Roughly 600 children drown each year either at the sea or in swimming pools and when you consider virtually every second house has a swimming pool (middle class) knowing how to swim is important. Over the last 5 weeks I have been taking my grandkids to swimming lessons because I do not want to be that person who never taught their kids to swim. The 30 minute lessons are roughly $8 per kid and would have taught them myself if out pool was repaired and is a project on hold for now. Every house we have had in Johannesburg has had pool problems and this is no quick fix with me thinking it needs a total rebuild and start over. Next years problem and at least by then the grand kids will be able to use it risk free.
With my kids they both knew how to swim by the time they were 5 and this was something I had to get done. A work colleague of mine at the time lost his son to a pool death and this is something that is going to haunt him for the rest of his life. Swimming pool tragedies can happen in an instant and at a family get together I was alert enough to dive in and grab someone's kid who had fell in the pool. No one was paying attention and were only aware after they saw me running and jumping in. Crazy how people are so oblivious and only start to pay attention seeing the dangers after a near scare happens.
My grandkids have had 5 lessons already and are at the point that if they fell in they could reach the side of the pool and climb out. The danger is not over and by the time they finish the next 4 lessons and the 5 day holiday camp in the first week of December they will be safe around a pool. The 5 days in a row with 30 minutes per lesson each per day will fast track them into being able to dive into a pool and swim without any assistance. I have noticed a huge change since day one and have been impressed with the progress thus far.
The December camp which I thought was a great idea is designed to fast track all the kids at the school so they are pool safe for the festive period whether at the beach or around a swimming pool. The beach the parents would obviously have to be conscious of where their kids are as they will not be strong enough to fight the ocean currents.
I am impressed with this kiddies swimming club and is a great business with 30 kids booked every half hour via 10 swimming teachers in the pool. After school times are busy and the swimming school is fully booked between 2.30pm and 6pm each day. What a great business they have and this would not cost a fortune to replicate this business model.
This is an indoor pool with a construction made from old shipping containers so during the summer months especially in the late afternoons when we have electrical storms the swimming school follows the weather app. Last week lessons were cancelled due to lightning and today the app had a reading of 12.4 and lessons would be cancelled if it reached 10. Lightning, metal and water is not a great mix and I can recall when I was a kid I used to swim in all weather and during storms it was more fun. I had no idea of the dangers back then as kids were kids and had the freedom to roam free and why we are probably more street wise today than the kids growing up. We all grew up with the outdoors as our play ground and todays kids have been robbed of that way of life.