmentally ready to swim until age 4, and will pick it up more efficiently after that age,” says Dr. Linda Quan, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Seattle Children’s Hospital and a national expert on drowning prevention. “But there’s a range – just as kids learn to walk at 9 months or 14 months. Watch to see how ready your child is; just make sure that it’s a positive experience.”
Safe Kids USA, the United States arm of a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing accidental childhood injury, recommends that children be enrolled in swimming lessons by age 8. “If you wait until they are 8, it’s beginning to be too late,” Quan cautions. She quickly adds that it’s never too late to learn to swim, but that age 5 or 6 is ideal because kids are eager to learn and able to master swim strokes.
“By the time they get into middle school, it’s hard to get them into lessons and have them stay there,” Quan says. “Their risk for drowning goes up when they become teens. They want to do what the rest of the kids are doing, but they’re not up to speed on water skills. They need to become water savvy before then.”
What about Children Younger Than 4?
There has been a lot of debate about giving swimming lessons to children younger than 4. It was believed that having their toddlers and preschoolers take lessons might give parents a false sense of security, and thus lead to less vigilance and higher drowning rates. Yet a National Institutes of Health report published this past March in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine indicates that this is not the case.
In analyzing data from 61 kids ages 1 to 4 who drowned and 134 who did not drown, Dr. Ruth Brenner and her associates concluded that “swimming lessons do not increase drowning risk in this age group and likely have a protective effect.”
Quan agrees that teaching kids younger than 4 or 5 to swim does reduce the risk of drowning. “No one knows exactly how: They may learn good motor skills or how to be cautious and safe around water, or not to panic if water gets in their faces.”
While swimming and water play for infants, toddlers and preschoolers is a great activity, “we look at it as (promoting) water safety and familiarity,” Whitman says. “It is never a reason to leave children unattended.”
Wenda Reed is a Seattle-area writer who learned to swim at Pritchard Beach in southeast Seattle.
