Every 8 weeks, British Swim School runs what they call “Clothing Week.”  It is called “Clothing Week” because swimmers are asked to bring regular, street clothes to simulate what it would feel like if they were to fall in an open body of water fully clothed.

Swimming lessons during this week focus on water survival and water rescue, an extremely important lesson for little ones.

Attached are some photos from the Sunrise, Florida British Swim School location during their last “Clothing Week.”

This summer has seen a dramatic increase in the number of recorded drownings across the country, according to a recent report by the USA Swimming Foundation.

As a result of the alarmingly high data, the Foundation has launched a nationwide campaign to raise water safety awareness and the importance of swimming lessons.

The “Make a Splash,” tour is traveling the country with Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones, the survivor of a near-drowning himself.  The tour will visit six United States cities this year to raise water safety awareness.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year more than 3,400 people drown in the United States, and more than 1 in 5 fatal drowning victims are children younger than 14-years-old.

Swimming schools like British Swim School work year-round to promote water safety and the importance of learning the back float.  British Swim School teaches children as young as 3 months old how to roll over and float, which would allow for a child, or anyone for that matter, to breathe normally and call for help.

British Swim School swim schools even offer what they call “Clothing Week,” where children come to their swim lessons fully clothed to simulate what it would feel like if they were to fall into a body of water fully dressed.

For more information on British Swim School or to find a location nearest you click here or call 800-495-1718.

Sixty-one-year-old Diana Nyad took the first stroke of her 103-mile swim between Cuba and Florida Sunday night at 7:45pm.

Nyad is a world-class swimmer, who was the first to swim around Manhattan island and who already swam the longest swim in history!  She’s been training for this 60 hour swim for the past two years.

She failed at the same attempt in 1978 because of weather but is trying the treck again saying that, “the 60′s are the new 40′s.”

If Nyad inspires you to take swimming lessons visit British Swim School for more information or call 1-800-495-1718.

Oprah is one of those women that seems like she can do pretty much everything!  Well, now we can add swimming to that list because she’s recently revealed that she is taking swimming lessons to fulfill her lifelong dream of learning to swim.

Oprah admits to having a fear of water but says that learning to swim has been a mission of hers for a long time now.

“I started out the week taking swimming lessons.  Moving beyond my amateur doggy paddle.  Learned the breast stroke,” Oprah said.

She continues, “Over a year ago I pulled a picture from O mag of a woman gliding through the water.  It was such a striking image of freedom and possibility I put it on my vision board.  Today when I finished my swimming lesson I passed the vision board lying on the table where it’s been since 2009.  I had an ‘aha’ moment.  I had just become that woman, gliding through the water!”

Plantation resident Laura Miller, like Oprah, recently learned to swim at 63-years-old.  Miller was taught by the swim experts at British Swim School and said that it was something she always wanted to do.

British Swim School has been working hard to raise awareness of the importance of learning to swim.  It’s great that a public figure, like Oprah, who has such a profound voice of reason in the media is speaking out about the importance of learning to swim.  It would be great if more celebrities would help in this quest.

To learn more about British Swim School click here, or call 1-800-495-1718.

On behalf of everyone at British Swim School across the nation we would like to congratulate Thomas N. of the Oak Brook location in Illinois for being a role model and inspiration to children and adults alike.

Known by his family and friends as TJ, this 8-year-old has been growing his hair long for quite some time now. When he heard about The St. Baldrick’s Foundation and what they do for children with cancer, he wanted to help.

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding research to find cures for childhood cancers.

Aside from raising over $500 TJ grew his hair long enough to donate to the charity organization, Children with Hair Loss.  This is a non-profit organization who takes the cut hair to make wigs for kids who have lost their hair due to sickness.

TJ is honoring 7-year-old Jacob K., a child that goes to his school who is battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

To make a donation click here.  To learn more about British Swim School and water safety click here or call 1-800-495-1718.

Last Friday night (7.9) a father climbed down the stone walls of a 40-foot well to help rescue his 3-year-old son after the boy fell in, fire officials in northeast Ohio said.

The Repository in Canton said the boy, only a mere toddler, feel through rotted plywood that covered the well near his grandfather’s home.

The little boy had been taking swim lessons and was able to stay afloat in 10 feet of water until his father reached him.  At this point, it wasn’t long before a rescue team arrived and rigged ropes to get the father and son out of the well to take them to safety.

The importance of water safety and teaching children at a young age to be able to float on their back is paramount, as displayed by this little boy who was able to save himself from drowning.

British Swim School has been dedicated to teaching water survival for over 30 years.  Their methods are based on teaching beginners of all age groups that the ability to float on their back is the most important survival skill of all.

