Screaming Baby Displaying Amazing Floating Skills

I am Not a Proponent of the "Screaming Baby" Method of Teaching Swimming

Yet another video sent to me of a Screaming Baby with amazing floating skill, where they recover into a float position no matter what. Please Stop It!

Can I just say that I don't find these videos amazing at all. I can't work out why these swim teachers are not taken to court and prosecuted. It doesn't matter what the swim teacher, teachers a child it can be taught without the child screaming. Given that we know this for a fact; and not only have I shown this to be the case but teachers all over the world have shown it to be true, there is no justification for forcing a child to learn anything.

Yet there are still swim schools out there, that persist and somehow are allowed to continue this disturbing behavior (I can think of more descriptive language but I don't want to be subject to possible legal action) all under the guise of "it's OK because it works".

No Unhappy Babies Here

The latest video I was sent even resorted to subterfuge by putting gentle calming music on the video instead of the natural sound, to try and cover up the fact the child that the baby in the video is actually screaming. How do I know the child was screaming if I could not hear it? Because if you simply look, you can see the child with it's mouth wide open, shaking they are screaming so much.

I have covered this topic in passing in my articles Babies First Swimming Lesson: Prepare Your Baby and Babies, Breath Control & Reflex Action. But there is no need to take my word for it. Why not read what one of the top swim teachers has to say on the subject.

More than that I can't believe that swim schools that promote these videos are convinced that it makes children safer. Sure they are more weary around that water but it is not because they have a respect for the water or have a sense of water safety, it's because they are terrified by it or at the very least they hate it. Why wouldn't they as they were virtually tortured by it when they were taught to float.


I'm sure there are some children in these swim schools, that learn this technique without any fuss but if that is the case why don't they display those videos? Could it be that the best performers are those that are tormented into it?

I've seen videos of parents proudly praising this technique. Have they really thought about it? Do they really want to put themselves on record as being proud of the fact the they traumatized their child to achieve these results?

These screaming baby swim schools, proudly boast that they have never had a drowning and I would so like to see those statistics. Because as a life guard I know that the person who is most likely to get into trouble in the water is the person who is fearful of it.

I've taught children that have had traumatic experiences with other schools and had to help them to enjoy the water again. I've often wondered what happens to those that don't go on to other schools. Do some of them end up in adult swim classes because like many other adults they fear the water and realize that they need to deal with that now they are an adult?

In any case please stop sending me these videos. I don't like them. I don't believe them. I hate watching children being seriously upset. If you teach this method you need more and better teacher training and if you want to send your child to such swim schools don't bother to look for my approval.

Enjoy
   Richard

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