6 Tips for Swim Season from Hubbard Family Swim School
(Photos via Hubbard Family Swim School)
In Arizona, you can’t go far without finding a home with its own backyard swimming pool. An analysis of the state’s swimming pools actually found that Arizona ranked among the top three states in the nation for swimming pools per capita, with one swimming pool for every 13 people.
And when municipal pools, water parks, lakes and other swimming holes are factored in, it’s fair to say our desert environment is home to an abundance of opportunities to cool off and take a dip — a welcome respite from the summer heat. Of course, with ample opportunities to swim, there is an increased need to focus on water safety.
Bob Hubbard, a longtime Local First Arizona member who owns Hubbard Family Swim School with his wife Kathy, has been working with families for about 25 years to make sure kids are safe in the water. So, he knows a thing or two about the benefits of swimming and water safety, some of which might be surprising.
Bob and Kathy Hubbard
Hubbard Family Swim School offers indoor swim lessons year round at its four locations, starting with infants as young as two months old.
“It’s a great business and we love being part of this community and part of Local First,” Hubbard said. “The emphasis on local businesses is so important.”
With school out and temperatures consistently soaring above 100 degrees, it’s a great time to freshen up on water safety tips and learn a few new things along the way.
1. Swim lessons make an entire family more safe
Most people may consider the safety benefits of swim lessons as something that only affects the individuals who are in the pool, learning. But, Hubbard said the positive impact of swimming lessons actually reach an entire family. He cited a study by the Centers for Disease Control that confirmed the phenomenon, noting that swim lessons do more than teach a child to swim. They teach a child to follow instructions around water and help create safe habits for an entire family.
“In our classes, you sit down, you wait for an invitation to enter the water,” he said. “We eliminate the chaos, which is just kids running and jumping.”
2. Early exposure positively impacts development
“There is a lot of research that supports the earlier you get in with your baby, the better,” Hubbard said.
He is referring to a study that Hubbard participated in with Griffith University in Australia that found a correlation between advanced cognitive, social and motor development among children who were exposed to the water at a younger age, when compared to peers.
“If your child is in swim lessons under the age of 4, they’re testing ahead of other children,” Hubbard said, paraphrasing the study results. “That’s part of the reason why we’re very much in support of getting parents in the water with their kids until the age of 2. Our student is the parent and the parent is the best teacher for the baby at that point.”
After that, toddlers are able to graduate to a small ratio group class.
3. “Water watchers” are important for safety
The way Hubbard sees it, if “everyone” is watching kids around water, it’s very likely no one is. That’s why he supports the “water watcher” philosophy, which assigns a singular adult to supervising kids around water.
That “water watcher” can rotate, taking shifts with other adults at a party or gathering, which can be easy to do if utilizing a whistle or hat or Hawaiian lei to designate the current individual on duty. In fact, Hubbard even employs that philosophy and practice at his swim schools.
“Your safety is heightened,” he said by adopting the practice. “Any time we have more than four teachers in the water, we have a water watcher. From a safety point of view, we want them to have another layer of protection.”
4. Lessons give parents visibility into a child’s abilities
Swim lessons are great educational experiences, in more ways than one. Hubbard said one of the most valuable takeaways from swim lessons is the understanding they give to parents about their child’s capabilities in the water.
That comes in handy when swimming in new environments, especially during the summer when other pools, lakes and even oceans come into the mix. Lessons and requirements at swim camps, like swim tests to see if individual kids should utilize life jackets, help parents navigate new surroundings outside of swim school.
“74% of the earth is water, so let’s take advantage of it. Learn how to be safe in the water. And never swim alone,” he said.
5. Think of swim lessons like any other extracurricular
For Hubbard and his wife, water and swimming have been ever-present forces in their lives, even before they opened a swim school. They’ve never seen it as just a summer activity. And he hopes more parents begin to view swim lessons as an extracurricular activity that is just as important as sports teams and music lessons. The benefits are there, he said.
“If you can’t get to Hubbard, go somewhere. Swim lessons for young kids are life changing,” Hubbard said. “It’s a commitment like anything, and if you can buy into the philosophy of year-round swim lessons, like music lessons and math tutors, like anything, early exposure to swimming creates brighter kids, better athletes, and better motor development.”
6. Pool fences are a must
Most importantly, Hubbard says, families with pools at home must create a barrier between the house and the water. Swim lessons and exposure to safe water practices helps. But a barrier is a necessary added reinforcement.
“If you have a pool, secure it,” he said.
Learn more about Hubbard Family Swim School at hubbardswim.com.
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