Health & Fitness
Summer is Upon Us! Can Your Child Swim?
Why is it so important to teach a child to swim? Learn more about this important life skill and find an American Red Cross certified location near you.
Teaching a child to swim is an important life skill for people of all backgrounds. In the Jewish faith, teaching a child to swim is considered a necessity to fulfilling a parents’ responsibility to his/her child. In the Talmud we read,
"The parent is bound to teach their children a craft. Some say, also to teach them to swim."
-B. Talmud, Kiddushin 29a
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Why is it so important to teach a child to swim that it is recorded in Jewish tradition? Some say the answer is obvious; it’s important to be safe near the water. Others suggest that the answer is figurative; to grow up strong and confident, children need to try new things and take risks under the watchful eyes of a responsible adult.
Whatever the reason may be, learning to swim is an invaluable lesson that makes a child (and parent!) comfortable and confident in the water. With the summer season upon us, there is no better, or more important, time to provide your child the opportunity to learn to swim.
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Each year the Shaw JCC teaches nearly 1000 children to swim utilizing the American Red Cross program and American Red Cross certified instructors. The American Red Cross Swimming and Water Safety Skills Chart progresses from parent and child aquatics to preschool aquatics to learn-to-swim classes. The parent and child aquatics builds basic water safety, helping infants and young children ages 6 months to about 3 years become comfortable in the water so they are ready and willing to learn to swim. Preschool aquatics gives young children ages 4 and 5 a positive, developmentally appropriate aquatic learning experience that emphasizes water safety, survival and foundational swimming concepts. Learn-to-swim classes are based on a logical, six-level progression that helps swimmers ages 6 to adult develop water safety, survival and swimming skills.
To find the location of Red Cross Authorized Provider near you, visit www.redcross.org/oh/akron/local-programs/aquatics. For more information on Red Cross Authorized swim lessons at the Shaw JCC, call 330-835-0058 or visit www.shawjcc.org.