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My three year old and one year old started taking swim lessons from Carla Reynolds with Aquatic Adventures about a month ago. She's been great and my kids are doing really well. She's teaching them water survival skills now, but as they learn those they will move on to actual swimming. She teaches at the Courtyard Marriott near Pelham. She's starting her summer session in a week.
It's hard to go wrong with the Y when it comes to swimming lessons.. I sent my nephews to the one in Laurens years ago, and I learned from the Y in Greenwood 35+ years ago. The rates are good, and they have multiple level classes, and are very good with all ages and fear levels.
I like to know the answer to this too. In particular, someone who could come to a private pool and teach three 2-year olds.
It is great to get kids into swim lessons because it is the leading cause of accidental death in kids under 14.
Everyone please understand that kids under 3 most likely aren't going to be able to swim on their own after two weeks of swim lessons. Kids that can normally are in the water almost everyday or very regularly even during winter.
Just get your kids into swim lessons! It could save their life.
We took our 3 1/2 year old daughter to the Y for two 4 weeks sessions. She's not a fish by any means, but she's competent with a float of some kind on. She can make her way around the pool (about 60 yards from end to end) on her own and while she still wants us around, she doesn't feel like she needs to hang on us at all times anymore.
Its a little nerve-wracking when the kid, who can't float on their own, is sitting on the side of the pool without a float on (they thought she was advanced for her class, I disagreed), but they did a good job of giving them confidence, which is the most important part at that young an age. The important thing is they're confident in the pool and can at the very least move themselves around with their legs/arms by themselves without being terrified every time their head goes under water.
Plus they get to meet new kids and jump in a pool... which I think every kid loves. And you actually get to interact with other parents at your neighborhood pool when its all done, instead of having to hang over your child so they don't sink like a stone.
We took our 3 1/2 year old daughter to the Y for two 4 weeks sessions. She's not a fish by any means, but she's competent with a float of some kind on. She can make her way around the pool (about 60 yards from end to end) on her own and while she still wants us around, she doesn't feel like she needs to hang on us at all times anymore.
Its a little nerve-wracking when the kid, who can't float on their own, is sitting on the side of the pool without a float on (they thought she was advanced for her class, I disagreed), but they did a good job of giving them confidence, which is the most important part at that young an age. The important thing is they're confident in the pool and can at the very least move themselves around with their legs/arms by themselves without being terrified every time their head goes under water.
Plus they get to meet new kids and jump in a pool... which I think every kid loves. And you actually get to interact with other parents at your neighborhood pool when its all done, instead of having to hang over your child so they don't sink like a stone.
The person teaching the class is there for a reason. I'm sure he/she has taught a few more kids to swim and knows what works and what doesn't. If they are that young, they are not going to be far enough from the rest of the kids that they wouldn't be there quicker than either the parent or lifeguard.
To your second statement, nothing is worse than a parent that doesn't watch their kid and the lifeguard has to keep pulling them out or yelling at them for being in a place they shouldn't. The lifeguard is there for safety not a babysitter.
And I hope this float you use isn't arm floaties, because those are the most useless thing to put on your kid. They completely immobilize the most important body part in swimming and it encourages the wrong type of kick (bicycle instead of a flutter). Also, trying to teach a kid to be horizontal in the water after years being vertical with arm floats can be very difficult. They can easily pop off when kids jump off the side of the pool and bam their useless.
<steps off soap box>
Not meaning to preach, but this topic is very near and dear to my heart.
We took our 3 1/2 year old daughter to the Y for two 4 weeks sessions. She's not a fish by any means, but she's competent with a float of some kind on. She can make her way around the pool (about 60 yards from end to end) on her own and while she still wants us around, she doesn't feel like she needs to hang on us at all times anymore.
Its a little nerve-wracking when the kid, who can't float on their own, is sitting on the side of the pool without a float on (they thought she was advanced for her class, I disagreed), but they did a good job of giving them confidence, which is the most important part at that young an age. The important thing is they're confident in the pool and can at the very least move themselves around with their legs/arms by themselves without being terrified every time their head goes under water.
Plus they get to meet new kids and jump in a pool... which I think every kid loves. And you actually get to interact with other parents at your neighborhood pool when its all done, instead of having to hang over your child so they don't sink like a stone.
I agree that this post is filled with red flags.
The only "float of some kind" of any use is a full-on approved life jacket. The rest are just plain dangerous. They make the parent and the child overly confident. If it's something you have to blow up with your mouth, throw it in the trash.
Which gets to my next thought. Confidence in such a little swimmer is only good if it's paired with competence. They get all excited about jumping in and testing their boundaries. And if they still need flotation assistance, they'll no doubt forget and jump in without flotation on one day and be in real trouble.
It is NEVER appropriate to leave a 3 and a half year old child who needs flotation unattended so you can chat with your friends.
NEVER. EVER. NEVER. That's a recipe for disaster.
You should actually be within reach of them at all times, much less paying complete attention to them.
This subject is also near and dear to my heart, and I will be preachy to anyone I can about it. I have witnessed a lifeless toddler being pulled from a pool, and many more near misses. They ALL involved parents not paying attention and some sort of "floatie" that the parent was depending on.
My comment about being advanced was that they had a group of 4 three-four year olds sitting on the edge of the pool while they taught another child to swim 10-15 feet away. As a parent who knows their kid has no idea how to float without a flotation device, its pretty easy to see why I would disagree or be nervous.
Who said anything about leaving a child unattended. Maybe your child didn't hang all on top of you prior to going to swim class, but its nice having moments where they aren't attached to your legs or hanging around your neck the entire time they're in the pool.
While I enjoy you judging, I actually watch my child at all times. Most of the time I'm the person who has to play with other 3-4 year olds because their parents are too busy sunning. I spent half an hour last week alternating between my child and another child dunking me in the water and tossing them around while the other child's mother just laid in the sun. I just enjoy that my child can play safely 3-5 feet away while I carry on a conversation with an adult I actually like, instead of catching every fifth word and destroying my neck because they only game my daughter can safely play is climb on daddy's neck and have him take me around the pool. Now, if my daughter wants to make her way farther than a few feet from the steps, then I cut off the conversation and make sure I'm around to help her.
Also, I hate arm floats and never understood how they really helped that much. We have 3 different types of floats/jackets. 1 waist/stomach belt with arm floats, a full life jacket, and a float that is basically a life jacket that's different. I've literally never let my daughter in a pool without these floats, even when she wants to sit in a small princess innertube.
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