Connecting Changes Everything
Connection in the Water: How Bonding Builds Confident Swimmers
Swimming with Confidence is about connection. Instead of just teaching basic swimming skills, we connect with individuals and address the unique needs of their family circumstances. I think that is why the teaching curriculum is so successful.
Summer of 2025, I piloted a mom & me (or parent-led) swim class in Southern Utah. I had offered the service for free to some foster families to fill the remaining spots in the class.
The purpose of this in-person class was to provide caregivers with the skills to teach their own children to love the water by connecting and bonding with them. We did this through play-based stations.
We had a variety of families join, including a single mom with two girls, a foster family that rotated between the dad, mom, and brother (all of whom were in the water), a grandpa with his grandson, and an aunt with her niece.
We set up play-based skills via laminated cards around the pool, and the families would rotate through them. Then we would meet at the end to play a group game.
On day one, the kids struggled. The environment was new for both adults and their kids. Some kids were crying.
But by day six, EVERY SINGLE CHILD loved the water and progressed in swimming skills. There was laughter and connection.
I didn’t teach these kids. I empowered the parents/caregivers to teach the skills themselves.
This class was so successful that you can now find the exact skills in laminated format on my website for purchase.
This class was tailored for ages 0-2, but the same principles apply to all ages. As we empower others to connect with themselves, learn to deal with new environments and uncertainty, we see a shift — they start to believe in themselves.
And when given the opportunity to connect with family, friends, and others at the pool (especially through play), all of a sudden, the swimming journey takes a positive turn. Beginners become swimmers in days, not months or years. They become independent and confident in more than just swimming, but in everyday life as well.
I’ve had so many parents report that the confidence their child gained from the pool and the connections there transferred to home and school as well. It is literally the connection that changes them.
I always tell parents that kids who love the water learn to swim. But learning to love the water starts with connecting. And it is that connection that changes everything.
