Swim Cost Comparison

Most other Swim Schools teach the average 3 year old student to swim 5 ft in a minimum of six months. There are many other swim schools in Austin and surrounding areas that you can choose from. Everyone has choices and all swim programs are geared to teach your child to swim. I just wanted to give you a brief skills and cost comparison for these schools in relation to mine. (Almost all schools in Austin area do not teach children under age 3 to swim unassisted and climb out independently. It is more of a water exploration class).

The Swim School Austin : Offers a variety of programs, but for independent swim, programs start at age 2. Lessons are offered one day a week for a monthly fee, starting at $120 a month plus a $45 annual registration fee. Offer Summer lessons which are designed for children out of school (older children) for the summer that are Monday-Friday for $130 per week. The core of their program is lessons that let swimmers swim year-round with a monthly membership. The number of lessons varies from kid to kid. The average child takes 20 weeks of lessons (once a week) and can swim an average of 5 ft.
Aquatots: Age: 2.5 years and older. Monthly tuition for 3 days a week is $292 with a $50 annual fee. Designed for children to become comfortable and confident in the water. No timeline.
Emler Swim School - Age: 2 years and up. $482 for 14 lessons if scheduled during the work week. Lesson Length: 30 minutes long, once a week. Children are all different so they cannot say how long it takes for a child to learn to swim independently. Goals are independent swim of 5 ft and independent back float, assisted front breath and safety skills. They do offer classes for younger children, but they are Baby and Me classes that require parent participation.

Ms. Cathy Swim Austin - Ages 2 and older Lesson Length: 30 minutes. Cost: $450 for 5 lessons. Swim Results: 90% of all students can swim 15 ft and climb out of pool unassisted after 5 lessons. Most are able to swim 30 ft with little assistance (for breath). Some children may need more than one session due to motor skill development.

The swim schools listed above give a timeframe to when certain skills will be learned. Other swim schools in the Austin area will not give any timeframe for skills learned saying that every child learns at a different pace.

If you choose to take your child to swimming lessons elsewhere, the classes will be more focused on introducing your child to the pool and helping them be comfortable in a water environment until your child is 3 years old. It takes an average of two summers before your child can swim unassisted to the side of the pool and get out if they should fall in. Money spent is usually over $1,100 before children can swim well enough to swim to the side and get out unassisted if they fall in. In summary, many parents have told me they have already spent $1,100 with other programs before they came to me for lessons. They could have saved a tremendous amount of time and money if they would have just come to me first.

Drowning is the #1 cause for accidental death in children ages 2-10. Why play roulette, spending years of time and energy on lessons that take a year or two to achieve these life saving skills if your child was to accidentally fall into a body of water.

Most children can learn to swim in as few as 5 lessons and are then able to save themselves by swimming to the side of the pool and climbing out unassisted if they do happen to fall in.