SwimKids

Reviews 3

EM

Emily Bailey

I think SwimKids is good at what they do, but its not for everyone. I enrolled my bright, cautious three-year-old son in the Fast Track option after he fell in the bathtub because I wanted him to know what to do if that ever happened again, and I wanted him to have positive experiences in the water so he would not develop a lifelong fear of it. Im still trying to decide if SwimKids did more harm or more good for my son. Definitely some of both. SwimKids makes their philosophy and teaching approach clear on their website, which I appreciate. They want to teach basic water safety/swimming skills as fast as possible, and they accomplish this. But for my son, it was TOO fast, which created a pressure-filled environment, unnecessary anxiety and further negative experiences with the water. I would rather have paid for twice as many lessons and had them go at his pace so it could be a more positive experience. SwimKids does a lot of things well, but it just wasnt a good fit for my childs learning style and my philosophy of education (that children should enjoy learning; that the process is just as important as the "results.") In short, here is what I liked about SwimKids: -They have a strong understanding of their subject matter. -Their teachers are well-trained. -Water safety is their top priority. -They are extremely accommodating with your schedule. -They are consistent in their approach. -Their brief but intensive lessons are only 15 minutes long, a developmentally appropriate length for young children. Here is what I didnt like: -Their approach was pretty one-size-fits-all-kids, and didnt really account for different learning styles. They pushed my child too hard in an effort to get him to learn "as fast as possible," creating anxiety and tears that I believe were a barrier to his learning. I dont believe a child can learn effectively if they dont feel safe and comfortable. -They didnt give him a second to practice what he had learned, so he had no time to "show off" or feel like he had mastered any skill before they pushed him to learn a harder one. -Sometimes we would get a different teacher than the one we had expected. While this could be a good thing because your child will learn to swim with anyone instead of just be attached to one person, it was a huge setback for us because the new teacher didnt know (or care to find out) what my son had already learned up to that point, so she did things he wasnt ready for. Specifically, my son had only ever been underwater for about 1-2 seconds; we had a new teacher one day who got in the pool with him and just held him under for 8-10 seconds with no warning. This felt like a betrayal of the trust that had just barely been established by our first teacher, and a trauma that created a huge setback for his learning.) I would recommend SwimKids if your child is already comfortable in the water and has a flexible/easygoing personality, or you want your child to learn FAST, no matter how much crying it takes. SwimKids delivers on their promise to teach basic swimming skills in about 8 lessons, and my child DID learn, but it came at too high an emotional cost for my son. I thought that by signing up for private lessons, he would be able to learn at his own pace and have a positive experience. (After about six lessons, our teacher finally taught me the phrase "confidence lesson". THATS what you have to ask for if you want your child to have a positive experience and go at their own pace. I wish I would have known that earlier.) In the future, I will look for a private teacher who doesnt just know their subject matter and have a general understanding of how kids learn, but one who tries to get to know MY child and his learning style in order to teach him most effectively. (This may mean finding an independent teacher instead of a big company like SwimKids with so many teachers, locations, and clients that they cant personalize their instruction.)

AS

Ash HJ

It has taken me a while to finally write the review but after the past month of trying to get my son into lessons without success (he is TERRIFIED), I want to leave my comments. I came to SwimKids because of all the amazing reviews and knowing that by paying for PRIVATE lessons, my children would be able to build a relationship of trust with their intructor as they were both very nervous. At the beginning of lessons, my 7-year old daughter and 5-year old son were scared but after the first two lessons, they were doing okay and having fun. Unfortunately, over the course of the 10-lessons, our instructor had several vacations scheduled and as a result, my kids had a different instructor for the next three lessons. I can expect that maybe 1-2 of lessons may be a different instructor, but almost all of them? During one of these lessons with a young lady, my son went under for longer than he expected and, to him, he thought hed drown. The next lesson, it was almost impossible to get him there and this time the original instructor was there and he seemed to improve. But the next week, again, a different person. He didnt want to go in and the 15 minutes was torturous. The next? Yep, new person, this time a young boy maybe 13, was there to teach (kid of owner, maybe?). My daughter went first and this time, my son took off and I finally found him hiding in my car sobbing. He refused to go inside. I ended up canceling the last lesson at that point. I would expect that if you know one of your instructors will not be present for more than 50% of his lessons, that you would have one back up. Not 4-5 different instructors, especially when you have first time swimmers. My son, now 6, will only go in the water with a life vest and refuses to take it off and I am at my wits end. I regret having chosen SwimKids.

D

D Ford

I am very surprised to see negative reviews about the SwimKids organization because we have had an amazingly positive experience with them! We started my son in private lessons when he was around 20 months old. He cried during his first lesson but has not since. The teachers have all been wonderful and truly seem to enjoy helping the children learn. He has made incredible progress over the last 10 months and can now float on his back instantly & comfortably, flip over from his back to put his face in the water and kick his legs & scoop his arms moving forward in the water, dive under water to the bottom of the pool to retrieve an object, perform some basic strokes propelling himself in the water, and can even jump off the diving board! We started with one 15 minute lesson per week for a few months, and now do three 15 min lessons per week, but private lessons can be customized to your liking. We have never had any issues with scheduling. My son looks forward to and is always excited for his lessons. To address any concerns about having different teachers....we have had several over the months but currently have been with the same teacher for awhile. You can request a specific teacher, but they do say on their website that exposing your child to several teachers may actually be better for them so that they do not become too dependent on a certain style of teaching or a certain person. In closing, I would highly recommend SwimKids. I am so happy we enrolled my son! I know that he has not only learned the skills to be safe in the water, but has also established a lifelong love of swimming!

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