Goldfish Swim School Promotes Independence
We have been attending swim lessons at Goldfish Swim School for more than two months. With each class, I see my daughter become more comfortable in the water. As her comfort level increases, so does her willingness to try new skills and demonstrate greater independence in the water. Goldfish Swim School does an excellent job of fostering a child’s growing independence by providing opportunities to practice swimming skills, be proud of her accomplishments and carryover learned skills.
In order to promote independence Goldfish Swim School will teach your child to:
Respect the Water: As your child learns to be independent, it is also important to learn to be safe. Water can be fun, but it is also important to learn how to be safe in and around the water. Goldfish Swim School does a wonderful job of teaching safety awareness in and around the water starting at a very early age. This can be seen from making sure children are walking (not running) on the pool deck and teaching your child to find the pool wall immediately after falling into the water.
Relax in Water: Relaxing in the water allows your child to learn to move naturally in the water. Moving naturally in the water allows your child to learn to float and eventually learn swim strokes. When we first attempted the sea otter float with my daughter, she tensed and crunched up to keep her head out of the water. With the strategies implemented by Goldfish instructors, my daughter now leans back on her own to position herself in the relaxed sea otter floating position.
Let Go: The end goal for all of these swimming lessons is for your child to be an independent swimmer, right? At 14-months old, I have a hard time letting go of my daughter anywhere, let alone in the water. Goldfish Swim School provides moments for you to “let go” of your child and allow them to be safely independent in the water. These moments include having your child sit next to you on the pool ledge, glide a very short distance from your arms to the instructors arms, and have them crawl/walk across a floating mat (pictured below).
Be Proud: Goldfish Swim School brings awareness to your child’s individual accomplishments. This is demonstrated in the lesson by verbal praise, “Yay, you did it!” and applauding. Your child will periodically receive a ribbon when bigger accomplishments have been met (face in water, floating on back, etc.). Goldfish does a wonderful job of building your child’s confidence, which will in turn make them more likely to attempt new skills. Pictured below is my daughter receiving a ribbon for floating on her back like a sea otter. She was so happy to receive her ribbon!
Carryover Skills: One of the biggest carryovers of skills from swim lessons to home has been seen with an increased comfort and independence during bath time. My daughter used to stand up and attempt to climb out of the bath tub. She was not a big fan of having water poured on her face or in her hair, either. Since participating in swim lessons at Goldfish Swim School, however, my daughter now imitates “swimming” on her belly in the tub and allows her hair to be rinsed out with water. She no longer screams when water runs down into her face and is even beginning to pour water on her own head to rinse out her hair. Bath time has become one of her favorite events of the day!
Learning to swim is an important skill that can potentially save your child’s life. Swim lessons at Goldfish Swim School consist of teaching your child water safety skills and swimming techniques, and are provided by a knowledgable and welcoming staff. Learning these safety skills and swimming techniques at a young age, provides your child the foundation to be a safe and independent swimmer.
The Details: We attend lessons at the Goldfish Swim School in Dublin, Ohio. Check out this link for location, address/telephone details and how to sign up for lessons.
Disclaimer: We were provided free swimming lessons by Goldfish Swim School in exchange for collaborating blog posts. All thoughts and opinions are my own.