Swim by American Red Cross is a brand new app for parents who want to track how their kids are doing with their swimming lessons. Swim is heavily focused on gamification and badges. In fact, the entire process of learning to swim is broken down into different levels. When your kid learns a specific skill or passes a milestone under water, he/she gets to check it off and can also unlock special badges. Once your kid has achieved the given skills, you can tap the big green ‘Earned it’ button to award him the level badge.
The instructions and milestones in the app are incredibly detailed and you can’t expect anything less from Red Cross. It’s still not as detailed as their website, which is filled with pictures and detailed descriptions.
Starting with Preschool Aquatics Level 1, your kid can start learning the basics of swimming. By tapping the ‘Learn it’ button, you get a list of all the skills and activities your kid can aquire in the particular level. As the lessons progress, you can tick them off to track his progress. Swim will also provide the parents with some safety tips and recommend the nearest swimming class depending on your location. As your kid progresses through the lessons and milestones, you can award him level and sub level badges, all of which are shareable through the default Android sharing menu.
The hardest part to figure out when you are just starting to learn anything, is how to proceed. The varied and freely available information on the internet makes the process even harder. This app on the other hand provides you with detailed, step by step instructions on how to guide your kid through the waters. If you are looking for a bit more scientific approach to swimming lessons for your kids than what your parents probably did – pushing you in the water with floaters on, Swim by American Red Cross is the app for you. It is available for Free on Google Play.