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Can’t Swim? You’re Not Alone

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Goldfish Swim School

If you’re reading this and can’t swim, you’re not alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 37% of adult Americans cannot swim. Worst even, this inability, which often correlates with a fear of the water, is often passed on to their children. And with drowning as the nation’s second leading cause of accidental death for children under 14, this is a big problem. This especially is true for minorities. According to the USA Swimming Foundation:

  • 70% of African American children can’t swim
  • 60% of Latino children can’t swim
  • 40% of Caucasian children can’t swim

How Do We Break the Cycle?

In 2009, the American Academy of Pediatrics conducted a study that concluded that children who are enrolled in formal swimming lessons have an 88% reduced risk of drowning. These numbers can’t be ignored. It’s no wonder that the USA Swimming Foundation established a program called “Make a Splash” in 2009 that aims to teach kids to swim and be safe in the water. The movement has gone across the country, with specific attention to lower income and poverty-stricken areas, to teach kids how to swim. Cullen Jones, 2008 gold medal-winner in the Beijing Olympics, has even signed on as the spokesperson. For more about the program, feel free to check out the video below:

Learning to Swim at Goldfish

For those of you who are reading this, you probably have heard about Goldfish Swim School from a friend, you have a child enrolled, or you’re thinking about joining. We are so glad you’ve made it this far.

At Goldfish, our goal is to make sure that your child is safe and comfortable in the water—that fear is diminished, a respect for the power of water is gained and that fun is had along the way. All of this goes into what we call the Golden Experience.

Our teachers are certified swim instructors that go through a 40-hour training program and are CPR, First Aid and Lifeguard certified with a love and patience for children. It’s important to start early. When an infant is born, he has a set number of neurons in his brain that help him make sense of the world around him. When he is introduced to the water, his instinct essentially tells him to fear it because it is unfamiliar (source). At Goldfish, we gradually introduce your children to the water, giving their brains time to make the appropriate neural pathways that affect learning and memory. This process needs to be three-fold. We introduce your child verbally, visually and physically, using encouraging and positive reinforcements for every accomplishment along the way. The next step is never taken before the first is mastered.

Are you thinking about enrolling your child? Please, we encourage you to pre-register for lessons at the Goldfish Swim School near you. Pre-registering online requires no upfront commitment. It will give us a chance to review your child’s swimming comfort before calling you back.

We look forward to hearing from you!

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Jumping for Jump Start Clinic Joy

Posted on May 8, 2013 by almgoldfish

Photo of a Goldfish swimmer with an instructor

As your child’s school schedule is winding down, you might find yourself with a little more time than usual. To cut down on, “Mom, I’m bored,” consider doing something productive with that time. Over the summer, Goldfish offers what we like to call Jump Start Clinics, which begin in June.

Think of Jump Start Clinics as pushing fast forward on your child’s swimming progress. Instead of waiting a week in between lessons, when you enroll in a Jump Start Clinic, you’ll say yes to a week full of swim skills, technique and water safety. That’s right—swimming lessons five days in a row! Five days to “roll over,” to show off “big arms!,” to “dip” and to “dive for rings.”

Photo of a Goldfish swimmer with an instructor

As summer (we hope) starts to heat up, it’s also a great precautionary measure. You and your kids will inevitably take a trip to the beach, lake, ocean or pool at some point during the summer. The best path to take to ensure that your kids are safe is to make water safety a priority; kids need to be aware, comfortable and skilled in the water. Jump Start Clinics expedite that process and keep swimming safety top-of-mind. For a refresher on some of our other swimming safety best practices, check out our blog post Safe Summer Swimming.

If you’re worried that five days of swimming lessons in a row will break the bank, don’t; they’re affordable and well worth the additional safety that comes with the clinics. If you have more than one child, sibling discounts are also available.

Just think: it might even be a good excuse to gather your girlfriends or buddies and take some down time at the pool while your kids gain the skills they need to make swimming a safe and fun activity for the whole family.

To learn more about Jump Start Clinics, click here. To register, please contact your local Goldfish Swim School.

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The Prime Time for Swimming

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Goldfish Swim School

Are your weeknights and evenings busy? If you’re like many of our parents here at Goldfish, your schedules are packed to the brim with soccer practice, piano lessons, tutoring—you name it. Sometimes the hardest part about swimming lessons is piling the kids into the car to make it to their 6:30 lesson on time, while fighting traffic amongst other things that make our schedules so busy.

