Prior to joining my swim family at Hubbard Family Swim School my children were occasionally taking swim lessons at a Phoenix public pool. Jude was three years old and absolutely loved the water. Anytime we arrived at the pool he was overjoyed and overly excited. His impatience was what caused his slip. We had warned him not to run towards the pool. The moment I let go of his hand and turned away he ran towards the water, slipped, and his head slammed onto the pavement.
Posted in Benefits of Swim Lessons, Swim Safety on March 22, 2022
Swimming lessons provide a great physical outlet for kids, along with the benefits of increased water safety, swimming confidence, social skills, and mental strength. But the classes themselves aren’t the only time for these rewards to be cultivated. If you’re wondering how to build confidence in kids, there’s a lot that you, as the parent or caregiver, can do.
Posted in Benefits of Swim Lessons on April 28, 2020
It’s that time of year when families everywhere are getting excited about spring break with kids. A family spring break is often a long-awaited time of fun, bonding, and memories. And if your children have been in swimming lessons, your spring break trip is sure to benefit in more ways than one.
Posted in Benefits of Swim Lessons on April 21, 2020
Does your child absolutely love swimming? Maybe you’ve enrolled in swimming lessons for kids, but your little one keeps asking you for more pool time. You wonder about how many swim lessons to learn to swim, when to stop swimming lessons, or if your child’s schedule is getting too crowded. Here’s our take on whether there’s such a thing as too many lessons, and how long you should keep your kids in classes.
Posted in Benefits of Swim Lessons on April 8, 2020
We’ve shared before why it’s important to keep swim lessons going even after the summer months are gone, but did you know that winter is actually a perfect time for kids to even start swim lessons, and embrace learning water safety life skills? Here are some more tips about kids swimming safety in the winter months.
Posted in Benefits of Swim Lessons, Swim Safety on December 25, 2019
There are often endless questions swirling in a new parent’s mind, many of which concern the health and safety of their newborn. And the chatter among other well-meaning parents and friends can compound the uncertainty, especially when there are discussions about the practices, activities, and approaches that each feels is best for a baby. Swimming can fall into this category and become a hot-button issue if a parent feels strongly about a particular methodology.
Some parents prefer family swim schools, like Hubbard, while others believe in the Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) program. If you’re interested in a gentle, gradual, and parent-involved approach like the one at Hubbard, you might get pushback from other parents telling you that your child needs infant survival swimming classes too. So, what is ISR? And does your baby really need it? Here’s our take.
Posted in Benefits of Swim Lessons on September 4, 2019
If your child is still at an age in which regular naps are crucial for their development (and your peace of mind), it can be tricky to schedule activities around them. You also have to keep in mind the dreaded car nap when planning their schedules, since even a short catnap while you drive them from Point A to Point B can throw off their nap sleep routine for an entire day or two.
We all know that dealing with toddlers who haven’t slept, or are off their typical nap schedule, can be very challenging, so as you go about selecting the right swim class day and time for your little one, here are some rules of thumb to keep in mind.
Posted in Benefits of Swim Lessons on August 20, 2019
When you start your child in swim lessons, you’re probably zeroed in on water safety – as well as excited about giving them a chance to exercise regularly and learn new skills. But have you stopped to think of all the extra ways swimming lessons can benefit your little ones for years to come? Feeling comfortable in the water and being able to swim can help your kid in the here and now, like by boosting their social confidence at a pool party for a friend’s birthday or on a family vacation to the ocean. These benefits can outlast the days of swim lessons, even far into your child’s future. Here are a few ways:
Posted in Child Development, Benefits of Swim Lessons on August 14, 2019
Can you believe summer vacation is coming to an end? If you’re like most parents, it probably feels like you blinked and your kids are just about to head back to school. When planning their fall schedules, you might be wondering what activities should fit into the picture. Here are a few reasons why it’s a good idea to include kids swimming classes into their back to school routine.
Posted in Benefits of Swim Lessons on August 4, 2019
There have been a lot of studies done about the benefits of baby swimming, and parents asking, “how early can a baby learn to swim?” What we’ve learned from our research points to the fact that the earlier an infant begins swim classes, the better for their development in a number of ways.
