There’s no question that kids need to learn to swim. Drowning is the leading cause of death for children aged five and under, and the majority of these tragedies are preventable. Teaching kids to swim at a young age helps to keep them safe around water!
Here in Arizona, where every other house has a pool (and every day in the spring, summer, and most of the fall is swim-worthy), it’s especially important to teach kids and parents about basic water safety.
This summer I had the opportunity to work with America’s fastest growing provider of private swim lessons, Sunsational Swim School. They came to our own pool (my parents’ that is!) to give my little ones some private lessons, in exchange for this post sharing their services with my readers.
Our kids are at all different levels as far as swimming ability right now. Carter can swim on his own for short distances, Vanessa can get around in a swim vest, but not on her own yet, and Harrison does not know how to swim yet, with or without a vest.
Crystal, who came out to teach our lessons, is not only a skilled swim instructor, but she’s also a pediatric nurse! Definitely felt comfortable having her in the water with the kiddos! And she was able to bring the best out of them.
Carter went first, and she got him to set aside the nose plug and get used to blowing out of his nose while swimming with his face in the water.
By the end of the lesson, he was swimming the length of the pool!
Vanessa was up next. She was a little nervous without her swim vest, but Crystal made her feel comfortable, and before long she was doing the “superman” coast to and from the steps, with her face in the water!
Kids do learn fast, and Crystal assured us that Vanessa would be swimming with just a few more lessons.
For a girl who does not like getting her face wet, she sure was getting good at putting her face in the water!
Harrison was the tough one! I knew he might have an issue getting into the water with someone he didn’t know, and sure enough, he was not pleased. But Crystal was patient and chatted about his toys for a bit before taking him in the water.
With me there, Harry kept wanting to reach for me, but as soon as I hid inside, he wasn’t distracted and starting giggling and letting Crystal spin him around in the water. I snuck a few pics from afar.
Even kids much younger than Harrison can learn to swim. Sunsational will work with kids as young as 6 months, to help them get used to how to handle themselves in the water.
Accidents around water can happen so quickly, so it’s so important to prepare kids to be confident swimmers. The more comfortable they are in the water, the more fun everyone can have!
Sunsational Swim School has a great program for teaching kids of all ages. Be sure to check out their website to “bring the swim school to your pool!”
