Betty Ambrose of Gloucester, veteran swim instructor and owner of Ambrose Aquatics, has taught thousands of young people to swim over the past 40 years.

She distills her experience into three principal observations that contribute to water safety and comfort in the watery environment:

An early introduction to the water;

Educating the parents as well as the child; and,

Continuing exposure to the water beyond a class of basics.

Early introduction

“I start my kids from 10 months to 18 months, depending on the season, of course,” said Ambrose. First, she has the child relax, and teaches her students to learn to immobilize themselves in the water.

“To learn to swim, you have to be comfortable in the water” so, “the younger the better” is her philosophy.

Educating the parents

After a few sessions, she said, the child is able to swim 10 feet or so from one parent to the other; remember, she keeps parents standing by for the lessons, in order to involve them in the ...