“Pools, beaches, and boating are the way of life in Charleston, thus water safety is of paramount importance. Enrolling our 2 year old daughter in Anna’s swim survival course was, bar none, the best parenting decision we have made.

Anna’s expert instruction taught her to respect water rather than merely to be confident in it. After six weeks of lessons, she had mastered the swim-float-swim technique even fully clothed.

The lessons are a financial and temporal investment that result in a life-saving skill, and there is no substitute for peace of mind when it comes to child safety. We sing Anna’s praises to anyone who will listen, and we jumped at the chance to enroll our daughter in refresher lessons to ensure her skills remain sharp.”

-Chelsea H
Class of 2020

“I first learned of the program from our neighbors after watching their young children swim confidently around our neighborhood pool without the aid of puddle jumpers, pool noodles, etc. When I say “young”, we are talking 2 and 3 years old. I knew I had to sign my 5 1/2 year old daughter up for whatever program they had used.

Right from my initial email inquiry, Anna’s responses were prompt, professional, and friendly. This carried over tenfold once lessons began.

Anna was absolutely wonderful with her. Before beginning the class, my daughter could swim a few strokes underwater but would panic when she needed a breath. Anna built on what she already knew and at the end of 3 weeks, we had a confident swimmer that could swim the length of the pool without hesitation. If she gets tired or nervous, she now knows how to immediately get into a float until she feels ready to continue (or until help can arrive in an emergency).

Although it’s not Anna’s focus, once she felt confident with my daughter’s survival skills, she even began teaching her strokes. My daughter went from a tentative paddler to a self assured swimmer that can freestyle, backstroke, and dive down 7 feet.

We are in absolute awe of her transformation and the peace of mind we now have with her around water is priceless. Anna completely exceeded our expectations and we can’t wait to begin lessons with our 2 year old son in the spring.”

-Karen and Steven M
Class of 2020

“Our son began classes with Anna when he was 11 months old. Living so close to the water and with so many pools around, water safety is so important to us. Learning how to save himself in the water was vital to us as soon as he learned to crawl.

We were always so impressed with how well Anna worked with him, even when he was crying. She was so calm and reassuring, and as Anna always said, "a crying baby is a breathing baby!"

By the end of 4 weeks, he could flip over onto his back and float until he was rescued, even in the heaviest of winter clothes. He also started learning how to swim underwater to a target (like the wall or another person).

We can't wait to go back to Anna next spring for him to continue learning his swim-float-swim. Having these self-rescue skills makes our days to the pool and beach so much more fun. He will crawl out into the pool as far as he can, and when he can't touch anymore, he simply flips over and waits, like he was taught. He loves being self-reliant, and our minds are at ease in giving him that independence.

We are very grateful to have found Holy Mackerel Infant Aquatics.”

-Meg T
Class of 2019