One mom shares how she found the right swim coach for her daughter and explains what to look for when choosing swimming lessons for your child.
by Jessica Tzikas
We all know that swim lessons are vital for children’s safety. The countless stories of tragedies occurring during fun summer days at the pool or on the lake are heartbreaking. But most often, they are preventable.¹ As a Florida mom, swim lessons are even more important because my kids are swimming in pools or the ocean all year round. I figured that getting swimming lessons would be easy, and within a few weeks, my little one would be swimming like a fish. Unfortunately, this was not our story — but not for lack of trying. Here, I’ll share my experience with finding the right swimming lessons for my daughter and offer tips on what to look for when choosing them for your own child.
When my oldest turned 2, I started doing research to get her into swimming lessons. I scoured mom groups and signed her up with a highly recommended swim teacher in the area. Friends of mine raved about this swim company, as well as countless strangers who vouched for their expertise. “My kid was diving into the deep end by the first week!” said one mom. “We used them, and all three of mine are now Olympic swimmers!” Okay, maybe not the last one, but you get the point. So, what could go wrong? I set up our first lesson and sighed a breath of relief, knowing my kid would be swimming safely in no time.
We had our first lesson, and she loved it! Things were great — until lesson two. Suddenly, my daughter was shrieking in the pool and terrified of getting in. It was disheartening to watch my water-loving little girl become so scared of the pool. But with the high accolades, I kept going. That is, until my daughter got so worked up that she puked all over the pool. This was my final straw and a hard realization that maybe this wasn’t the right choice for her.
Fast forward a year and three more failed swim teachers later, and finally, we found our match. Coach Chris was recommended to me by just one friend, not an entire mom group. But it was immediately clear that he was the right choice. After one lesson, my daughter never cried in the pool again. In fact, she begged to go to swim lessons and see Coach Chris. Now, after almost a year with him, she’s swimming laps and learning strokes with dreams of being on the swim team when she’s older.
All this to say — choosing the right swim teacher and swim lesson format isn’t as easy as logging into your local Facebook mom group. It may take some trial and error to find a teacher who fits. But to avoid my struggle, there are some things you may want to consider before choosing a swim teacher for your child.
Did you know there are different types of swim lessons you can choose from? There’s ISR (Infant Swimming Resource Lessons), which is for young children and made to teach your baby how to survive in the water. This is a type of lesson in which you may see a child learning to jump in fully clothed and roll onto their back. It’s geared toward survival in the pool and is for younger infants and toddlers — specifically children ages 6 months to 6 years old.^2,3,5
Then, there are the more traditional swimming lessons, which is what I opted for with my children. While these lessons also focus on safety (especially with younger children), they do this by teaching swimming fundamentals, like breathing techniques and kicks.³ Both types of lessons can be great options, and choosing the right one is often based on personal preference. (However, it’s worth noting that some parents are concerned about the potentially traumatic effects of ISR, though this criticism seems to be based on anecdotal evidence.⁶)
Whether you choose ISR or traditional lessons, the most important thing is finding the right teacher. All our kids are different, and in the same way that they all learn differently in school, they also learn differently in the pool. Our first swim teacher was a bit rough, which is great for kids who may need some toughness to be safe in the pool. But that toughness made my highly sensitive child wither in fear and had the opposite effect. Our current coach takes a much more gentle approach. He meets my daughter where she’s at and turns swim safety into fun.
To avoid the struggle we went through, consider chatting with potential swim instructors on the phone. You could even ask to attend another child’s lesson or do a trial class. This will give you a better idea of their teaching style and let you see how they run their class. Pay attention to how they speak to your child — are they more stern or laid back? Do they incorporate water toys and kickboards or teach without props? None of these options are right or wrong, but they can influence how your child learns. Some instructors also teach in groups, and some only do one-on-one lessons. Many children thrive having their peers beside them. Others may be too distracted when other kids are in the pool. Knowing how your child learns, and seeing it firsthand, will help you make the right decision.
Beyond personal preferences, there are some things that all parents should be sure of before signing their child up with a specific teacher, coach, or swim school. The biggest, of course, is their safety practices. Some non-negotiable questions to consider are:⁴
Regardless of the swim teacher you choose, putting your child in swim classes is a major accomplishment in itself. While it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be to find the right teacher, knowing my daughter feels safe and confident in the water is worth all the challenges we went through. Now, I just need someone to teach me the best way to get her out of the pool when it’s time to go home!
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1. Denny SA, Quan L, Gilchrist J, McCallin T, Shenoi R, Yusuf S, Weiss J, Hoffman B; COUNCIL ON INJURY, VIOLENCE, AND POISON PREVENTION. Prevention of Drowning. Pediatrics. 2021 Aug;148(2):e2021052227. doi: 10.1542/peds.2021-052227. Epub 2021 Jul 12. PMID: 34253571.
2. https://www.stepintoswim.org/
3. https://www.bearpaddle.com/
4. https://www.watersafetyusa.org/
5. https://www.isrswimbabies.com/
6. https://www.sunsationalswimschool.com/
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