CHARLIE SAYS TURN AND HOLD ON TO THE SIDE!

Our Turtle Tots parents will know that practicing water safety skills in every baby and toddler swimming lesson is a very important part of our teaching practices, and one of these is ‘Ready Steady Splash, Hold On’.  This technique teaches little ones what to do when they first enter the water – turn and hold on to the side – and it is repeated and practiced at the start of every lesson – with younger ones initially being assisted by an adult in the water and older ones practicing the skill unassisted.

As parents, we hope our child(ren) will never have to use this skill in a real-life scenario. However we know that if they do find themselves in the water accidentally, we have equipped them with the necessary skills that will help keep them safe.

One of our mums who is thankful for this teaching practice is Felicity (also a Turtle Tots swimming teacher). Felicity’s son Charlie, aged 3 years old, accidentally fell into the canal recently while playing on their houseboat.

Felicity recalls the story … every day after picking up Charlie from nursery he would be excited to get home, grab a stick and smash at the thick ice from our boat – it’s something we would playfully do together every day and he was never able to crack the ice.  On this particular day, the ice had started to melt and when he crouched down to start tapping, his stick went through the water, and he lost his balance and accidentally fell in – he managed not to go under and in the split of a second, he quickly spun himself around and held on to the side, just like he’d been taught in his Turtle Tots swimming lessons.

After the initial shock and lots of cuddles, I have since reflected on this and I’m of course very proud of Charlie for using these skills to save himself, but I’m equally amazed at his quick reactions – in the blink of an eye, he instinctively turned around and held on.  This shows to me, even as a teacher as I’ve not seen the skill used in a real-life situation before, that the repetitiveness of teaching ‘Ready Steady Splash, Hold On’ at every swimming class really works – it gets into their psyche from a young age and becomes second nature. It proves why teaching water safety (lifesaving) skills to children from a young age are so important.

Charlie, who started swimming lessons at the age of three months at Turtle Tots East Berks & South Bucks, is a superstar says Louise James, who manages the marketing there. She said: “Next time you go to your swimming lesson and wonder if repetition of turn around and hold on is worth it, always remember Charlie, who says yes, it is.”

Click here to view Charlie’s video.