This post is sponsored by our partner, Foss Swim School.
Swim lessons are a life skill, and Foss Swim School allows you to foster this skill safely, even during a pandemic.
First things first, let’s talk about some statistics that left me determined to enroll my daughters in swim lessons.
- Swimming lessons could reduce childhood drowning by 88%
- 1 in 5 people who die from drowning are children
- 60% of Latino children cannot swim (70% of Black children, 40% of Caucasian children).
As a Latina with two daughters, that last statistic terrifies me, and the most shocking part is that I never learned how to swim. Ever. I even grew up in Florida near the beach, lakes, and rivers, and I was never taught how to swim. I just stayed near the edge or floated along. I was never scared of the water, but I also knew my limits from a young age after a scary fall into a pool where my cousin had to help me out.
When we moved to St. Louis, I convinced myself that I had plenty of time to enroll our then 14-month-old in swim lessons. I convinced myself well enough that it wasn’t until she was just over 3-years-old that we enrolled her and her baby sister (18-months-old) in swim lessons at the new Foss Swim School location in Ballwin. I now had no excuse to skip classes as the facility is centrally located, and they offered enough sessions to fit our schedule. Well, it’s 2020, and the pandemic has halted most of our regular activities, but that’s beside the point.
Now, let me tell you, attending swim lessons during a pandemic should have probably felt a lot more risky than usual for a non-swimming mom, but it wasn’t. From the moment we enrolled to the first wave to our instructors (#2020), I felt at ease.
The care that these instructors took with my most precious possessions was superb. Even through their face shields, they consistently exemplify what an experienced and kind instructor should always look like when teaching.
The precautions they took to minimize exposure to Covid-19 was second to none. We wore masks, saw sanitizing happen on a regular timetable, and class capacities were limited.
The pride (which is evident on my camera roll) I have in my girls as we prepare to wrap up our first session brings a smile to my face – even as I write this. When I see my girls learning life-saving skills with smiles on their faces, I know that my husband and I have made the best decision to enroll them in Foss Swim School – even during a pandemic.
When this pandemic first started, I remember someone saying that life is still going on and this will pass. I could have easily waited to enroll my girls when the world was back to “normal,” but when this all passes,I want my girls to be ready to visit the pool or lake with skills that could save their lives. I want to be able to say that I’ve given them the necessary foundation to be safe in the water.
As for me, Foss Swim School offers adult lessons, and I will be enrolling in the near future. I’m a bit nervous about that, but I know I need to do it for myself and my girls. Life is still going on and I want to be sure I’m ready for our next adventure.
