Swim safety on parents radar

Water baby: Kingscliff Pool offers swimming classes for children as young as six months old.

WITH summer fast approaching, Tweed parents are being encouraged to teach their children about water safety.

Kingscliff pool swimming teacher Kaylene Simpson believes every child should learn how to swim.

“It is important for kids to learn how to swim because it prevents drowning,” Mrs Simpson said.

“At the Kingscliff Pool we offer classes for children as young as six months old, and our idea for the class is safety first.”

Mrs Simpson said swimming classes allowed children to familiarise themselves with the feeling of being in the water.

“At the classes kids learn to familiarise themselves with the water, to respect the water, how to hold their breath and they learn to be confident in the water,” she said.

“We hold swim clinics during the summer holidays and it is ideal for kids to come every day.

“Safety and survival skills are part of the program at the Kings- cliff pool.”

Mrs Simpson has been a swimming teacher for 15 years and said it was never too late to teach kids how to swim.

“No matter what their age or skill level is they can always be taught to swim,” Mrs Simpson said.

“It is all about teaching kids to be safe and comfortable in the water.”

Mrs Simpson said Tweed children needed to know how to swim because of the environment they lived in.

“Tweed is surrounded by water, with the river and the ocean, which is why it is important to teach kids about water safety,” she said.