We’ve got a solution!  Goldfish is open mornings and afternoons, so join us then! The pool and tiki huts may be bubbling with excited little swimmers once 4 o’clock rolls around, but it’s a different story earlier in the day. Think tropical oasis with far fewer people; it’s a half-hour reprieve from the chaos of life.

Photo of swimmers with parents at the Carmel, Indiana Goldfish Swim School

Whether you’re at work or at home watching the kids, our half-hour lessons make it possible to sneak away at lunchtime to take the kids to the pool. And a change of scenery never hurts. It might just be that burst of energy you need to tackle the rest of your afternoon. And—just think: you’ll knock one more activity off of your evening to-do list!

All of us at Goldfish want lessons to be a convenient part of your daily schedule. We invite you to experiment with lesson times to find out the best time slot for you, but if you can find it in your schedule to come before 4 p.m., you’ll see a whole new side of Goldfish that you haven’t seen before!

Cheryl Ringold, mother of two swimmers at Goldfish Farmington did it, and this is what she had to say about her switch:

“I like morning lessons because there are less distractions, so my kids can concentrate on safety and swimming more.”

Remember, hours vary by location. To check your local Goldfish’s hours, click here.

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Bathtub Practice with Goldfish

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Goldfish Swim School

With a week in between lessons, you might be concerned that your kids don’t have enough time in the water to practice their swimming skills.

But there’s good news! Several of the techniques we teach at lessons can be taken home to the bathtub. We met up with Hope Bayer, a co-owner at Goldfish Farmington Hills, Rochester, Macomb and Carmel, Ind., who worked with Mini Swimmer Carl to demonstrate five bathtub-ready skills:

  1. Goggles
  2. Underwater Conditioning
  3. Blowing bubbles
  4. Kicking Legs & Pulling Arms
  5. Sea Otter Float

Check out the video below to see these techniques come to life:

The skills you just watched are some of the most important we teach. The lessons learned in the Mini levels instill lifelong swimming techniques that will guide your child not only through graduation here at Goldfish, but will stick with them should they decide to swim competitively.

Let’s dig into the benefits…

Goggles work on comfort with the water and balance. Underwater conditioning makes the transition to splashy and then underwater dips more natural. Blowing bubbles works on breath control. Kicking legs and pulling arms trains both the mind and muscles to perform techniques for later swimming strokes. The Sea Otter Float (or back float) is an important safety skill and is fundamental to the execution of the backstroke.

If you have any questions about how to work with your child at home, please ask! You can leave a comment below or feel free to ask one of your child’s favorite swimming instructors during lessons.

*Just a reminder, all of the supplies we in our Mini classes are available at our Treasure Island Pro-Shops inside every Goldfish. Get prepared before bath time! In the video, you saw Hope and Carl use a pair of goggles and a duck pour for underwater conditioning. 

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Are You Ready for Spring Break?

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Goldfish Swim School

Photo of Goldfish Birmingham Swimmer R.J. in MauiIf you’re like many of the families at Goldfish, spring break is right around the corner. It’s either a whole week to spend bonding with your child, or a whole week trying to find a babysitter. For your sake, we hope it’s the former!

Like many of our families, winter break means traveling to a warm location and family swimming fills the gaps during winter break or you’re planning on traveling to a warm location and swimming at some point in your lives. (Do you like what we did there?) Whether it’s the ocean, the Gulf, a pool or a lake, it doesn’t matter; what matters is that the whole family is prepared to take on the responsibilities that come with water safety.

If you’re reading this post right now, you’re already on the right track. Your child is either enrolled at Goldfish, or you’re thinking about enrolling, which is half the battle.

The programs your child participates in at Goldfish every week are helping to develop lifetime swimming skills, a comfort and respect for the water. They are also skills that you can practice on the road, at Family Swim and, in some cases, even in the bathtub!

Practice is so important because, although while at Goldfish, you’re provided with top-notch instruction and a lifeguard on duty at all times, you and your child might find yourselves alone on vacation. It’s important that all of you feel comfortable with your swimming abilities and limits. As a rule of thumb, never let your child swim without supervision.

This is all to say that placing your child in swimming lessons at Goldfish is the best planning tip we can give you if you’ve got an upcoming trip. There is no magic bullet when it comes to learning to swim. Each child needs to learn and progress at his or her own rate, and the instructors here at Goldfish are ready to teach and cheer them on.

If you’re curious which swim program is right for your child, you can check out all of our levels here.

Or if you want proof that our Goldfishers are taking their swim skills with them all around the world, check out our “Goldfishers” photo album on Facebook.

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