If your child loves water, encourage them to start swimming as soon as they can kick around. PHOTO | FILE
Swimming is not just a fun recreational activity, it is also an important life skill that might come in handy when least expected.
With all the tech gadgets available to children today for recreation, chances of them going outdoors and learning how to swim are slim unlike several years back when an outing to Splash Waterworld or to any swimming pool was seen as a great treat.
James Muiruri, the director of Swim Africa, says that swimming is one of the skills that every parent needs to impart on their children.
“It is a life skill that comes in handy whether you constantly travel across water bodies or not. You might have a backyard pool that a child might be curious about and which they may attempt to dive into without adult supervision which can be tragic. Even when on holiday, children have been known to dive into the hotel swimming pool or go for a swim in the ocean without a life guard around or anyone who can swim, with tragic results,” he says.
“So just how early can you start teaching your child to swim?” I ask Muiruri.
“As soon as they learn how to kick their legs,” says James, urging parents not to wait if their children are keen on water from a young age.
“From an early age, a child knows their abilities and limitations in water. All they need is to be trained on how to keep safe in water. The lessons also create a routine system for them and they get to learn that life’s challenges can be overcome.”
Swim Africa is among independent providers within the city who offer swimming instructions to children and adults to improve their swimming abilities. The youngest child they have taken for training, James says, is an eight-month-old baby who is well on the way to doing perfect backstrokes by his third birthday.
Located off Brookside Drive in Westlands, they offer a “learn to swim programme” focused on creating professional swimmers who can competitively excel in the sport. “The pool is heated throughout the year because of the chilly Nairobi weather so we do not lose up to four months due to bad weather,” he says.
The pool is also covered which helps avoid overexposure to the sun when it is hot. James notes that most of the children they have trained have gone on to excel in the sport at county, national and even regional levels.
Parents who take their children to schools where swimming is part of the co-curricular activities have the benefit of having them learn the skill as part of the schools’ games routine.
Swimming gala
Most schools have their own pools and train the children to participate in interschool swimming competitions as well as other swimming galas.
Institutions like Swim Africa, where parents can have their children instructed for 10 lessons at Sh12,000 or Sh23,000 for three months of four weekly lessons, provide a good alternative for parents keen on the sport.
Swim Right Kenya also offers one-on-one lessons for children in a heated indoor pool. They offer classes for children as young as six months who normally have a parent with them in the water. Children above two-and-half years have individual lessons with five sessions costing Sh7,500.
Ruth Muhia, the manager of Ace Sports Club, says they organise classes for children based on their skills and not their age.
“On average, the youngest children we admit are two-year-olds though there are others who start at a much earlier age,” she says.
They offer beginner, intermediate and advanced classes that teach children how to float, lifesaving and surface diving skills. Beginner lessons are tailored to build confidence while in the water, intermediates are mainly taught the fundamentals of stroke technique and slowly developed into graceful, efficient swimmers.
Heated pool
“We offer our classes at the Lavington Montessori school and the pool is normally heated during the cold season,” she says. The classes run from 8.30am to 5pm from Monday to Friday and start at 10am on Saturday. Ten sessions for your child will cost you Sh9,000.
Sadili Oval Academy in Langata offers swimming classes for children as young as two years. Each individual session costs Sh1,200 but group sessions can be negotiated down to about Sh500 per child.
The sports academy has two pools that they use for their instructions – one is designated for toddlers and another for adults though proficient child swimmers can use this under supervision.
Majority of the independent swimming training institutions offer holiday swimming boot camps which are another alternative for interested parents whose children normally have busy schedules during school days.
The boot camps are often held during the April and August holidays though there are some institutions who offer accelerated training right before the Christmas festivities.
But it is not just training schools that offer such lesson. There are hotels with heated pools and trainers as well. Not all hotels have trainers and lifeguards on standby so it is important to consult with the management beforehand.
Hotel InterContinental maintains its three-metre swimming pool at temperatures of 29 degrees centigrade. They charge Sh800 for adults and Sh400 for children per day.
Hilton Hotel charges a daily fee of Sh1,500 for adults and Sh800 for children under 12 years. At Windsor Golf Hotel, adults pay Sh750 per day while children pay Sh500 to swim in the 20-metre long pool.
Panari Hotel on Mombasa Road offers access to their 18-metre length indoor pool for Sh1,200 per day for both adults and children. Serena Hotel, the Norfolk, Laico Regency and Safari Park Hotel also have heated swimming pools where parents and children can go swimming throughout the year.
