I’m reading a funny book with great ideas called “Bare Minimum Parenting: The Ultimate Guide to Not Quite Ruining Your Child.”

Although I haven’t finished it yet, the main point I’ve gotten so far is not to be an overachieving parent. The author, James Breakwell, explains that you can save a lot of time and energy by not trying so hard and not being competitive with other parents — and your kids will turn out just fine.

If you take that approach and transfer it to the swimming world, you may find the same results. Your kids will be happy, well-adjusted, self-sufficient and swim about the same or better than if you are overly involved.

Here are seven tips to try the less-is-more approach in swim parenting:

ONE

Our kids don’t need the best suit ever made at age 10, regardless of what other families are buying their kids.