I am a parent of four children! I have two older children that learned to swim at a young age while my family lived on the east coast. They now swim on the swim team (ages 9 and 10), and while being around water on a daily location, it was imperative for my two younger children (2 and 3) to be safe while around the water. I started my 3 yr old daughter at Little Dippers almost 2 years ago. She has taken lessons with the owner the entire time, and my 2 year old son has just begun lessons. My daughter can swim independently, and more importantly, she knows exactly what to do if she were to fall in the water. Even if she were fully clothed with shoes on, if she fell into the water, she could get on her back for air, and then swim to the side. More importantly, she LOVES to swim and completely enjoys the water.
Let me also add that of my 4 children, three of them cried each time they got into the water for the first 3-6 months of their lesson. I appreciate Joy's teaching abilities so much. As a parent, I am loving, kind and gentle, yet firm. With water safely, I feel the same is important. My children have learned that Joy cares, and she is kind, but she is also firm. She didn't let my children climb out of the water b/c they were crying and wanted mommy b/c her job was to teach them to swim. My daugher eventually began to stop crying and enjoy the water and enjoy being with Joy in the water, and I expect the same from my son in the near future. And now, I have the peace of mind that if something were to happen, my 3 year old would be okay. And soon, my 2 year old will be in the same boat. Joy talks to my children, she explains to them why it's important that they listen to her, and she is open with me as a parent as to why she does certain things during a lesson.
Last, I have always enjoyed working with Carolynn as well. She has been a great substitue teacher and she runs the business soundly. She's been easy when I need to make a schedule change, and she's been accomodating when it comes to payment as well. I one day expect all four of my children to be competing on the swim team, but until then, I'll attribute my younger children's swim team abilities to Little Dippers!!
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