Just a positive attitude, a towel, and two reusable swim diapers if your child is still working on potty training.

Survival Swim: Lessons are 10 minutes per day, Monday-Friday for approximately 6 weeks or you may choose to do lessons Monday-Thursday for approximately 7 weeks. Yes, this means lessons are 4- 5 days per week. Consistency is the key to success in this program.

Splash & Dash: Classes are based on 30-minute time slots. Depending on each day’s physical and psychological progress, a lesson may run about five minutes longer or shorter. Kids may get tired, be on the verge of a breakthrough, or simply be having so much fun that we adjust slightly—but the foundation remains a half-hour session.

Survival Swim: This program is suitable for infants and toddlers. Infants may begin lessons as early as 6 months old as long as they are sitting independently.

Splash & Dash:  Children preschool aged and older. Younger kids can begin swimming earlier, with our Survival Swim program to learn the essential safety skills, but school aged children is a more realistic point for developing genuine swim skills and safety awareness.

Survival Swim: Lessons are taught one-on-one. Lessons will be customized to your child’s needs and aquatic experiences through daily (Monday-Friday) lessons and your child’s progress will be discussed with you as we go.

Splash & Dash: Three swimmers per class. A small group creates a social environment where children have fun, bond, and learn from one another. On the last day, when parents join in the pool, there are often more than three kids (plus parents) enjoying the water together.

Survival Swim: Infants 6 months and up who are able to sit independently, but not yet walking, learn to roll onto their back and float. Toddlers who are walking well will learn to swim and float short distances to reach either the edge of the pool or the steps.

Splash & Dash: In 10 days, many children are leaping off the edge and swimming the length of the pool by the end. At minimum, every child will be able to swim back and forth from parent to parent, reach the edge of the pool, and either swim to the stairs or walk along the side using their hands to get there.

Absolutely not. I’ve heard of this approach but have never done it. I’ve only seen it on social media. Kids do need to try new and challenging things, but bullying or frightening them into swimming is unnecessary.

My job is to facilitate the discovery of each child’s ability to control their body in the water. Children learn by feeling, exploring, and experiencing. The water gives immediate feedback: their body responds, their instincts begin to take over, and little by little, confidence replaces uncertainty.

My role isn’t to force a child to swim. It’s to create a safe, supportive environment where they can uncover the abilities already within them. With patience, guidance, and trust, I help each child learn how their body moves, floats, breathes, and responds in the water.

Water is part of us from the very beginning. Sometimes children just need someone to safely guide them toward remembering how naturally they belong there.

I highly recommend rash guards or UV-protective swim gear. Sunscreen is not allowed in my pool—it makes children slippery, even “waterproof” formulas wash off and sting their eyes, and it clouds the water in a saline system (requiring extra chemicals to clear).

Check with your doctor; some doctors now recommend at least 40 minutes a day without sunscreen to support healthy vitamin D levels. On very fair skin you may apply a little to the face, but never put it on in the car or poolside. Most sunscreens need at least 30 minutes to become effective before water exposure.

Yes. The pool is heated to 93°F. This creates a comfortable, womb-like sensory environment that helps children feel at ease while learning.

No. Floaties hold a child’s body in a more upright position rather than allowing them to experience their natural buoyancy and learn how their body actually moves and responds in the water. They can also create a false sense of security. A child who becomes dependent on floaties may not know how to react if they unexpectedly enter the water without them.

Learning without floaties gives children the chance to become comfortable getting their face wet, understand how their body floats, and develop real water skills through their own experiences.

We take a similar approach with goggles. During the learning process, we want children to become comfortable opening their eyes, orienting themselves, and swimming without relying on an accessory. Confidence should come from a child knowing “I can do this,” not from feeling they can only swim with a particular piece of equipment.

Once your child is a confident, independent swimmer—especially when doing laps or spending extended time in highly chlorinated pools—goggles can absolutely be introduced.

It is a saline pool, which feels a little nicer on the skin and eyes. Saline systems still contain chlorine, but it is produced by the salt rather than by constantly adding liquid chemicals. Most saline pools need occasional liquid chlorine. Children learn to swim successfully either way.

Survival Swim: As all lessons are taught one-on-one, siblings will be scheduled in back to back time slots. This assures that each child receives individualized instruction from their instructor based on their needs and abilities.

Splash & Dash: Siblings almost always swim together and it works well. Sometimes it’s a bit distracting; sometimes it’s wonderful. Once the children are swimming, it rarely matters.

