Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, I completed my training certification through the PediaSwim Academy by its founder, Joy McGinty, and I am Adult, Child and Infant First Aid/CPR/AED certified through the Red Cross.

Utilizing training in PediaSwim, it continues to be the safest, most effective learn to swim program available. I am also fortunate to be able to visit SouthWest Aquatics (home of PediaSwim) to constantly refine, study and learn to stay on the cutting edge of aquatics and keep my certification current. 

Safe Splash Swimming offers Basic Training to learn the swim-float-swim sequence, Maintenance lessons, Refresher courses, Stroke Development lessons as well as lessons for adults. Please visit the Lessons page for more information.

Once a child is crawling, usually between 6 months and 8 months, he or she can learn to swim between two people for fun and roll to a safe, balanced, secure float for safety. Once a child begins to crawl, they are at risk of finding an unguarded body of water and falling in. If they have learned how to behave in the water, they will roll to a float and calmly await rescue.

Once a child is walking, usually between 12 months and 18 months, the swimmer can learn to swim-float-swim. A toddler can swim in the proper head down posture, with feet kicking at the surface, roll to a balanced float to rest and breathe, then flip back over to swim to safety. With practice, they can swim longer distances using the swim-float-swim sequence.

Once a child is two or three years old, depending how early they began their aquatic education, he or she can begin Stroke Progression and Development. Small children can easily learn to backstroke from the balanced backfloat. Side breathing is simple as they already have the core strength for a roll. Butterfly and breaststroke are fun to learn when children are confident and secure in their swimming and floating.

Safe Splash Swimming provides children with private, one-on-one lessons. At the end of the course, your child will be able to swim with their face in the water and feet kicking at the surface. They will learn to rotate onto their back to rest and breath – then return to the horizontal swimming posture. The lessons are private, everyday, Monday to Thursday, with the same instructor for approximately 5-7 weeks or until they can confidently and independently perform the skillset. The duration of the course depends on their previous swim experience.  

Each lesson is ten minutes long and the course is cumulative as they will learn from the previous lesson. As they are private lessons, I have on-going enrollment and can start at your convenience. Lessons are taught in a heated, screened in pool and I teach all year long.

I teach lessons Monday to Thursday throughout the day to accommodate your work schedule and any other activities. I invite you to come by any time to preview lessons – I have an open door policy, however it would be best to contact me so you can be given times that lessons are occurring. I will be happy for you to observe and will answer any questions you have.

For parents…

I invite parents to come in and watch lessons before enrolling your child in our course. The parent's job is to be the child’s cheerleader. I want you and your baby to be comfortable. Your baby will be more comfortable when they see you sitting down, with a smile on your face and giving signs of encouragement.

After handing your baby to the instructor, grab a seat and enjoy your child’s progress. I will invite you into the pool once I am confident the child is ready to practice their new skills with you. This is typically in the third or fourth week of lessons.

At Safe Splash Swimming, we teach children self rescue, lifesaving skills in the water. Infant self rescue is the ability of an infant to roll over and float unassisted to rest and breathe until someone finds them. Children should learn to love swimming and we should teach the whole child, physically and mentally. Parent education is a huge part of teaching a baby. Children should continue their aquatic education to make sure survival skills stay sharp and the child stays confident in those skills.  

Once a child can walk, they are strong enough to flip from a float to swim back to safety. Toddlers can be taught to swim-float-swim and even begin stroke lessons. Research shows that early swimmers meet their developmental milestones earlier than their non-swimming counterparts. 

Mainly, the average attention span for a child is 10 minutes. Repetition is key in learning skills with anyone, especially a child, and in those 10 minutes, that’s exactly what we will be doing. Constantly learning and repeating places to swim to, floating, floating from different placements, etc. Your child will be swimming consecutively in those 10 minutes making them tire quickly. By the end of five to seven weeks, depending on where your child is developmentally, they will be able to swim-float-swim fully clothed.

After your child completes Basic Training, it is advised that you keep up with their skills by providing them with Maintenance lessons. It only takes 1-2 times a week to keep up with their skills. This course will secure the skills they have mastered. It will also rid them of any bad habits they may acquire through swimming in the pool, river, lake, or ocean with friends and family or playing with floatation devices, which are not advised when not needed. Maintaining basic skills is essential for your child’s success.  

Lessons  are $80 per week (or $20 per lesson for Maintenance & Stroke lessons) with a one time only administrative registration fee of $40. Unlike other programs, your child is receiving one-on-one training with a certified pediatric swim instructor for 10 minutes 4 days a week. This will ensure your child retains as much information as possible rather than a group program of multiple kids for 30-45 minutes only 1-2 times a week. Being focused only on your child, their capabilities and progression will be better for both the child and instructor to ensure success. Your child will be steps above the rest. 

Safe Splash Swimming provides children with the opportunity to continue their swimming education with the same instructor to learn formal strokes (freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, and breaststroke). The skills learned in the swim-float-swim sequence provide a strong foundation for a natural transition to learn these strokes. I have over 20 years of experience teaching novice and competitive swimmers ranging from just learning the strokes to training for age group meets. Along with teaching strokes, I work with swimmers on flip turns, proper streamline starts off the wall and finishes according to USA Swimming rules.

It's never to late to learn how to swim! Whether your goal is to just learn for safety or to refine your swimming to meet recreational and/or fitness goals, Safe Splash Swimming can help you meet your goal.