Today we are aiming our spotlight at Nadyne Siegel Brown, owner/operator and head swim instructor of SwimKids of Georgia, Inc.
So how did Nadyne got into this line of work? She used to watch her 18 month old son with fascination and trepidation when he had his survival swim lessons, and felt really proud for what he was achieving. Watching the instructor 5 days a week for 6 weeks and how she taught him with patience, love and determination was incredible.. Nadyne was hooked. She thought to herself, she may not cure juvenile cancer, heart disease, or diabetes but she can definitely teach a child to rescue themselves in the case of an aquatic accident.
Nadyne described Infant Swimming as the ability of an infant, toddler or small child to kick and propel horizontally through the water while holding their breath, then rotating onto their back for rest and to breathe and continue this sequence until they are able to reach an exit point of a pool or other body of water, or to simply float until rescued, by one's self, without the use of any floatation devices. Infants as young as 6 months of age can be taught to roll from a facedown position to their backs and float for an indefinite amount of time. Once a child is walking they can master the entire repetitive swim, roll to a float and swim again sequence.
The purpose is life-saving. If a baby was to fall into the water they could roll onto their back and float until
rescued or swim to the stairs, ladder or side of the pool and get themselves out. Research has shown that Children that start to swim at an early age have better cognitive skills, are more goal driven, score higher on exams and are more likely to get into a Ivey League School; just to name a few random advantages. Above and beyond, learning to swim at a very young age could save your child's life.
Nadyne's told us about her greatest achievement as an instructor/swimmer: "Building a Swim school and making survival swimming more available to the public. As well as having parents tell me that the skills I was able to teach their infants, toddlers or small children saved their lives".
She thinks that the biggest mistakes parents make is not knowing CPR and as far as swim lessons; the use of floatation devices and waiting until the child is "older" to put them in swim lessons. If they can roll on the ground, they can roll and float in the water; if they can walk they can swim.. On the same note she thinks that parent should acknowledge their children's abilities and how smart and perceptive they are. She thinks that we should all let go a bit and let our kids fail so they can figure out how to succeed, without projecting our anxieties onto them.
What Nadyne hopes to achieve for this year? Well here are a few things to show you how devoted she is:
One less drowning;
More public drowning prevention education and awareness;
Making parents aware of survival swimming and the fact that it does save lives;
Launching The Survival Swim Development Network, a worldwide non profit dedicated to drowning prevention, awareness and education. The SSDN is comprised of likeminded survival swim instructors worldwide that are dedicated to drowning prevention, awareness and education.
Here are some of Nadyne's best tips for parents who are planning to enrolling their babies at SwimKids of Georgia, Inc.:
"Our goal is to make your child successful in learning to rescue themselves in the event of an aquatic incident . Everyone has their own learning style and children are no different so the more we know about your child the more attainable that goal is.
Read the parent handbook and then read it again.
Know going in to survival swim lessons that your child is going to cry.. You would too; it's brand new, it's overwhelming, it's challenging. Once the routine is established and swimmer and instructor have a chance to bond, it will get much, much easier for everyone. And by the end of the six weeks they will cry when it's time to get out of the pool!
Never hesitate to ask questions or voice concerns. There is no "stupid" question and most concerns can be tackled if we know what they are.
This is a joint effort , you have brought your child to SwimKids for a reason, so we can teach them how to rescue themselves if the need arises. We are a team, your job is to be the cheerleader and support your child's successes, encourage them to keep trying, letting them know how hard they are working and how proud you are. Your approval is the most important thing on earth to them. You are also at SwimKids to learn how to handle your swimmers in the water once they are skilled and ready to go solo."
To end this interview, Nadyne shares some other things about her and her school:
"SwimKids of Georgia and our staff are there because we believe in equipping children with the life saving skills
of survival swimming. We are always learning new and innovative ways of teaching these skills, and we believe in continuing aquatic education.
Our mission is to provide the safest and most effective lessons in a warm and caring environment. We want your children to learn these life saving skills quickly, so they can move on to recreational as well as competitive swimming. Our goal is to foster a love for swimming.
Everyone on our teaching staff is highly trained.
Our pool is saline and we use both UV and ozone for sanitation and disinfecting and pool temperature as well as the air temperature is 91 degrees.
We always strive to exceed your expectations with great customer service, a clean and friendly environment and most importantly .. The best, safest and most effective swim lessons possible."
For more information about Nadyne Siegel Brown and SwimKids of Georgia, Inc., please visit their website at http://www.swimkidsofgeorgia.com call at 404-353-8329 or email at [email protected]
