Harriet Plummer Aquatics
Hello -
Both my children were/are very cautious and I experienced exactly the same thing you are describing when I started swim lessons with my daughter. I spent almost a year bringing her to lessons like you describe here, and after all that time, she was still not putting her face in the water. It seemed like none of the instructors had a strategy for getting a fearful child past that critical point. A friend recommended Harriet Plummer https://harrietplummeraquatics.com/ and my daughter was swimming with her face in the water within two weeks there. I didn't bother bringing my son anywhere else for initial lessons. Harriet Plummer is in Lafayette and is expensive when you're looking at per class price, but they have a method that works, and all instructors teach that specific method - it doesn't typically take long. My kids are 13 and 17 now, and both are proficient swimmers, but it did take persistence on my part. Even after they could swim with their faces in the water, I brought them back to lessons each year, because after a break during winter from swimming, they'd be fearful again. Once my son was past the initial fear of putting his face in and being capable of swimming via Harriet Plummer, in subsequent years I brought him to Ohana Aquatics in Oakland for additional practice - the pool is warm, the lessons are less expensive, it's in Oakland, but they don't have a cohesive method or strategy. If i remember correctly, Harriet Plummer only offers private lessons (part of the method) and a child starts by doing a 20 minute lesson each day Monday thru Thursday for two weeks in a row. Best of luck.
We have had great success with Harriet Plumber in Lafayette. My child took swim lessons for years but was still afraid/unable to swim until we went to Harriet Plumber. I highly recommend them. Home - Harriet Plummer Aquatics Swim School
Water safety is an important investment!
I took my 4-year old to a 2 week-intensive at the Harriet Plummer swim school in Lafayette, and later that summer when he fell into a remote lake, just out of arms reach, he used his new-found skills to avoid disaster until we could pull him out.
We had a good experience closer to home with lessons through the City of Berkeley Aquatics program at King Pool. It looks like they're open for swimming, though I don't see lessons listed yet.
Harriet Plummer Aquatic School in Lafayette, if it’s not too far to go.
If you're willing to drive to Lafayette, Harriet Plummer has such a nice swim school here, located close off Highway 24. She has a saline pool that is tented in the winter. It's been a while since my kids learned to swim there, but at the time, lessons were 1-on-1 and the teachers were all so reassuring and kind, and really knew how to relate to kids. At the time, she liked kids to come daily for a week, once a month, to help reinforce what they were learning every day and help them progress with their swimming more rapidly. Check them out! http://www.harrietplummeraquatics.com
Archived Q&A and Reviews
For more reviews, see Swim Lessons for Preschool and School Aged Kids
Jan 2008
I am interested in hearing reviews of Harriet Plummer Aquatic School and Sherman Swim School. I have checked the archives, but I am particularly keen on hearing the two programs compared and contrasted if anyone is familiar with both. The ''FAQs'' on the Harriet Plummer website sounded as though they employ a bit of a ''tough love'' approach, but I don't know if that is actually the case. My non-swimming yet water-loving son is almost 5 and can be tentative in new situations. So, I just want to be sure he is as comfortable as possible so that his associations with swimming are positive. Thanks.
harriet plummer and sherman swim are both in the east bay city of lafayette, but from my experience at both, differ dramatically in approach. i should mention that my parenting orientation is very pro-child, and i try very hard never to make my children suffer unnecessarily -- it bothers me to hear them cry.
with that in mind, your depiction of harrient plummer as the ''tough love'' approach is consistent with my experience. my oldest child went to one lesson there, actually one-half of a lesson there, before i pulled him out 7 years ago. i was not comfortable watching my child(ren) cry when being introduced to the water -- and was not comfortable with the philosphy of HP.
sherman, by contrast, is much softer and gentler. they try to work with children's innate water fears and support them. my children all went to sherman and while it may have taken a bit longer to learn to swim than at the HP sink or swim school, they never felt abandon or cried.
now many years later, they are little fish - loving water and having fun, safe and secure. i would not recommend the HP method unless 1) you have a strong constitution and do not have a problem with making your child cry (at least for the short term) or 2) you have a child who is VERY EAGER to put their face in the water and take off (in which case you may not need lessons!) bekki
Sept 2003
I'm looking for swimming lessons for a 6 year old boy who is particularly cautious around water. Are there any places that are better (or worse) about helping children feel comfortable and allowing them to set their own pace, but encouraging? Lucy
I heartily recommend Harriet Plummer Swim School in Lafayette. It's just as you describe-a backyard pool with about 3 teachers in the pool at one time. You sign up for a 4-day week (Mon- Thurs) of 15 minute private lessons (only your child with the teacher). The teachers are especially wonderful with fearful swimmers, using very reassuring, calm, measured tones and a variety of skill-building activities that are play-like. We love the place. They offer lessons year-round, and in the winter they tent the pool to keep the ambient air temperature warm (the pool is kept at 92 degrees or so-nice and warm). They're in the phone book! Christina
I have a great recommendation for swim lessons in the P.Hill area -- try Harriet Plummer's Swim School in Lafayette. I too had a child who was very cautious around water and one who was not. My older child (6) started swim lesons at Little Dippers (which is not a swim club but a swim school) and was doing beautifully -- loved the water, was doing well ... UNTIL we went through a month where she had a new teacher each week of the month. At about the same time, I started my 3 year old there, who was quite nervous about the water. From the start, she cried and got upset. I pulled them both and we went to a new place. I am happy to say that we are thrilled with the results. We now go to HARRIET PLUMMER SWIM SCHOOL in Lafayette and both of my girls swim across the pool and LOVE the water. My little one has even begged to continue thru the fall! They are a touch more expensive, but the instructors are loving, consistent and the staff has mostly been there for a long time. You will not regret it! Good luck -- Been there, done that!
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