Self Rescue Swimming Lessons | Tampa | Riverview

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

Teaching Self-Rescue Swim Lessons to Infants and Young Children Since 2000.

About Our Founder

Watch Me Swim was founded 25 years ago by Kari Bahour, a Senior Master Instructor in Infant Self-Rescue (ISR) methodology and a nationally recognized drowning prevention advocate. Her journey began after her infant son survived a non-fatal, drowning incident—a life-changing moment that ignited her mission to equip children with lifesaving water survival skills.

Since 2000, Kari has dedicated her career to teaching infants and young children critical self-rescue swim skills through individualized, one-on-one instruction. Her belief that competence must come before confidence has shaped the Watch Me Swim philosophy, ensuring every child learns problem-solving in the water before being encouraged to simply “love” it. Kari’s believes the love and confidence for the water naturally follows competence in the water.

Leadership in Training & Mentorship

As one of only a few Senior Master Instructors in the U.S., Kari has spent decades not only teaching thousands of children but also training, mentoring, and certifying new instructors nationwide. Her expertise ensures that future instructors carry forward the highest standards of safety, quality, and child-focused instruction.

Advocacy & Professional Service

Kari’s influence extends far beyond the pool:

Founder of the Water Smart Tots Foundation, a nonprofit providing scholarships for survival swim lessons to at-risk children.
Appointed member of the Florida Child Abuse Death Review Committee, bringing a voice for drowning prevention to statewide child safety discussions.
Active participant on multiple Florida drowning prevention and water safety task forces, helping shape policy and awareness campaigns.
Proud member of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance (NDPA), collaborating with leaders across the country to reduce childhood drownings.

A Mission That Saves Lives

For over two decades, Kari’s vision has remained clear: to create a world where fewer families suffer the tragedy of losing a child to drowning. Through Watch Me Swim, her nonprofit leadership, and her advocacy work, she continues to empower children with lifesaving self-rescue skills while educating parents and communities on the importance of water safety.

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.