About Charakie

Hi there! Thank you for your interest in Infant Aquatics. My name is Charakie Gordon-Smith. I am a wife and mother of 5 amazing children and one wonderful son-in-law. We are a blended family. My husband and I both lost spouses to cancer when we were very young. So, although it might look like we are a family of eight, we are very much a family of ten! Spending time with my husband and our children is my very favorite thing to do.

I grew up in Utah but have since lived in Georgia, South Carolina, and currently reside in Queen Creek, Arizona. Being a mother has always been a top priority for me and that is where my focus has been for the past 25 years. As my older three children grew up and left home to do amazing things, it left me wondering what’s next for me. I’ve always loved children and knew I wanted to work with littles in some way, but it wasn’t until 2023 that I really knew what my path would be. I believe the seed was planted when we had a near drowning experience with our daughter when she was 3 years old. As a result of this scare, our older three children were taught aquatic survival skills and I remember how remarkable it was to watch. Fast forward 20 years and I started following a few families on social media who had experienced the tragic loss of a child from accidental drowning. As a result of their experiences, these families enrolled their babies in Infant Survival classes. I began watching videos of infants and children learning these life saving skills and knew it was something I wanted to be part of.

Training with Judy Heumann at Infant Aquatics in Longmont, Colorado was very rewarding. She and her team at Infant Aquatics are true experts in infant aquatic survival and it was a pleasure to learn from them. I have acquired skills that will teach children and their parents how to be safe around the water by using self-rescue techniques and the swim-float-swim method.

I am so excited to teach life saving skills to infants and children in my community while also giving them confidence to enjoy the water safely. My hope and prayer is that parents won’t wait until it’s too late and that we can work together to make a difference. If only one child is saved, it will have been worth every effort made. Can’t wait to work with you!