Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Survival Swimming?
The ability of a baby to float and breathe, regardless of the water’s depth, for an indefinite period of time. The most essential survival swimming skill we will teach your child is to roll from a face-down position in the water to a face-up independent back float. Infants and toddlers cannot raise their heads to take a breath. If your child falls face down into the water, knowing how to roll onto a face-up back float can save a life! If your baby is walking, then he/she can also learn to swim to the pool edge or steps, rolling over to breathe whenever air is needed. It’s not just about being comfortable in the water, it’s being able to swim and survive. Empower your child with the skills needed to safely enjoy the water! Discover the Difference today!
Why Infant Aquatics?
Children are naturally drawn to pools, hot tubs, lakes, ponds, streams, reservoirs and beaches. Despite a parent’s best efforts at supervision, it only takes one head turn before an accident has occurred. Teach your baby or toddler how to survive and rescue himself. Roll over breathing is a technique that many schools and learn-to-swim teachers don’t even attempt because it takes time, skill and patience. But once children learn to roll over to float, relax and breathe whenever air is needed, they can truly swim, stay afloat, conquer fear and experience the joy of swimming.
Reasons to Get Started
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You want your child to learn to swim and float in weeks, not years.
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You or your extended family live or vacation around backyard pools or natural bodies of water.
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You enjoy swimming and want your child to enjoy it as well.
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You would rather take control of your child’s safety than take chances.
Your Child Deserves the Lifetime Gift of Swimming Safety.
What Are Swim Float Swim Lessons Like?
Our instructors customize private lessons, gently encouraging each child’s unique needs and abilities. Infants younger than 1 year first learn to hold their breath underwater. Next, they learn to float on their backs. Then they learn to rotate from a face-down position to a face-up back-float. Children who are walking learn to hold their breath underwater and propel for a short distance on their tummies by kicking their feet. They learn to roll over and float on their backs to breathe, then flip back onto their tummies and swim again: Once children acquire their skills, instructors test them in clothes to better prepare them for unexpected falls into the water. During the final week, parents learn how to swim with their children and how to help them maintain and enhance their new skills.
How Long Does the Program Take?
Many kids are “swimming” after only a few lessons. A complete course of private lessons typically requires 5 weeks for infants, 5 weeks for toddlers - 5 years old. As a result of this program, your child will evolve from being completely helpless to being confident and capable of saving his or her own life in weeks, not years.
Are Advanced Lessons Available?
Upon completion of private lessons, we encourage students to continue their progress in Refresher/Maintenance lessons. Refresher/Maintenance lessons allow our students to retain their skills, gain confidence, develop a true love of swimming, and progress into stroke development.
Why Are Your Lessons More Expensive than Others?
Actually, they are not. Keep in mind, that you are buying private lessons for your child. Instead of your child being one of many, depending on the student / teacher ratio, our lessons are one-on-one with your child and the teacher being the only ones in the water. With our undivided attention, in just 3 – 6 weeks, your child will have a fighting chance to survive an aquatic accident, along with the fundamental skills to safely enjoy the water. No other program can come close to what we can teach your child in a matter of weeks. We encourage you to shop around, but compare the results achieved and the time frame involved, as much as pricing.
What Is the Parent’s Role?
Parents need to sit away from the pool side to observe your child during their lesson. Please do not start your child in this program unless you fully intend to complete the entire learning process. The reason Swim Shine Aquatics places this firm responsibility on you – is the first few weeks of training is a very critical time of adaptation to a new environment, instructor, and technique for you and your child. It can be a time of very low self-confidence in the water because the child has not had time to acquire and perfect his/her skills in the aquatic environment. If the child’s lesson is terminated during this time, the foremost thing the child will remember about the water is that lack of self-confidence in and around water. Our goal for children of all ages is to establish a relationship of trust between your child and the instructor. Once this occurs, your child will learn to trust him/herself in the water and real progress begins. It helps to encourage and praise your child while going though this experience. TRUST THE PROCESS
How Can You Teach a Baby Who Cannot Talk?
Swimming and floating are motor skills that can be taught to a baby through repetitive exercises, along with gentle verbal encouragement. We show the babies what we want them to do, and over a short period of time, they learn the skills necessary to survive. Be assured, we do not throw children into the water! Our goal is to make learning fun so that your child will love his water experience.
Will My Child Cry During Swim Lessons?
Some children will cry. Children cry for different reasons. First, they are in a new environment with a new person. Second, they are learning a completely new skill. Our goal is to get your child comfortable and happy as soon as possible. Once your child learns their new skill and gains confidence they will not cry.
Should My Child Wear A Swim Diaper?
Yes if your child is not potty trained. I recommend Splash About, iPlay, or others that have a tight waistband and legs. No disposable swim diapers or diapers are allowed in the pool!
Food and Drink Rules
The unique method of Infant Aquatic Survival is guaranteed to achieve quick results. To make things easier here are some common mistakes and tips to ensure you and your child get the most out of your lesson and have a good time. It's very common for a child to cry or become upset from taking in air due to inexperience holding their breath. No need to worry your instructor will promptly burp your child. Followed by a rest period until the student is comfortable and ready to swim again. Avoid eating before lessons to avoid uncomfortable and messy situations. A good rule of thumb is 2 hours. However some food like dairy and fruit can take longer to digest and cause discomfort for your child. Breast milk, rice milk, or cereal are good options if needed 1 hour before class.
Timely Lessons
Everyone's time is valuable, so lets make it easy for us all and do your best to show up 5 minutes before your child's lesson. Unfortunately life happens and if you are late, it's not a problem. The lesson will continue normally in the remaining allotted time.
Why We Recommend Private First
GROUP VS. PRIVATE
At the beginning stages of swimming, group lessons can be distracting and overwhelming to both teacher and student, and could compromise the safety of the lesson. As students move through our program, we slowly increase the lesson length and group size. Small groups provide an environment for the development of certain skills not otherwise obtained in a private setting such as lane etiquette, focused attention for an extended period of time, endurance, and confident solo swimming.