I recommend against telling an older sibling that it is their responsibility to make the younger one feel better. That places an unfair weight on a young person, and it is not anyone’s job to tell someone else how they should feel.

Yes, often in the beginning—and that’s completely okay.

It’s natural for parents to feel concerned when their child is hesitant or upset, especially during the first few lessons. Depending on age and personality, some children may cry, feel nervous, or simply be unsure of what to expect. They are meeting a new instructor, entering a new environment, and being asked to experience something unfamiliar.

I never tell a child to stop crying. Crying is communication, and children are allowed to feel what they feel. Tears are not a measure of whether a lesson is successful or whether a child is making progress.

Instead, I focus on building trust. As children get to know me, begin to understand that they are safe, and experience their own successes in the water, something wonderful happens. Hesitation gives way to confidence, and fear is replaced by pride in what they have discovered they can do.

A healthy respect for the water is a good instinct. My goal isn’t to eliminate that instinct, but to give children the skills and experiences that allow them to feel capable. Simply telling a child “You can do it” isn’t always enough. They need to feel themselves doing it. That experience of success creates genuine confidence.

For many children, those first-day tears quickly become smiles, laughter, and excited shouts of “I did it!” Watching the early moments can be difficult for parents, but watching your child work through something unfamiliar and discover their own strength is incredibly rewarding. Children are remarkably resilient when we give them the opportunity to experience success for themselves.

This occasionally happens. The most effective response is for the parent to immediately take the child by the hand and walk them straight back to the pool. The action itself communicates the boundary clearly, even if the child complains at first. Talking or trying to reason with them usually increases anxiety and delays progress.

Bring them back quickly so they understand leaving is not an option. Children learn the rules rapidly and actually feel safer and happier once the boundaries are clear. A parent’s calm, immediate return to the water is the strongest message that the child is safe and that this is okay.

Yes. I have taught children with both physical and behavioral disabilities. I have been trained through a survival-based program and have taught well over 1,000 children since 2019. I meet every child at their own level and ability. So far, every one of them has ended up swimming and loving it. I treat every swimmer equally, and they always respond. In my experience, when it comes to swimming, every child is pretty much like any other child.

Parents are invited and highly encouraged to join us in the pool on the final day, depending on the individual swimmer and their readiness.

During the first part of the program, it is important for children to develop their own relationship with the water and confidence in their own abilities. These are their skills. In an unexpected water situation, we want a child’s instinct to be to respond with the skills they have learned, rather than depending on a parent or instructor being present.

Once children are swimming independently and confidently, we bring parents into the experience. This gives children the opportunity to transfer the skills and trust they have developed with me and to discover that they can use those same abilities with Mom, Dad, or another trusted adult.

And perhaps the best part? They get to show you what they can do. Watching a child proudly swim to their parent for the first time is one of the most rewarding moments of the entire program.

A mild runny nose or an “off” day does not necessarily mean your child needs to miss a lesson. Sometimes a shorter, modified lesson is all that is needed to maintain consistency.

However, if your child has a fever, is vomiting, has diarrhea, has a contagious illness, or simply is not well enough to participate comfortably and safely, please keep them home. Your child’s health, and the health of the other families we serve, always comes first.

Survival Swim: As this is a 6 week program, we can accommodate up to one week of absences for vacations, illnesses, etc.

Splash & Dash: Because this is an intensive 10-day program with a tightly structured schedule, make-up lessons are generally not available.

I understand that unexpected circumstances arise. In the case of a genuine emergency, I will always do my best to accommodate make-up lessons when scheduling allows.

Please remember that the success of this program depends heavily on consistency. Each lesson builds on the one before it, which is why attending all 10 days is so important.

Your child takes many of their cues from you. Your confidence, attitude, and language surrounding swim lessons can make a tremendous difference.

Keep the conversation simple, positive, and matter-of-fact. Rather than asking whether they want to go to swim lessons, let them know that swimming is an important skill they are going to learn. Just like wearing a seat belt, learning to cross the street safely, or eventually learning to ride a bike.

They do not have to love every moment from the very beginning. New experiences can feel uncomfortable, and that is okay. What matters is giving them the opportunity to work through those feelings, build trust, and experience success for themselves.

Commit to the process and give them the full duration of the session before deciding how they feel about swimming. There may be challenging moments along the way, but there will also be breakthroughs—sometimes when you least expect them.

Give them the opportunity, encourage their effort, and then watch what happens. Your child may just amaze you, and themselves!