10 Questions Every Parent Should Ask BEFORE Signing A Child Up For Swimming Lessons
Dear Parents of small children,
My name is Dayna Harvey and I own The Swim With Miss Dayna Swim School based in Roanoke, VA. I have been teaching swimming lessons since 1987. It seems that in most states, the Spring make moms and dads start thinking about swimming lessons for their children, in preparation for the upcoming Summer. I would like this to be something that parents are looking in to and researching all year long.
I understand that it is SUPER easy to take to social media to ask for recommendations but in order to find the program that is right for YOUR family and YOUR child, I encourage you to do some more intensive research. I know that there is a lot of information here, but please read through it as I hope it will help you and give you some tools to connect you with the perfect swimming program.
Before you begin looking in to swimming program options, you need to have an idea of what kind of program you are looking based on how old your child is and how much and what kind of exposure to water your child has had.
Are you wanting an intensive program where children learn the skills they need to save their life over the course of a number of lessons in just a few weeks or maybe a more relaxed introduction to water or something else all together??
Are you wanting an instructor to work with your child 1:1 OR in a small group environment without your involvement or are you wanting to be in the water with your child, learning how to help them with these skills through each lesson??
Do you want to have them "working" on swimming skills for the time they are in the water or are you comfotable with time in lessons being spent singing songs and playing with toys?? You may find that you resonate more with one type of program or another and this is great.
You see, Swim With Miss Dayna is not a fit for every family. Just as all the other programs in the Roanoke Valley area are not a fit for every family. No swim program in any community is in competition with the others.
Each program offers different environments, different instructors, different teaching philosophies etc.
If you are reading this and you are not in the Roanoke, VA area, you can just insert any of the names of programs in your area and know that the same holds true where you are.
Every single program will have both good reviews and bad reviews. Every single program will have advocates that sing their praises from the rooftops and every single program will have others who have nothing good to say about them.
Choosing a swimming program is a very personal decision. You can and SHOULD do some research and there are many factors to consider. So let’s start.
I would encourage EVERY parent to call and speak with the swim school owner/head swim instructor/swim program director etc. Can you email?? Sure but I believe you will get a much better feel for the program and the person by speaking with them.
You should ask them the following 10 questions.
There are actually 3 questions to ask that make up this first question.
ARE THE SWIM INSTRUCTORS CERTIFIED through a nationally recognized program?? FACT: In the United States swim instructors are not required to carry ANY certification AT ALL. A facility can require instructors to be certified but it is not mandated that they are.
If you are looking at working with a private instructor, not affiliated with or hired by a facility, ARE THEY INSURED?? Again, independent swim instructors are not required to carry ANY insurance AT ALL.
No matter which program or private instructor you hire, you need to know is the instructor CPR/FIRST AID/AED certified. It also won’t hurt to ask if an AED is available at the pool your child is swimming at.
How much experience does my child's instructor have?? I will be the first to tell you that years and years of experience is not a guarantee that the instructor will be amazing or that a fairly new instructor will not be the very best find, but this is information you should still know. You can also ask if instructors engage in ongoing training throughout the time that they are teaching.
Is there a guarantee that your child will have the same instructor EVERY CLASS?? This is so very important for consistency and for building a relationship. If the answer to this question is “No”, I would encourage you to continue to look for a program that does guarantee this.
If your child has a different instructor each class, it is like having a Day 1 lesson over and over again. This delays the ability to bond with an instructor and will delay progress.
What is the instructor : student ratio??
If you have a child with special needs or things like sensory processing, ASD, speech delay, anxiety etc, is the instructor your child will have, EDUCATED and TRAINED in teaching children with these things?
How is the time in class spent and what are the goals of each class?
What is the time line for students to learn and master certain skills? ie: jumping in and rolling to their back
May I observe a class with children in similar age/ability to my child before I register?
Can you provide me with some references of parents I could speak with who have children in this program who are of similar age/ability to my child?
Are instructors available to speak with concerning my child’s progress through the session??
You are literally putting your child’s life in someone else’s hands when you give them swimming lessons. You have the RIGHT to ask any of these questions (or more) and you DESERVE to have them answered before you register and hand your child to them.
Next, as you gather more information, focus on speaking with or connecting with other parents about their PERSONAL experiences in any given program and shy away from those who slam a swim program that they have no first hand knowledge of or experience with or those who give "what they have heard about other programs" recommendations to you. Hearsay, this truly isn’t useful AT ALL.
The program that worked best for your sisters kids or your best friends kids may not work for your kids. Also, the program that worked for your oldest child may not be the best fit for your second child....and ITS TOTALLY OK!!
The goal is to have children who are safe, confident and strong swimmers. I hope that this information is helpful to you in finding the best program that will help your child reach that goal.
If you have any questions or would like more information, I am happy to help. You can call/text me at 540-855-8409 or email me at hello@watersafetywithmissdayna.com.
If you found this to be good information please feel free to share it in mom/parents groups, on your personal social media pages or anywhere else that parents would see it. All parents deserve to have all the information that they need to make a well informed decision for their child.
See you at the pool!