I'm Kristin Van Doren

I've spent my whole life around water. From childhood summers by the pool to beach adventures, it's been a lifelong connection. Now, I am a proud mom to three incredible kids, all under the age of 5. Becoming a parent made me realize that water skills aren't innate – they're learned.

Water safety has been a core concern for our family. We've consistently enrolled our children in various swim lessons, including Mommy and Me classes and group lessons. Over time, they became more at ease around water, but their actual swimming skills didn't see much improvement.

An eye-opening moment occurred at a pool party with my son's preschool class, highlighting how quickly things can go wrong around water. A realization hit home - waiting years for them to learn to swim wasn't an option. I needed swift progress, not gradual steps. The following day, I began my hunt for local survival swim instructors and lessons. We secured two slots with Erin Loewe at Starfish Infant Aquatics® in Richmond. I committed to the 50 minute daily commute and in less than 6 weeks, my kids went from hesitant to confidently swimming and floating.

Discovering Erin’s role as an Infant Aquatics® Certifying Instructor sparked a new idea. Conversations with her and Judy Heumann solidified my decision to learn how to teach these critical survival swim skills.

As a mom, I'm all about keeping kids safe. Through survival swim lessons, I aim to empower both children and parents. Let's work together to create a community where water is fun, safe, and worry-free for everyone.