When my eldest daughter was in first grade, she wanted to be on a swim team.  At the time we were living in Eagle Heights, and the closest pool was the Shorewood Swimming Pool.  I joined the pool for her to be on their team. 

We learned as a family that belonging to a pool is was a great place to spend the summer and a great way to keep fit.
In time, all three of my daughters would swim for Shorewood.  My middle daughter loves to compete, while my eldest and youngest only swim for fitness now. The skills my kids learned at the pool will stay with them forever.  While they are not all that fast, they are strong swimmers.  I have little to worry about when it comes to water safety because of the lessons they have taken at the pool for so many summers.

Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death among children ages 1 to 14.  Water safety is a serious issue for parents during the summer time. Local pools have trained lifeguards watching your children when they swim which means you can take a swim, read a book or enjoy a nap in the sunshine.

Most pool memberships offer free swim lessons to family members and reduced swim team rates.  Now that my girls are beyond swim lessons, the pool has become a safe place for them to hang out with their friends that is supervised and fun.  While a membership is a bit pricey for some, I make sure we get our money’s worth.

In Madison, there are lots of swimming pool options, including the new Goodman Pool (a mere $155 family membership) but it does not have a swim team yet.  The Shorewood Pool offers non-resident family memberships for $599, no stocks involved. Many pools in Madison ask for families to buy stock -- which may cost over $500 -- in the pool. Stocks can be sold to other families or back to the pool depending on the byelaws of the pool.  Shorewood is the only pool in Madison that does not require stocks or initiation fees.

Some pools in town have a one-time fee to purchase stock or an initiation fee, separate from yearly membership dues.  The YMCA and MSCR also offer very affordable swimming lessons and opportunities to be in the water for children. 

Hawks Landing, High Point, Hill Farms, Maple Bluff, Middleton, Monona, Nakoma, Parkcrest, Ridgewood, Seminole, Shorewood and West Side neighborhoods all have pools you can look into.  I believe it is important to have a sense of confidence when your children are around water and the best way to do that is to join a pool.