I became a Certified Infant Aquatics® Instructor in February 2019, approximately 1 year after the birth of my first child. Living in a coastal city with access to multitude bodies of water, it was very important to me that my child learn life-saving aquatic skills as early as possible. I also wanted him to grow up LOVING and feeling confident in the water. I researched many different swim and self rescue programs. I concluded that the Infant Aquatics method was superior. I contacted the closest instructor, who was over 100 miles away. She informed me that lessons are 10 minutes long, 4 days a week, for 6 weeks. With that distance, there was no way I could make it work. That's when I started thinking about getting certified myself... not only was it important that my child learn this specific program, but I felt so passionate about Infant Aquatics, that I wanted to make it accessible to our whole community!
I adore children. I grew up with lots of younger cousins. Babysitting was my jam. I graduated from MUSC in 2004 with a Masters Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. I worked as a Speech Language Pathologist for 8 years in a variety of settings including schools. I am comfortable working with children of all ages and abilities. One of the most rewarding parts of being a SLP was seeing a child master his/her goal.
As your Infant Aquatics Instructor, my goal is to successfully teach your child how to survive in the water based upon his/her developmental capabilities. If your child can roll from belly to back on the floor, he/she can learn to roll to a face up float position in the pool. If your child is walking, he/she can learn to kick to swim through the pool. With my guidance and instruction, your child will master our goal, learn a healthy respect for the water, and hopefully grow to love swimming (especially with you)... Holy Mackerel, right!?!
Holy Mackerel Infant Aquatics has group classes starting at 2 months of age, and private lessons for children ages 6 months to 6 years. Lessons are offered year round. Please see the website for more detailed information and how to register for classes.