Rollover Lessons Build Water Safety
At Ocaquatics we teach swimming lessons and water safety skills based on a series of progressions that are developmentally appropriate and child centered. We are a ROLLOVER school, but we are NOT what is typically referred to as a survival program. You may have heard of survival based swimming lessons that teach a child to survive in an aquatics accident by rolling over and floating on their back. However, some of these types of programs have been linked to increased distress, crying, and trauma.
Our program’s goal is the same as the survival program's ultimate goal of rolling over for a breath. However, we do this in a way that allows our children to enjoy the entire process. At Ocaquatics we do not use the controversial approach of repeated submersions with crying and screaming babies.
We also teach our students to use proper behaviors around the water. First, we teach the child/infant to wait for behavioral cues from a trusted adult that it is safe to enter the water. Then we work on breath control, balance and buoyancy as a child gets used to their aquatic environment. Next, they learn to jump in and return to the wall, and at this point we teach the rollover skill. We use a child development approach to tailor instruction that is appropriate for each child and their level. Because of that, even though our end goal is the same, our progressive process might take a little longer but ultimately, our children are happier. The extra time and effort are necessary to create an enjoyable, non-traumatic experience that helps children develop a love of swimming as a lifelong sport for pleasure and good health as well as learn life saving water safety skills.
It is terrifying to think that your child might fall into the water at the exact moment that you are distracted and looking away. With the staggering statistics that drowning is the leading cause of death in children under 5 in Florida, it is natural for parents to look for ways to protect their infants from drowning. Rolling over is a great skill to have. We take a more child centered approach in a warmer, more nurturing environment to achieve the same goal of learning life saving skills while building confidence and competence. The families who swim with us are able to become safer in, on, and around the water while having their child enjoy their lessons. We work with our infants in a positive environment to produce happy swimmers who can also roll over.
We offer these fun swimming lessons at all five of our indoor, warm water pools. We love helping the families in our Miami community to become safer with a splash of fun!