But, specifically, you might be wondering how swim lessons make a difference in this formative time period. Here’s some more information, through the lens of child development stages.
Posted in Child Development, Benefits of Swim Lessons on June 24, 2019
Every year, we look forward to Every Kid Healthy™ Week, which takes place from April 22nd - 26th. This annual observance was created to celebrate school health and wellness achievements. It’s right in line with our mission to further kids’ fitness and healthy living for kids. So in honor of this week, here are some of our favorite tips for raising healthy children.
Posted in Parenting Ideas, Benefits of Swim Lessons on June 17, 2019
Sometimes we hear people refer to our infant swimming lessons as “mommy and me” classes - and they absolutely can be! Whether you work full-time, part-time, or stay at home, many moms enjoy spending quality bonding time in the pool during baby swim lessons. And we love to see that. But this “mommy and me” nickname only tells part of the story about our baby and me swim classes. Did you know that dads are welcome, and encouraged, to participate in them too? Here’s a little more about why.
Posted in Benefits of Swim Lessons on May 28, 2019
The importance of swimming lessons for kids has been pretty well studied and widely embraced, especially in the context of water safety. But in addition to safety, there are swim lesson benefits that extend far and wide.
When you enroll your child in kids swimming lessons, there are also a host of social skills they’ll be picking up every week in class. Here are a few we see most often;
Posted in Benefits of Swim Lessons, Child Development on May 27, 2019
Some parents that we’ve talked to have been surprised that you can start babies swimming very early. We’ve found this to be a common misconception, as many people think infants aren’t able to learn anything in baby swim lessons, so they may decide to wait to start baby swimming until they’re around the ages of one or two.
Posted in Benefits of Swim Lessons on May 20, 2019
When we work to teach your kids to swim, we include a significant dose of repetition in every lesson. Our curriculum builds upon the skills learned each week, and we spend a lot of time reinforcing these skills over and over again - intentionally. We do this when teaching a toddler to swim because it develops muscle memory, improves mental development, and ultimately results in a stronger, more capable and confident little swimmer. Here’s a little more about the benefits of repetition in swim class and in other learning environments.
Posted in Swim Tips, Benefits of Swim Lessons on April 17, 2019
It’s no surprise that swimming lessons help young kids learn valuable skills, which help keep them safe around water and can even save their lives. But did you know that toddler swimming lessons can also be a great stepping stone for preschool prep? It’s true!
As parents, we all want our children to have an early head start in academics and we also care greatly about their social and emotional development. Here’s how swimming lessons can be the gateway to all of this before your child even steps into a formal classroom.
Posted in Benefits of Swim Lessons, Child Development on December 12, 2018
If you’re like most parents, playtime with your kids is your favorite time. It can be a refreshing break from the hustle and bustle of your daily routine when you have some time at home and can spend valuable moments with your children playing. The value of play extends far beyond the moment in which they’re playing. In fact, there are nearly endless benefits of play. A parent and child playing together are one of the most important things that can take place to foster learning - and instill a love for ongoing learning in children. Here’s why:
Posted in Child Development, Benefits of Swim Lessons on November 2, 2018
At Hubbard Family Swim School, we make sure the class size is small in our toddler swim lessons so that our students get maximum instruction and attention from their teacher. Because of this, our group classes only have four students in them, tops. We also offer semi-private swim lessons for children younger than 3 who are ready to take the next steps after "parent and tot" lessons but are not quite ready for groups of 4.
Posted in Benefits of Swim Lessons, Swim Tips on October 22, 2018
Most parents are well aware that swimming is a great way to get their kids some physical exercise including cardiovascular, respiratory, and strength-building benefits. But did you know that kids swimming classes are also instrumental in building self-confidence and encouraging positive social interaction among little ones?
Posted in Benefits of Swim Lessons on September 17, 2018
Just because your child was born with speech and language difficulties does not mean that it should be considered a lifelong disability. New research is being done every day, and you can help your child improve their speech and language skills with speech therapy during swimming lessons! Let your child have fun, while learning to interact with others and develop their language skills.
Posted in Benefits of Swim Lessons, Child Development on April 10, 2018
