The Winter Swim Season Tips & Tricks

Dec 04, 2023

Swimming through winter is a crucial part of your child's progression to becoming safer in and around an aquatic environment.

We understand that parents can sometimes find it hard to continue or have heard that swimming through the cooler months will make your child sick. As long as the pool where your child learns has warm water and heats the air temperature there should be no reason why a child should stop their progression

Aquatots has a few tips on why and how you can continue ensuring your child has continuation of this life saving skill

WHY?

Swimming through winter will ensure your child continues to build on their swimming skills and are prepared for the warmer weather. Unfortunately drowning does not discriminate between the seasons and if you think its cold here always remember children in Sweden also learn to swim.

Swimming through winter will mean your child secures their position in the program for warmer months and are ready for summer swimming

Another crucial reason to try and continue your child swimming through winter will be their growth. When a child grows their center of buoyancy will change and if they have stopped the progression they will need to relearn their center of buoyancy. This will put some children back a few steps and will make them feel uneasy or awkward in the water, as they will be unbalanced for a while. If a child continues to swim through this period the adjustment period is much quicker as it is a continuation rather than a relearn.

Strengthening immunity

Swimming also builds your child's immune system and strengthens their body and lungs meaning if your child is to get sick their healthy body will reduce the recovery time and number of times they will get sick through the cooler months.

Children and babies unfortunately will get sick from other sick people. To help them fight off these nasty bugs Aquatots recommends

Ensuring your child has a well rounded diet and enough sleep
Keep yourself healthy
Dress your child (and yourself) completely before exiting the buildings. This includes warm hats and shoes
Add a probiotic to your child's daily diet
Continue to be active throughout the cooler months. Exercise promotes healthy bodies and healthy minds
Flu shots might be an option for children old enough and parents to ward off most of the nasty ones

Dry skin, eczema & other skin problems

Dry skin and eczema can flare up through the cooler months due to heating and other environmental factors. Our recommendation to assist with this would be

Ensure you put a barrier cream on your child before they enter the water
Once your class has finished rinse and wash your child in Luke warm water with non soap products
Re cream your child with quality cream or oil. We suggest coconut oil, moo goo or itchy baby products. . Please also remember to cream your baby/child before they go to bed each night as this is when moisturiser is best absorbed
Wash your child's (& your own) swim wear regularly to avoid bacteria breading on the material

To avoid the spread or chance of spreading some skin conditions it is important to use your own clean towel. Do not share towels

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Ear infections, grommets and other ear issues

If your child has grommets or is susceptible to ear infections there are ways your child can continue to learn how to swim and survive. To continue your child's swimming progression Aquatots recommends

Ear putty (child specific putty can be purchased from our swim shop). Ear putty must be used correctly for it to stay in and seal the ear cavity
Over the ears we also recommend a head band (correct neoprene ones can be purchased from our swim shop or online)
The swim cap can either be placed over or under the head band
Only use the ear equipment if your child has grommets or continuously is getting ear infections (2 or 3 in 1 month).
If this is not the case please DO NOT use the ear equipment allow the ear to drain naturally
SwimSEAL is a new product we offer at our shop which is an ear spray for the ear before entering the water. This spray coats the ear canal and repels the water from entering the canal. More information on this awesome product can be found on their website.

Ensure the pool your child learns in not only heats their water (30 or above) but the air temperature as well.

Babies under the age of 1 usually will not shiver when they are cold you must monitor the colour of their lips, if they turn blue you must exit immediately to avoid the risk of hypothermia

When children & babies get cold their brains shut down messages to the extremities, it is extremely hard to teach a child/baby to swim if their brain is not communicating with their arms and legs.

A warm comfortable centre will not only maximise your child's swimming enjoyment & learning capability but will help with keeping the bugs at bay

Exclusions from lessons and our swim centres

We really try hard to keep our pools as healthy as possible and would appreciate your help on the matter. If you or your child is sick please do not attend the centre. This will help in keeping our centres healthy and ensure your child's instructor can keep up a consistent attendance.

Exclusions are as follows

If your child looks or is acting out of sorts or has visible signs of being unwell
If you child has green, white or yellow snot (a snot chart has been included for your reading pleasure)
Any unidentified rash must be cleared by a medical practitioner before the child can attend the class
Open wounds are not to be put in the water
A 48-hour exclusion period applies to diarrhoea and vomiting. Children are not to attend until 48 hours after the last loose stool or vomit
All other exclusions follow the child care and school guidelines which can be found on the following site https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/