The Chamblee family of Bellbrook includes two boys — Reid, 4 and Cooper, 7 — and, until this summer avoided the water for that reason.
“Cooper is our high-anxiety kid,” said his mom, Amber Chamblee. “He likes structure and being in control of things. Any kind of sports or organized activity has always been a struggle for him and he needs a whole lot of preparation for things and because of that he has never been a big fan of swimming.”
Since most of the year in Ohio, families don’t have to come in contact with the water, this was not a problem for Cooper, but Chamblee said the family tried to go on vacation to the beach “like normal families do” and she described it as “disastrous.”
“Cooper hated it,” she said. “He hated the sand and the waves. He has never been your normal love the water kind of kid.”
Around the time Chamblee’s son Reid was 3 years old, she started blogging online and found out about a new local business called Goldfish Swim School. She never worried about Reid because if he got near a pool, “he just jumped in,” but she wanted Cooper to have some knowledge of swimming, just to learn how to be safe.
“I figured he would grow out of his anxieties eventually,” Chamblee said. “And I wanted him to learn how to swim.”
She called the manager of the Centerville location and signed both of her boys up for lessons, knowing her youngest would take to the water immediately and that Cooper would take his time because his personality is that people have to earn his trust before he willingly does things.
“We were surprised because it ended up being the polar opposite of what we thought,” Chamblee said. “Cooper’s teacher, Alex (Harker) actually has the knowledge of kids’ sensory processing and she knew immediately what I was talking about and how his brain works,” Chamblee said. “She knows how to deal with him and they immediately made a connection.”
Chamblee was impressed that after just four lessons, Cooper was putting his face under the water and went from a little boy who hated the water and was terrified to one who told her how much he loved the water.
“He told me he was not nervous at all when he got out,” Chamblee said. “That was really such a big deal!”
Mike Meilleur, the owner of the Goldfish Swim School in Dayton, opened the location just four months ago and said the facility is designed to teach children aged four months to 12 years how to swim in a comfortable, friendly environment.
“Our pool is 4 feet deep and the temperature is a ‘shiver free’ 90 degrees,” Meilleur said. “Everything is designed and engineered for kids. We have bright colors and murals and a stimulating and warm environment. We exist to teach children how to swim and to make sure they are safe in and around the water.”
Meilleur said that kids learn best with repetition and frequency and lessons at Goldfish are customized since kids progress at different rates. All instructors are certified lifeguards and love working with children.
For the Chamblee family, the school has made an incredible difference.
“The best part of swimming for us is the matter of fact way Cooper answers you when you ask him about it,” Chamblee said. “He just loves being in the water. I truly think it’s a feeling of the water and that’s where it’s at for him. It’s strange but it’s endearing to watch as a mom to see him enjoy it that much.”
According to the American Red Cross the risk of drowning is reduced by 85 percent by having children enrolled in swim lessons and learning proper technique of how to be safe around water. Meilleur said the earlier that the child is enrolled the better the results.
For more information: dayton.goldfishswimschool.com
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