This question will have a different answer for every person depending on factors such as age, ability, time commitment, and drive. It will likely take children above the age of 4 between three and six months to be a competent swimmer in most pools. Don’t wait to start swim lessons until a month before vacation! Additionally, learning to swim is like learning a language… if you don’t use it, you lose it! More frequent practice will result in quicker learning, and no practice at all (such as over the winter months) will likely result in your child needing to re-learn skills to be water competent the next season.

Currently I am only offering mobile lessons which take place at clients home pools. However, I am in process of finding a facility to rent pool time in a few days a week. If you are someone would be interested in signing up for swim lessons in the near future but do not have a home pool please message me so I can put you on a waitlist.

Water on the face and ears can be an unpleasant sensation for new swimmers. It is not a bad thing to have a natural aversion to water, that is your child’s instincts kicking in and telling them going under could be dangerous! However, it is a critical safety skill around water to be able to fully submerge and recover to the surface without panicking. Which is exactly what I am here to help teach. Over time I will encourage your child to get curious and explore submersions underwater, once they are confident in moving safely through the water, they might even find they love it!

Being able to swim without goggles is an important safety skill as it is not likely that your child will be wearing goggles if they accidentally fall in a body of water. However, if wearing goggles allows the child to begin enjoying swimming and being in the water, they can absolutely use them temporarily. It is important that the child understands the goal will be to perform key skills without goggles on before progressing to the next level.

No. There is no such thing as “drown proofing.” Even the most accomplished swimmers in the world are cautioned against swimming alone because of the risk. Swimming is an activity that comes with some inherent risk, as all physical activities do. The most important things we can do to prevent tragic accidents is to maintain excellent supervision over swimmers at all times, secure pool areas from unattended children, and equip them with swimming and water safety skills by enrolling them in swim lessons early.

Bath time is a great opportunity to encourage water confidence with your child in a setting which feels much safer for them than going straight into the big pool. Try blowing bubbles, putting their ears and face under the water, and experiment using their hands to make waves! Let the child lead and encourage their curiosity about how water works and how things move differently in the water than in air.