Water has never been my friend. As a kid I almost drowned twice. One of the near experiments I don’t remember because I was too little, the other, every scary moment under the water is seared into my brain. It was more than 20 years ago, but I get sick to my stomach just thinking about it. That was the moment I truly walked away from the water. I never really learned to swim and didn’t spend much time in the pool after that.
When my daughter was born, I sound found I had a little fish on my hands. She couldn’t get enough of the water. We lived in South Texas where it is very, very hot. We spent almost every single day in our community pool. We we go over before lunch and swim for an hour and then come home for naps. I have fond memories of those days and hours spent in the pool just me and her and it is where I overcame my fear of the water. We love the pool these days, but the terror that I remember from that day in my childhood is still very real and something I never want my kids to experience. I am very focused on making sure they know how to save swim and save themselves in the pool, so they won’t ever have to experience what I did.
We recently got the chance to check out our local Safe Splash Swim School for a month. My daughter took group lessons and I have to say I was really impressed. I thought for my daughter to learn anything she would need a one on one class, but the teacher was really good at dividing the time and I think she actually learned a lot from watching the other kids too.
Even though my 7-year-old is a fish, I have never been able to get her to swim with her face under the water. Within one lesson her teacher had her swimming with her head under the water. Seriously, I want some of that teacher’s magic, I have been trying for years.
One thing I really liked about the class is that the teacher had all sorts of cute names and rhymes for things that my daughter was supposed to remember. It made it easy to know how to help her and practice outside of the class time. The teacher built trust very fast with my child and she knew how to help the kids feel safe in the water.
I was really impressed with the quality of the swim lessons and we plan on continuing even though our review period is over. I want her to feel safe in the water and I Safe Splash has really helped her!
Swimming is such an important skill to learn. And a good swim teacher is hard to find. Thanks for the great info on this school!
I am a firm believer in making sure kids know how to swim. Our daughters started lessons when they were babies, and now our grandchildren are doing the same. It is so sad to hear of how many children drown each year.
My kiddo is a fish too, actually her nickname. I think it is a great idea to get them exposed to the water early to help with any potential scares.
I am excited to get my kids into swimming lessons, so this information is wonderful. Thanks for sharing!
Swimming is such a great activity for kids! Fun and great for their health. 🙂
All this talk about swimming makes me even more ready for the Summer!
If you have a pool or live anywhere near water, it's vital that kids know how to swim and feel comfortable in the water. And what a great teacher – learning to put their head underwater is a big step!
This is a fantastic recipe, thank you for sharing.