Goldfish Swim School

*Sponsored by Goldfish Swim School but all opinions are my own.

Living in Florida, we tend to be around water an awful lot and I never realized how important water safety could be until I started looking at the statistics surrounding accidental drownings. Drowning takes the life of three children in the US everyday, making it the number one leading cause of accidental death. That’s scary when you break it down!

I am so thankful to have put all three of my children in swim classes at our local Goldfish Swim School in Winter Park, FL. Within two months, they have learned skills that could save their lives and that puts my momma mind at ease. Below, I’m gonna highlight how each child grew immensely within the two months of attending classes.

Gracelyn:

When Gracelyn first started classes, she absolutely hated any type of water including the bath tub and had from the first day she had a bath. I’m not sure why but she just didn’t like water which was hard for us since we do tend to frequent the pool, beach and sometimes even rent water slides. Her first class, she cried the entire class and definitely was not a fan of being dunked under. Gracelyn wouldn’t let go of me or even attempt to try to get a ball, lay on her back and float even though I was holding onto her, and so much more. By the end of the first month, she was asking to go to the pool and would get excited whenever we would tell her that it was swim class time. Dunking under water and working on her pulls and kicks still wasn’t her favorite thing. Their last class was this past week and she is still a little hesitant on dunking (she still would get a little nervous but nothing like before) but everything else she is so much more okay with. Seeing her go from someone who was afraid of the bathtub to someone who loves swimming and even worked on her kicks while taking a bath recently has made Robert and I so thankful for her classes, Goldfish and her teachers. She is a lot more comfortable now and we can’t wait to see her progress even more.

Giovanni:

Giovanni is my little daredevil and has never had an issue with water. This kid would stay in the bathtub for an hour just splashing around and playing. We had started him on a puddle jumper a couple years ago (yes, I know how horrible that is now) so he knew the jist of kicking and pulling but wasn’t really comfortable unless he had his puddle jumper on. All of that has changed in just two months! When he first started, his starfish back float was horrible because he wouldn’t lay his head down completely or open his legs but now, he can float on his own. He still has to work on jumping into the water rather than letting his arms and legs do the swimming for him but, he is making such amazing progress. Giovanni now kicks and pulls without his puddle jumper and that gives me so much comfort since I now know the dangers of using one.

Adylee:

Adylee has been a mermaid since day one and has always loved swimming like her momma but she struggled with holding her breath without holding her nose and also was afraid to swim a certain distance. I taught myself how to swim so I wasn’t really sure how to tell her to so, her classes were more of her perfecting what she already knows and learning more. Within a month, she moved up to the next class (Glider 3) and was beginning to learn and perfect those skills. Adylee no longer holds her nose to go under water and is so much more comfortable with swimming distances.

In addition to all of the amazing staff members at the Goldfish school in Winter Park being so sweet and welcoming my littles, they also are taking every single precaution necessary for sanitization during this season we are in. You are allowed to arrive 5 minutes before your class and when you do, you are met at the door by a staff member who will take your temperature and then check you in. You then follow the signs to walk in and go line up at the door to enter the pool area. In addition, when we had first started, every other changing room or so was open and as of this past week all changing rooms are open and when you are done, you just turn the sign to let the staff know that that changing room needs to be cleaned and sanitized. The hair drying statin and bathing suit drying area is still closed and everyone must wear masks as well as continue to social distance. The facility itself is bright, inviting and just makes you feel so at ease. The pool is heated so there’s no freezing when you enter the pool as well as every area is sectioned off for each class with a sign labeled with what lane it is. The instructors are all wearing shields in the pool however, you do not need to wear a mask in the pool if you are with your child in the Mini 1 or Mini 2 class. They also have a very flexible schedule with a wide range of class times and offer free make up classes if you need them.

As I stated before, we have throughly enjoyed our classes at Goldfish Winter Park and are so thankful to have been able to put them in classes for the past couple months. The growth is truly insane to me and I can’t wait to watch them grow even more in their swim journey. I highly suggest if you have a Goldfish school near you, taking the drive and enrolling your child today. Classes start as early as 4 months and go all the way up to 12 years old. They are worth every single penny but more importantly, your child’s safety is worth it too.