Swimming is one of those things you don’t really think about until you HAVE to think about it. Both of my children have always loved the water, which is actually a problem that I didn’t expect. I didn’t expect that the first time we went to a water park my tiny 3-year old daughter would make a beeline for the water without realizing she couldn’t touch the bottom. I didn’t realize that my son would want to jump off the diving board when he could barely keep his head out of water when holding onto the wall. Knowing how to swim-and being confident when in the water-is so fundamentally important for children. Swimming lessons aren’t something you want to take lightly.
If I am going to be completely honest, swim lessons at the rec centers aren’t always my favorite place to be. If I’m not in the pool, the humid and muggy air isn’t particularly pleasant (well, except when I have a cold) and it is frustrating 
for me to watch my children swim for two minutes and then sit on the side for another 5 minutes while the other 6-8 kids get their turn. Add that to the fear that they will let go of the wall and drown-not an unrealistic fear since my son did get himself in a bit of trouble once-and I am not overly happy for the half an hour I am sitting with the rest of the rec center parents.
So I was already significantly happier at Safesplash where I am comfortably behind a glass wall while my children are safely standing on a platform in the water. I am also always watching one or the other of them since the class sizes are so much smaller than other places. But there are so many other great things about Safesplash that makes it our favorite swimming lesson place.
- The water is warm! My son is a bit of a whiner when it comes to cold water. He simply does not enjoy it and certainly does not do his best learning when he is freezing. SafeSplash maintains their pools anywhere from 84-90 degrees so it feels a lot like bathwater to the kids. Warm water=happy kid=happy mom. A win win situation in my book.
- Class sizes are small, and by small I mean there are only 4 kids per instructor. Many of the rec center classes my kids took had classes that were 6-8 kids, and they were in class for the same amount of time or even less than at SafeSplash. Considering the small amount of time the kids ended up actually getting attention, I was basically paying for them to have limited play.
- The purification system they use in an ultraviolet system rather than the typical bleach system that many pools use. I can’t stand that bleachy smell when walking into the pool area, and my kids’ hair always feels so much more dry after they get out of the pool. Not a problem at SafeSplash. The UV still kills the bacteria, but it does so with a lower chlorine level. Which is good-I don’t actually like to think about all the chemicals my children are swimming in at the rec center pools.
- They are open year-round 7 days a week and are a dedicated swim facility. No birthday parties two lanes over while they are trying to learn, no added foot traffic as adults try to get to the gym, and no waiting in the locker room because of the additional classes or activities.
I have always preferred to have my children take swimming classes during the fall and winter months so that by the time the swimming season came around 
they would be ready for the water. It just didn’t make sense to me to hang out at the pool all summer and hope that they would remember what they learned last year. This also means that swim lessons are a great thing to add to holiday wish lists for grandparents and other family members that are sick of getting yet another toy that won’t be played with very often.
I am like many moms in that I typically try to cut costs wherever I can, but in this case I have found that the additional money in tuition is more than worth it. My kids are happier when they are learning, they advance in classes at a quicker pace since there are fewer kids per instructor, and I don’t dread going to watch.
There are over 10 Colorado SafeSplash locations with the majority of them being in Denver and the surrounding areas. Visit SafeSplash.com to learn more or to sign your little swimmer up today!
