Category: Lessons Swimming UK

Toddler drowning in domestic swimming pools

Australia

Aims To identify how toddlers who drowned gained access to private swimming pools; to recommend preventive strategies to reduce the incidence of toddler drowning and near drowning.

Method The study reviewed critically all completed investigations into the drowning deaths of toddlers aged 1–4 years reported to the state coroner (n=33) as a result of unintentional submersion incidents in domestic swimming pools in Victoria, Australia,from 1 January 1992 to 31 December 1997.

Results   There was a predominance of 1 year olds, and boys.Forty six per cent of the children drowned in the three summer months. The majority of pools were in-ground; most were located on the child’s home property. Over half the pools lacked fencing of any kind; of those that did have fences, only three appear to have met Australian standards.

Conclusions  More than half of the children studied drowned in unfenced pools and spas. In not one case did a child gain unaided access to a pool fitted with a fully functional gate and fence that met the Australian standard. Where children gained access to fenced pools, the majority did so via faulty or inadequate gates, or through gates that were propped open. This finding highlights the need for pool owners to install Australian standard approved fences and gates, and to maintain existing fences and gates regularly. Door locks and supervision were inadequate primary prevention strategies.

Stretching For Excellent Upper Body Streamlining

By Marty Hull. Photos by Rod Searcy.

The fastest we ever go in the water is when we push off the wall. The moment our feet leave the wall, we begin to slow down. If upper body streamlining is excellent, then push-off speed is carried out farther from the wall, and we reach the surface while we are still moving very fast. Excellent streamlining allows a faster lap from start to finish.

What is excellent streamlining? A body that is as straight, narrow and smooth as possible. All three of these can he improved by stretching.

World record holder, Jeff Rouse, has a streamline position that is one of the best in the world. Notice how straight his body is.

(Picture 1).

Also, notice how he narrows his shoulders by moving his arms and shoulder blades up alongside and behind his head

(Picture 2).

To take full advantage of what streamlining can offer, you must he able to get to the most ideal streamlined position with extraordinary ease. The more resistance you encounter in your joints and muscles as you try to streamline, the worse streamlining ability you will have, especially late into a race.

Compare your flexibility to Rouse’s. When you extend your arms above your head, are they in perfect alignment with your torso? Does your back arch when you extend your arms over your head? If your arms are not straight in line with your torso or if your back arches even the slightest amount, this will ruin your streamlining.

Can you narrow your shoulders by moving your shoulder blades and arms up alongside and in behind your head? If you can’t, then your streamlining will suffer significantly.

The secret to getting to this streamlined position with case is to increase the range of motion of your shoulder joints. Additional range of motion of the shoulder blade is what allows Rouse’s straight, narrow, smooth body shape.

To stretch the shoulder blade muscles, it is necessary to use a pulling force on the hand or arm and to conduct this force safely along the arm, through the shoulder joint to the shoulder blade.

This can be done by grabbing onto a post or pole with the hand and then stretching. But stretching the large sheet muscles around the perimeter of the shoulder blade takes very high forces. High forces cause all of the muscles of the arm and shoulder to tighten. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to relax the shoulder blade muscles to allow them to stretch if most of the other muscles of the arm and shoulder area are contracted to maintain the hand grip.

A hand sling device, or a ROM (Range of Motion) strap is one effective way to stretch the shoulder blade muscles without contracting other arm and shoulder muscles.

This device retains the hand at the wrist while a stretching force is applied, making it not necessary to grip something to stretch. The hand, forearm. arm, shoulder, and shoulder blade can, therefore, stay relaxed.

Remember, begin each stretch very gradually. Do not bounce or jerk when you stretch. Shoulder joints are fragile, so stress to these joints should he kept to a minimum If the stretch hurts the shoulder, discontinue it. If you feel the shoulder coming out of the joint, stop and stretch and try to tighten the muscles that hold the shoulder joint together. Then try the stretch again.

Do this stretch three to five times, per week using light force for the first few days. Then gradually increase the force.

If you wish to significantly increase your joint range of motion beyond where you are now, hold each position for two to four minutes. Gradually increase the stretching force during the first one to one-and-a-half minutes and then hold at the force level. Go slowly so you don’t injure yourself. If you are loosening up before a workout, do each one for 30 to 45 seconds.

Stretches

Before you begin stretching, place your arms in the stream-lined position, remembering what it looks and feels like.

1. Hanging Stretch

(For lower muscles.) Adjust the rope length so that when you bend your knees, you can hang from your hands. Be able to release all stretching force if you stand up. Stretch for about two to three minutes.

2. Standing Stretch

(For upper muscles.) Place one sling on each wrist. Stand on the rope. Adjust the rope length so your lower back is straight during these stretches. To stretch, press your toes and straighten the upper chest. This will stretch the muscles at the top of the shoulder blade and the base of the neck. If you hunch the upper chest forward and press up, you will stretch the muscles farther over onto the back (rhomboids). Do both positions, for one-and-a-half to three minutes.

3. Chin Stretch

(For posterior muscles.) This stretch will move your shoulder around under your chin. Attach the rope just below shoulder height. Place a sling on one wrist. Lean away from the point of attachment of the rope. It may take up to 45 seconds before you begin to feel the shoulder blade muscles on your hack stretch, so be patient. Keep shoulder joint muscles tight enough to prevent shoulder dislocation. Stretch left and right side for one-and-a-half to two minutes each.

