Swimming Lessons Review

My minis and I spend our summers poolside, at least as much as possible.  And well, along with that comes angst from this mama.  Probably many parents, like myself, load up their pool bags with the toys, goggles, sunblock, towels, and of course, the swimmies… and what you can’t see that is weighing that bag down the most, is the worry that our child will be another victim of drowning.  I read that in America, some 350 children under the age of 5 die each year of (unintentional) drowning.  That is an incredibly scary statistic.

Splashing fun! And how adorable are they in their swim caps! Each cap is not only for sanitary purposes, but the color indicates swim level and their names are written on it. Purposeful!

My 5 year old has “successfully failed” 2 different swimming programs.  She is still afraid to get her face wet.  This summer feels like a crucial summer to successfully teach her to swim since I’m guessing next summer the swimmies thing isn’t really going to fly for a 6 year old going into first grade.  Not so cool, right?  So, when the British Swim School Delaware Valley contacted me about checking out their program, I jumped at the opportunity!

Relaxing and floating

After Memorial Day, I signed my 5 and 2.5 year old non-swimmers up for the Minnows program at their Malvern location.  The British Swim School has rented the pool from the gorgeous Homewood Suites and is conveniently located off of Business 30, 202, and 401.  The classes are very small and therefore children spend more time in the pool actually learning to swim than waiting on the wall for their turn, like many other programs have them do.  The teachers have always been extremely kind, consistent, and encouraging.  I especially love that they smile the entire 30 minute session, as if they really are enjoying their job!  I’m glad they find my babies as funny and cute as I do, or at least they seem to, ha ha!

After only 3 sessions, my 2.5 year old son has become a total fish.  He learned to “monkey” along the wall, meaning to travel in the water by holding onto the wall, after just one session!  Also, when we’re at the pool we’re a member of, he swims with purpose and is able to navigate the water to get to where he wants to go (wearing swimmies, of course).  I’m amazed at his vast improvement in just a short time period.

Playing in the water the last 5 minutes of class. Super fun!

My 5 year, is absolutely loving class, but she’ll be a more challenging student, for sure.  She gags every time she gets her face wet.  But she’s feeling more comfortable doing “torpedoes” (where she pushes off the wall to swim) and floating on her back, which is such a vulnerable position for a child who is scared of the water to be in.  Mind you, I want my children scared of the water.  The pool is a dangerous place to be!  But even more than that, I want them safe.  I want them to know how to SAFELY enjoy our summer days at the pool.  I want them to be able to find joy in playing in the water like they do for the last 5 minutes of every swim class, while also knowing they are safe and capable.  I’m confident that the British Swim School is going to get us there.  My 2 older girls are strong swimmers, and now on a local swim team improving their stroke skills even more.  I love this.  I can’t wait for my younger 2 to be equally safe in a pool, as well as to lighten my pool bag load.

Disclaimer:  I received no monetary compensation for this review.  The British School School is a partner of Philly Burb Moms and has graciously offered my children complimentary classes.