Can a 14 year old give swim lessons

[Anonymous]

My DC wants to give basic/intermediate swim lessons and was wondering if he was allowed to and how much he could charge. He is a competitive swimmer at RMSC and has made state level meets and almost national.

[Anonymous]

No. Huge liability for you

[Anonymous]

There are college kids who give swim lessons at our pool but I don’t think any of them are under 18.

[Anonymous]

No. Is he a life guard? I would only say yes if he is a coach for kids who know how to swim on a summer swim team.

[Anonymous]

Most pools wont let anyone just give lessons in their pools because they charge X amount and pay the instructor Y amount.

If you have your own pool though or he knows kids that needs lessons that have their own pool I see nothing wrong with this.
Good luck to him.

[Anonymous]

Is he life guard trained? Does he have a certificate that he passed a CPR course? Would you need insurance? You need to look into this more closely.

[Anonymous]

Back in the day, only people who passed the (I think nationally offered) “Water Safety Instructor” course were allowed to teach swimming.

However, the standard set of swimming classes/certificates seems to be gone these days…

[Anonymous]

No way. WAaaaaay too much risk and puts him in a terrible position. Kids can totally drown in water that isn't deep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No way. WAaaaaay too much risk and puts him in a terrible position. Kids can totally drown in water that isn't deep.

Oh really? What if he takes a CPR certification course? And what about babysitting then?

[Anonymous]

I would only allow a 14 year old to give lessons through a community center or organization. My 14 year old will get paid 17.50 an hour to teach swim lessons at the rec center this summer. Not DVM. Competitive swimmer since age 7 and he has sectional times but they hired him for more important reasons - he has a good attitude, he likes little kids, and he will show up on time. No one cares about how fast a kid is when they are teaching lessons to 5 year olds. They just care that the kid is trustworthy, patient, and fun.

[Anonymous]

I think the main issue is will the pool let you.

IMHO the way kids learn to swim, is time in the pool. Everyone with kids has observed a swimming success rate of 85% after a long vacation.

I'd do 10 day consecutive swim play sessions - it works and happy customers. Good luck finding a poool and require the parents to be there.

[Anonymous]

My kids took lessons from a HS teen on the swim team at the pool when they were young. My nieces also provided lessons as teens but they were lifeguards. So maybe it depends on the pool. But 14 might be a little too young even where it’s permitted.

[Anonymous]

He needs lifeguard training. CPR alone isn't good enough. He should work on getting lifeguard certified this summer and he might find work next summer.

[Anonymous]

He needs both lifeguard and swim instructor certified to do it legally and appropriately. He can volunteer coach on a summer team.

[Anonymous]

I remember getting my Jr Life Savings Certificate but couldn’t get the senior one, the one that matters, until I was 16 years old. Just because someone’s a good swimmer doesn’t meant they know how to teach very young children.