4. Forward Stretch

This stretches the muscles that move the shoulder blade forward (pecs and serratus anterior). Lean forward and rotate the arm to the position that feels most stable. Press forward. Arch the chest forward to increase stress on the pectoral muscles. Stretch left and right side for one-and-a-half to three minutes each.

5. Chicken Wing Stretch

This increases rotation of the shoulder blade to allow the arms to come closer together behind the head. Stretch each side for one-and-a-half to two minutes so stress goes to the muscles of the shoulder blade and not to the shoulder joint.

6. Streamlining Stretch

Place your hands high above your head and lean against the wall. See if you can comfortably move your arms well past the ideal streamlined position. Stretch for one-and-a-half to two minutes.

Now, test time! Again, place your arms in the streamlined position above your head and compare this with what you looked and felt like before you began stretching. You should notice some difference after one session.

Marty Hull is a top Masters swimmer and a consultant to the Stanford University Swim Team.

Diving Lessons Learn to Swim Swimming Lessons Teach Baby to Swim

A swimming pool in the yard can be very dangerous for children. If possible, do not put a swimming pool in your yard until your children are older than 5 years. If you already have a pool, protect your children from drowning by doing the following:

• Never leave your children alone in or near the pool, even for a moment.

• You must put up a fence to separate your house from the pool. Most young children who drown in pools wander out of the house and fall into the pool. Install a fence at least 4 feet high around all 4 sides of the pool. This fence will completely separate the pool from the house and play area of the yard. Use gates that self-close and self-latch, with latches higher than your children’s reach.

• A power safety cover that meets the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) adds to the protection of your children but should not be used in place of the fence between your house and the pool. Even fencing around your pool and using a power safety cover will not prevent all drownings.

• Keep rescue equipment (such as a shepherd’s hook or life preserver) and a telephone by the pool.

• Do not let your child use air-filled “swimming aids” because they are not a substitute for approved life vests and can be dangerous.

• Anyone watching young children around a pool should learn CPR and be able to rescue a child if needed. Stay within an arm’s length of your child.

• Remove all toys from the pool after use so children aren’t tempted to reach for them.

• After the children are done swimming, secure the pool so they can’t get back into it.

Remember, teaching your child how to swim DOES NOT mean your child is safe in water.

Diving Lessons Learn to Swim Swimming Lessons Teach Baby to Swim

Teach Your Baby to Swim with this inspiring  BBC produced baby swim dvd

Teach your baby to swim and love the water

An amazing DVD from award winner Lauren Heston, UK’s most respected instructor of water safety  for babies.

All you need to know about:

• Water Awareness

• Self Rescue Skills

• Fitness

• Bonding

• Fun

Are you wary about introducing your baby to swimming? Are you looking forward to getting your baby in the water but think it’s a long way off? Many new Mothers and Dads too, think they can’t take their baby swimming until they are at least six months old or even older. Actually there is no sound basis for this.   All babies have a natural affinity to water and will play and exercise quite safely in water from birth without anxiety. Water-babies is a unique DVD that explains you all you need to know about when and how to get your baby swimming or playing happily in the water.

Water-babies is the brain-child of Lauren Heston, who has been running the highly-successful Little Dippers baby swimming program across the UK for almost 20 years. The DVD was produced by the makers of BAFTA-Award winning BBC series The Human Body.

The DVD/video shows carefully-designed exercises focused on  developing skills for safety, increasing fitness and most important, enjoying the water with your baby. Throughout the DVD, emphasis is placed on safety in the water, revisiting past exercises and steady progress – from simple and fun things to do in the bath to begin with, the program takes you and your baby through progressive development until you feel confident and safe in water with your baby.

Following the DVD will strengthen your baby’s hearts, lungs and respiratory systems  improve your baby’s mental outlook. Your baby will soon be swimming.

This baby swimming DVD will give you countless opportunities for fun and bonding, an ideal beginning as your baby turns into a confident swimmer as he or she grows.

Order the DVD

Click Babies and Swimming Pools for guidelines on information on immunisation, swim nappies, skin care etc.

See also Should You Teach Your Baby to Swim?  and Mother & Child Drown

Teach Your Baby to Swim

Little Dippers   DVD is no longr available

Mother and Baby Swimming Classes Mother and Baby Water Awareness in our Private Small Pool

       Our private pool is 18 feet by 10 feet.  You and your baby will have sole use during your session.

First please forgive the use of the words Mother and Baby Swimming.  Sadly we live in a world now dominated by search engines and if that is what people search for and we want you to find this page, then Mother and Baby Swimming, although not what we would choose to call it, is a phrase we must use.  So lets start again.

Water awareness for Mother and Baby.

Everyone agrees that getting your baby used to water / getting your baby swimming at the first opportunity is one of the best starts you can give your baby. Opinions are divided on exactly when to start, but babies are welcome at our swimming pool from as early as a few weeks old providing Mum comes too. Swimming with your baby builds confidence, trust and communication skills. Sessions are kept short so that your baby can experience the glorious sensation of letting the water support him or her and leave the water looking forward to more.

Many mothers feel structured baby swimming classes are a little more than they want whilst struggling to balance a very busy life with a new baby.  A chance to chill out and just relax with in the water is just what is needed so mother and baby both have the opportunity to enjoy the water without any pressure.

For those who can reach us easily, we offer courses ranging from 6 sessions, one a week, and discounts for those wanting to commit to longer.  When Mother and Baby live further afield, we offer a residential to suit.

We are based in Swadlincote, Derbyshire.  Why not come and have a chat or phone.