Luna’s First Swim Lessons: Mommy and Me

Ahhh swim classes with my toddler! It was such an exciting feeling knowing that I was taking the first step of drowning prevention with my daughter and as a first time mom it was also a feeling of crossing off a major goal for 2021.

I started playing with the idea of having Luna do swim lessons when she was around 10 months old. Initially I heard about ISR which stands for Infant Swimming Resource and it teaches swim survival for kids as little as six months. 

Seeing a 7 month old baby know how to float in a pool of water while also swimming to the edge made me so amazed at this ability! I was very interested in this type of swimming but by the time I wanted Luna to learn how to swim, Covid happened. 

Also, this type of swimming may not be for all people. I know it’s ten minutes a day, and for the price at the moment it wasn’t something in my budget. Kind of like $200 a week where I live…

So then I looked at the alternative and the goal was for her to be comfortable in the water and learn the basics of swimming. I began to be intentional about her swimming in January 2021 and so my search began. 

And the research began…

Once Luna was around 22 months, I started to seriously research swim lesson locations for her. I was tired of waiting for the right moment since we have a pool in the backyard and she was already curious about the pool water. 

So once I knew she was really interested, I began my research near my home. I tried to find locations that were near and not so far since I honestly didn’t want to drive so far. 

I remembered seeing a banner near my daughters pediatrician office about swim classes and I always kept that image in the back of my head but didn’t pay attention to it until I really thought about it. 

Then I saw the SAME banner in our local city magazine and I thought ah ha! Maybe I should check these people out! The graphics on paper looked kid friendly and it seemed like a really good swim school. 

When I do my research I try to look at google reviews, yelp reviews and research the entire website! I look at the “about” section, how long they’ve been in business, how often they teach swim lessons to children and their mission statement. 

Once everything checked out with this company, I gave them a call and I appreciated how they answered quickly, efficiently and handled all of my questions. They also received a lot of great ratings on their reviews too.

Everything they advertised on paper was what we spoke about and nothing was hidden or extra fees. I’m big on that so I had to make sure they meant what they say and are honest. 

I spoke to Adrianna and after we spoke we had an appointment the next day! 

First impression of the swim school

As I walked in, I noticed how large and spacious the swim school was and they had a play area for the kids while they waited for a lesson. 

There were photos of children who passed swim lessons, a swim team, so many cute graphics of dolphins, swim accessories and it was a well lit facility. 

The place was really clean and they also offered baked goodies for anyone who wanted bread or pastries. You can also donate money to a local drowning prevention charity which I thought was awesome. 

With the pandemic going on, they have a limited amount of people in class and the waiting area. There are Clorox bottles everywhere and they clean the floors and tables all the time which is a plus! You also have to wear a mask in the building but not in the pool.

The pool is located inside the building AND it’s heated! yes!!

I had a meeting with Adrianna and as she spoke to me she was talking to Luna as well so it was very welcoming. She explained the mommy and me class that I was interested in and answered all of my questions. 

I signed up right away and we started the swim class the following week! I was able to purchase swim goggles and a head cap for Luna at the location since that was part of the swim accessories she needed. 

First day of swim class

The morning of swim class, I tried to explain to Luna that we were on our way to swim lessons and I tried to get her excited. 

All she knew was that she had her swimsuit on in the car seat and we headed out in the morning to our swim lesson!

I prep Luna in the locker room and get her goggles on and swim cap. We see another parent with their child who is 10 months old and they tell me that he’s been swimming for the last three months!

I was surprised! Once I saw him swimming and doing his bubbles in the water, I was surprised! You know children can absorb anything and it’s great we can teach them young. 

If you don’t know, I’m not a proficient swimmer…or in this case I can only back float and that’s it! Lessons from my third grade class ha! 

As we begin the class, the instructor gives us instructions on how to move the baby’s legs, arms and head. It’s like a mini warm up before we head into the water. 

We go into the pool and Luna is excited..as for me I’m trying to make sure we don’t go to the deep end because you already know lol

We do stay in the shallow end for our lesson and Luna begins her first class!

The first part of the class, Luna has to learn how to not breathe underwater so the instructor pours water from a cup over her head so she instinctively feels the water. She already does this in the shower and so she was comfortable with that. 

I will say having an instructor who is very patient and kind definitely helps. Our instructor has been very helpful teaching me how to move Luna in the water and with different techniques.

So he continues to pour water a couple of times over her head and then the next thing would be to dunk her under the water. He tells me to blow into her face really strong so she can naturally flinch and dip her into the water quickly.  

I did it the first time and I think she was a bit surprised but started to get used to it after a few times. 

After that lesson, we learned to back float, do the monkey crawl at the edge of the pool, learned to kick from the back and front, use the floaties for kicking legs and so on. 

After a few lessons in…

Luna has now been promoted to level three and she already knows how to go under water, do the monkey crawl, swim up for air, back float, jump in the pool, grab the pool rings on the floor and more!  

I’m going to continue to have her in these lessons for a while and who knows, she might love being a swimmer and want to do it as a sport! 

I feel like a proud mom doing this with her and she will thank me later for doing this at an early age. 

It’s never too late to have your child learn how to swim. I’m also inspired to learn from my daughters class as well and want to learn how to swim in my pool once it heats up! 

Check Luna out in this video below!

https://fb.watch/3WSZwbITTb/

Did you ever take swim lessons? Or is your child in swim lessons now?