Ten months old learning to save their own lives.

Ten-months old is a big landmark for parents. At that age, their children start babbling and forming their first words. They crawl on hands and knees at incredible speeds. For Rebecca Masel, mother of Alexandra and Spencer, ten-months old is also the age her children learned the basic skills to enable them to save their own lives.
Rebecca sought out the British Swim School to get her children into swim lessons for the same reasons any parent living in Florida - it’s nearly impossible to turn a corner and not see some body of water. Rebecca’s in-laws live along the intercoastal, and her brother by a big lake. “There’s so much water in our lives,” she says. She enrolled Alexandra into classes when she was sixth-months old. By ten months, she was floating on her back all by herself, and loving it!
The British Swim School has a variety of different levels, from three month-olds to adults, from beginner to advanced swimmers. British Swim School believes it is vital that every swimmer knows to roll over and float on their back safely, and knows not to be afraid of the water. At thirteen-months, Alexandra had perfected back floating and was the star in the introduction video on the British Swim School’s website. Now she needed something else to challenge her.
Her teacher decided to create a new class for her and for other babies already as advanced. The Toddler class works on forward propulsion and moving their arms and legs in the water. The babies are not expected to learn the strokes at that age, but they find it helpful for their later lessons for children to be familiar with the movements. It pays off. Alexandra, now three-and-a-half years old, is in the Turtle Two class, a class usually filled with six, seven, and eight-year olds, where focus is on the four basic swim strokes: freestyle, back, breast, and butterfly.
“I like going to class and putting my face in the water,” Alexandra, a lively and talkative girl, says animatedly, “and now I have pink goggles!”
Alexandra must have been a good influence, because her little brother Spencer is now following in her footsteps. Spencer was enrolled in classes at six-months and floating at ten, like his sister. “It’s my mentality,” says Rebecca, “you (i.e. the parent) have to be comfortable with the water, and not be afraid. From their first bath…I would put their face in the water. There’s no reason to be overly cautious when you’re right there.
Rebecca and her husband were present when Alexandra accidentally fell into a public pool at about fourteen-months old, and it was heartwarming when she just “did her thing” and rolled over. Florida parents are always hearing the horror stories of children who snuck away from watchful parents and drowned in a nearby pool, lake, or canal. If only they could have floated!
“When you hear stories like that,” she says, “it reminds me of why I’m here ( at the British Swim School).” Rebecca has no intention of leaving either, and is constantly ushering her friends and relatives into joining. “Kids have to know, always, to roll over…I love [the British Swim School’s] method and mission, for kids to learn first to float, then develop swimming, all taught in a fun loving non traumatic way, to both enjoy and respect water.”
It’s not the only thing they learn, however. At the British Swim School, kids learn to be fearless yet respectful of water, to be sociable and outgoing, and that learning and fun are not two mutually exclusive ideas. After lessons with the British Swim School, parents aren’t going to stop being totally vigilant. But they don’t have to worry about their children sneaking away unexpectedly, not when they are begging Mommy and Daddy to “Watch me! Watch me!” as they jump confidently and safely into the pool.
For additional information or to arrange an interview please contact:
Elissa Lithman
Marketing
British Swim School & FUNFIT
2084 N University Drive, Sunrise, FL 33322.
Tel: 954 747 7251 - Direct: 954 747 7251
Email: elissa@britishswimschool.com