Swim school teaches babies how to float

By Vanessa Nason GLOBE CORRESPONDENT  OCTOBER 12, 2016

Babies a mere 3 months old are learning how to paddle themselves onto their backs, floating with their heads above water. Toddlers — fully clothed — are jumping into pools, learning to get accustomed to the heaviness they feel as their shoes, shirts, and jeans fill with water.

Drowning is the number one cause of accidental death for kids age newborn to 4, said Andy Thompson who, with his wife Tapanee, began operating an outpost of British Swim School at Stoneham’s LA Fitness on June 1.

The goal is to teach kids water safety and survival skills.

The swim school has been operating internationally for 35 years. At its first Greater Boston location, the Thompsons are holding “Splash-A-Palooza” — a try-it-out water sensory class — Tuesdays at 10 a.m. for children under 2 and their parents.

During clothing week, older students “simulates the real experience” of accidentally falling in a body of water, said Tapanee Thompson. It’s part of the school’s goal: To equip them with the necessary knowledge to prevent drowning.

“It’s just a shocking thing these days that people, especially in New England, aren’t motivated to get proper aquatic skills taught to their kids,” said Andy Thompson. He said 70 percent of drowning deaths nationwide occur when one or more parent is present, and in 75 percent, children are missing from sight no more than five minutes.

The school promotes parental awareness and vigilance around water. The Thompsons give water safety talks to parents at libraries, daycare centers, and other places. The school also issues Water Watcher Cards: lanyards worn around the designated pool watcher’s neck. When the parent or another appointed pool watcher must step away, they hand off their lanyard to someone else. This ensures someone is always responsible for watching what happens in and around the water.

The Thompsons have only been in business for three months, but already have a new goal in mind. After reading a Globe article that reported immigrants are more likely to drown in Massachusetts, they decided they wanted to expand their school to focus on this vulnerable group.

“We want to push [our classes] out to everybody, and we want to do charity and give free lessons [to those who can’t afford them], but we have to find more pools,” said Tapanee Thompson.