Summer vacation is over for most of us, but it’s still hot outside and the kids need to get that energy out somehow and swimming is a great way to do it.   My kids spend a lot of time in pools and lakes in the summer months and before about 6 months ago, I was a wreck whenever my daughter (just turned 4) got near the water.   I know she’s perfectly safe while my husband and I are in the pool or lake with her, but there’s always this fear that as soon as one of us turn our heads she’s going to go under and we won’t get to her in time.  Awful, I know.  I have nightmares about this stuff!

To help me get over my fear of something happening to Madelyn in the water, I enrolled her in swim lessons at Aqua-Tots.  I thought that she would take a few months of swim lessons during which she would learn how to swim, but she’s done so much more than just learn to swim.     I had no idea that toddlers should roll over on their back to breathe or that she needed to learn how to pull herself up and out of the pool in case she can’t get to the stairs. Those just aren’t things I would have thought about but make perfect sense.  Madelyn had a hard time pulling herself out of the pool at first but Ms. Katherine kept pushing her to do it and now I know that that’s a life saving skill.   About a year later she’s still taking swim lessons at Aqua-Tots and I’m not planning on pulling her out of swim lessons any time soon.  She loves swim lessons.  Who knows maybe she’ll join a swim team in a few years.

Here’s a short video (featuring one of Madelyn’s favorite songs) of Madelyn at Aqua Tots.

Madelyn can swim a good distance, float on her back by herself, do a couple of different strokes and most importantly, she knows how to swim to safety if needed.  We go to the lake and pool often in the summer and if she hadn’t have been taking swim lessons I would be a mess every time she got in the water.   I’m so impressed with how much Madelyn has learned and am very appreciative that Ms. Katherine at Aqua-Tots is such a great swim teacher.  She’s amazing with kids as I’m sure all of Aqua-Tots instructors are.  Madelyn loves Ms. Katherine so much that she talks about her at home and even makes drawings and little gifts for her!
That’s not how I felt about my swim teacher when I was little!

Aqua-Tots has several Atlanta area locations including the one we go to in Kennesaw.

More about Aqua-Tots Swim Schools

• Aqua Tots swim schools website
• Aqua Tots Facebook page

How well can your child swim?  Did you teach your kids to swim or did you take them to swim lessons?  Tell us in the comments below.