Self Rescue Swimming Lessons | Tampa | Riverview

Watch Me Swim was founded 25 years ago by Kari Bahour after her infant son experienced a "near drowning" incident.

Teaching Self-Rescue Swim Lessons to Infants and Young Children Since 2000.
Kari Bahour is a dedicated advocate for water safety and survival swimming education, driven by her personal experiences as a mother. After her son survived a near-drowning incident without complications, she became acutely aware of the potential dangers that curious toddlers face around water. This realization prompted her to thoroughly research swim programs that prioritize teaching essential water competence before instilling confidence in young children.
 
Recognizing the ease with which a toddler can slip away from supervision, Kari sought a program that would equip her son with vital life-saving skills. After receiving a recommendation from a neighbor, she enrolled her 16-month-old son in the Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) program, which focuses on teaching infants and toddlers critical self-rescue skills. Within just a few weeks, she was amazed at the aquatic problem-solving abilities her son developed through the ISR curriculum.
 
Inspired by her son’s progress and the importance of these skills, Kari pursued certification as a survival swimming instructor. Her mission is to provide other children with the same essential lifesaving techniques that can prevent drowning incidents. Through her work, she aims to empower parents and children alike by emphasizing the significance of water safety and competence in aquatic environments.
 
Kari’s story reflects a growing awareness among parents about the importance of formal swim education for young children. Through “Watch Me Swim,” she has developed her own unique method that focuses on teaching competence before confidence, ensuring that children master essential self-rescue skills. Her program emphasizes individualized, one-on-one instruction, allowing her to customize lessons based on each child’s developmental level, which fosters a safe and supportive learning environment.
 
Through her advocacy, Kari continues to promote childhood safety in aquatic environments, ensuring that more families have access to critical swim education that can save lives. Her commitment has made “Watch Me Swim” a leading program in the Tampa Bay area, impacting thousands of young learners and their families.

About Kari Bahour

In 2000, Kari Bahour was accepted into the Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) Instructor Training and Development program. Since then, she has had the privilege of teaching survival swimming skills to thousands of infants and young children. In 2008, she underwent additional training to become an ISR Master Instructor, enabling her to train and develop new survival swimming instructors nationwide. To date, Kari has trained more than 20 instructors across Florida, Louisiana, Montana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. She has also served as a professional mentor and contributed extensively to the operation and expansion of ISR.

In 2014, wanting to give back to her community, Kari founded a nonprofit organization called Water Smart Tots, Inc., dedicated to eliminating early childhood drowning in the Greater Tampa Bay area. Watch Me Swim, LLC. proudly sponsors Water Smart Tots. For more information about the nonprofit, visit watersmarttots.org.

Kari has been featured in various media outlets, including Fox 13’s “What’s Right with Tampa Bay” in 2016, Bay News 9 Community Hero, and WFLA Daytime TV Show. She has also received multiple nominations for awards such as WEDU’s Be More Awards.

An active member of the Hillsborough County Water Safety Team, the National Drowning Prevention Alliance, Safe Kids Greater Tampa Bay, and the U.S. Swim School Association, Kari continues to advocate for water safety and drowning prevention in her community.

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