To enroll your child in British Swim School swim lessons, click here or call 1-800-495-1718.

Drowning is the largest single cause of accidental death in children under 4 years of age. We lose more little ones in Florida to drowning than to home or road accidents. It is an appalling statistic, and no way includes the number of children that are near drowning and are permanently horrendously handicapped by a near drowning accident. The causes and the blame are often multiple, and in many cases misunderstood by both parents and caregivers.

I believe that all the following precautions must be taken as a matter of course. Vigilance near water at all times. Locks on doors, barriers around our pools, alarms wherever possible. No large toys around the pool itself. And finally, survival swimming skills. These precautions absolutely must take place, but I also believe that the basic cause of most accidents around water is due to much deeper rooted problems than failing to take all the above actions.

I believe that mostly they are caused by the belief that, and I quote many a parent/caregiver “I love my children therefore, it could never happen to me.”  I believe that not teaching them survival swimming skills is not laziness, nor connected to finances, but it is purely a belief that “it cannot happen to me!” I believe that, yes, they have busy schedules, and early swimming lessons may involve a adult getting wet, or an evening or weekend commitment but again, the true reason is the belief that, of course, “it couldn’t happen to me!”

Well sadly, it can and does happen to children of wonderful caring intelligent parents/caregivers, who absolutely adore their children. It happens to children of the very rich, the very poor, and all in-between. It happens to an only child and one in a large family, all with parents/caregivers who believe that “It cannot happen to me!”  I am certain that the belief “that it could never happen to me” is the basic cause of nearly all the drownings or near drownings. Yet unfortunately, it happens because we are human, and humans make mistakes. The gardener/pool guy who may leave a gate open is human. The Grandparent/Aunt/ Uncle who does not completely lock a door are human. The Dad who thinks that Mom is watching and vice versa is human. The older sibling, playing with a friend is human. All of the above care, they are just human, and indeed, it can happen to any parent/caregiver, we are all human too! continue reading

Q:When is the earliest I can take my baby for swim lessons, and what’s the best way for a baby to learn water survival or swimming skills?

A: The answer may vary slightly from teacher to teacher, but most agree that a gentle fun program has a great advantage if you begin when your little one has completed his or her first immunizations. Usually that is between three to six months.

Generally, you should begin with water survival classes. British Swim School’s programs are deeply committed to learning the back float, initially.  The belief is that once a child, however young, can float on his back, he has a far better chance of survival in the event of an accident. His airways are clear and he has the ability to shout, cry and be heard.

Drowning is often a silent killer since most victims have never been taught to roll over and float on their backs. Swim instructors working with parents can teach babies, some as young as 10 to 11 months, to roll over and float. With gentle, fun teaching, this is completely achievable. If water survival skills are taught first, babies learn the technique of propulsion and stroke improvement very quickly, and advance to be safe and happy swimmers.

Fear, which is a natural development in childhood, can be avoided by starting very young. In recent years the American Academy of Pediatrics did not accept that survival classes saved lives, but last year, due to the work of dedicated swim professionals, the Academy reversed its position.

There is a much preparation that can be done in the first three months by Mom or Dad in the tub. Gently trickling water on the face, eyes and ears and not wiping with a towel is enormously helpful, Splashing and making noise is great also.
Constant vigilance is vital at all times even when they can swim.

Start classes and you will be amazed at what can be achieved.

She never learned how to swim, and at 63, she took matters into her own hands. Last summer, Laura Miller, of Plantation, learned how to swim at the British Swim Schools in Sunrise, graduating from the program in December. Now at 64, she is taking a refresher course in a group class.

Why didn’t you learn to swim as a child?

I grew up in an apartment in Brooklyn; neither one of my parents swam. I only went to sleep-away camp twice for two weeks and [I didn't learn] there. I went to Brighton Beach with my parents, where the waves were very strong. Other than those few weeks at camp, I didn’t really have any instruction or role models. It’s something I always wanted to do, but I had a fear.

Did your children learn to swim?

Yes … they took professional swim lessons. My husband worked with them, too, but they were very young and I tried to not let them notice because I didn’t want them to develop a fear of the water. When my son got to be 5 or 6, he said, “Mommy, you don’t swim!” But I was very happy that my children learned to swim at a young age.

What encouraged you to learn?

I was at a point in my life where I wanted to do something different, I wanted to do something new. And also, for me, since swimming was the one thing that I had wanted to accomplish my whole life, it seemed natural that that would be the thing that I would tackle. I did call various facilities to find out information about them; the British Swim School seemed to be a very good fit for me.

continue reading

Rita Goldberg’s children’s book, “I Love to Swim” was featured on the Retail Therapy Lounge blog.  Check out what The Lounge had to say about Goldberg’s book on water safety.

continue reading