A day on Perranporth beach, Cornwall, normally means a great deal of sunbathing and a quick dip in the waves – but not for my seven-year-old daughter Amelie and me: our morning was more like a trip to the gym and a surf lesson all in one. We were trying our hand at surf lifeguarding, on a course offered by Surf Life Saving GB in partnership with the holiday company Cottages4You, as an introduction for young children to beach safety and as a confidence builder for any kid spending time in the sea.
A complete water baby, Amelie had often asked what lifeguards do when they're not riding around the beach on their quad bikes, and this was her chance to find out. Once we had our wetsuits and rash vests on, Nigel Bowden, a local coach, gave our group of about 20 a brief overview of different types of waves, currents, rip tides, surfboard types, boats and the local lifeguarding crew.
Before the kids got too fidgety, we ran to the beach for some warm-up dashes up and down the sand, and running into the chilly surf kicking our legs high – we looked and felt rather comical, but this, we learned, is the way the tough guys do it.
We raced in teams of two, crawling on our tummies through the surf and practising dolphin diving, bodysurfing and – the really fun bit – lying on and paddling a rescue board. As Amelie was one of the smallest (and I was one of the oldest) we were delighted to come sixth.
We were not going to be saving any lives in the course of a short morning. However, we did learn some basic beach safety skills and got an overall appreciation of how fit lifeguards have to be. It's not all grabbing damsels in bikinis; they need a supreme level of fitness to get out through the surf quickly and safely to where the trouble is. Everyone who took part got a Surf Life Saving Great Britain Junior Lifeguard certificate, and kids who were inspired by the taster course can go on to take further classes as part of the organisation's Nipper education programme. Who knows – they may end up as volunteer or professional lifesavers when they're older, vital roles. It was incredible how such a serious subject was made so much fun.
• Surf Life Saving GB (slsgb.org.uk/youngsurflifesavers) runs Junior Lifeguard courses through the summer for seven to 14-year-olds in various locations around Britain at an average cost of £15pp – just turn up and take part. Accommodation was provided by Cottages4you (0845 268 1560, cottages4you.co.uk); Trescowe Farm Barns in Pendarves near Penzance (ref: 25335) sleeps six and costs £860 for a week from 19 July
