Infant Survival Swim at Texas Swim Academy

Infant Survival Swim

I had heard about infant survival swim about four years ago from a coworker, and even though having my own kids was not yet on my mind, I knew that was something I wanted to look into when that day came. We live in a neighborhood with a large lake and spend a lot of time around water in general. Our main motivator in pursuing these lessons was truly just the  peace of mind that Adeline would have some skill and knowledge of what to do if an accident ever happened.

After quite a bit on online research, I decided on Texas Swim Academy for their infant survival swim program. Their location is in Katy, Texas, and their pools are heated year round so you can enroll any time throughout the year.

Wondering what infant survival swim is? It might look like magic, but it really is a very thoughtful process! Adeline’s teacher Gabriela taught my daughter who doesn’t know how to talk (and couldn’t even walk when she started lessons) to roll over onto her back when put face first in the water and float for close to a minute. I am so impressed with the results we’ve seen, I just want everyone to know this is out there!

How Do The Lessons Work?

Infant survival swim at Texas Swim Academy is for children 6 months to 4 years old.

It starts with a fairly intense lesson schedule. You go four times a week for four weeks, followed by two times a week for two weeks, and then once a week for as long as you and your teacher decide is best.

The lessons are 1:1 and only 15 minutes long (which I realize seems really short but honestly, that is probably just about all Adeline could handle). The babies are working hard at these lessons! On the positive side – I was almost always guaranteed an good nap afterward!

Unlike many swimming lessons for babies, the parents do not get in the water at Texas Swim Academy.

Real Talk: We Had A Rough Start

In an effort to be completely transparent, the first week and a half were tough for both Adeline and me. She was at a particularly clingy stage (around 11 months), and since the parent doesn’t get in the water with the child, the handoff to her teacher Gabriela was pretty emotional. The combination of being with a new person, being in a large body of water, and learning new skills was understandably a bit overstimulating for Adeline. But Gabriella did a great job reassuring me that this reaction was completely normal for the first few classes, and encouraged me to stick with it. I am SO glad we did.

Here are a few things that I believed helped Adeline warm up to swim lessons:

• I started sitting and watching the lesson from the other side of the pool where Adeline couldn’t see me. I was a distraction to Adeline and having me nearby was hindering her progress.
• We brought a familiar bath toy. This gave her something to hold onto and play with during her lesson.
• With permission, we entered the pool area just a few minutes before her lesson started so she could start getting acclimated and even watch a few other babies have the end of their lessons.
• They have an 1.5 hour open swim on Friday afternoons that Marcus took Adeline to many times over the last few months. This helped her get more comfortable with being in the pool and gave them a chance to work on dunking under the water and other simple skills.

Something else that I appreciated – Gabriela allowed me to hop in the water during our last few classes to learn how to practice Adeline’s skills with her over the summer.

Worth The Investment

Infant survival swim is undoubtably an investment in both time and money, but I really feel it was a good use of ours over the past few months. I am so thankful to Gabriela for teaching Adeline these life saving skills, and I would recommend this program to anyone with little ones.

I’d be happy to answer any questions about my personal experience. Leave me a comment below!