Toddler Swimming Lessons & Training FAQ’s

You can enroll your child as early as six months of age or when your baby is rolling over both ways and sitting independently. Your baby will learn how to roll from a face-down position in the water to a face-up independent back float with a private instructor.

If your baby is under six months of age, you can still get started with parent-led lessons. We offer a Little Dippers class beginning in May (assuming there’s enough interest), comparable to a “Baby & Me” lesson for ages 2-7 months old. These lessons will be available once a week for 20 minutes per lesson with an instructor to help parents/caregivers get the baby comfortable in the water. In this class, parents will be in the water with the baby. Please feel free to call or text us to inquire at 520-440-1892.

While our number one priority is water safety and teaching children to float on their back to breathe, most children master this skill between 4-5 weeks. This leaves us with the last week or two to have some fun while building confidence. We will teach them how to swim•float•swim across the pool (for our walking students), which is so fun for them! Our second priority is having fun in the water! We do our best to incorporate our slide, games, and toys to ensure that we get some playtime and do not always have to work. Next thing you know, your child will be crying because they have to get out of the pool. 

The AAP recommends swim lessons as a layer of protection against drowning that can begin for many children starting at age 1. 

The Colt Catalina Foundation works exclusively with Infant Aquatics® instructors to provide scholarships for families in need of tuition assistance. If your child is under four years old and needs tuition assistance, please reach out to the Colt Catilina Foundation or contact us to help get a scholarship for your child. 

We encourage you to plan your vacation around swim lessons? The consistency of regular attendance will set your child up for success? We understand that life is busy and things come up, so missing a lesson here or there is ok. Please know that you are paying for a time slot regardless of attendance. We offer makeup lessons at no additional charge if we have to cancel due to the weather. Please see the weather policy.

The instructor will cancel lessons if lightning is nearby. Please note that the weather can be quite different in your location than ours. We do not cancel lessons because it’s raining. The pool water is between 88 – 90 degrees, so your child will be warm while swimming. If the instructor has to cancel your lesson due to lightning, we will make up that lesson another day. If you choose to cancel your lesson when the instructor is still working, you are forfeiting your lesson for that day. Due to the unpredictable afternoon and evening weather during the monsoon season, we will only offer morning lessons during this time, typically during the session beginning in July.

This is very common, so please do not worry! This is when your child needs your loving support the most. Trust the process and your child will eventually be crying because they have to get out of the pool. 

It is never too late! If your child is over six years old, we can set up an assessment to see if we are a good fit to work with your child. No matter the age, our primary focus will always be survival swimming. 

Our survival swim program is private swim lessons. The instructor’s attention is only on your child, and your child is swimming the whole time. There is a lot involved in this learning process, and your child will be tired in the 10-12-minute window. Once fatigue sets in, the learning process is over. The key to your child’s success is working in short, consistent increments. It’s a short time commitment for lasting results!

Survival swimming is where one has the ability to have a controlled float in any depth of water. Children who are walking can learn to kick and swim, then roll to their back to breathe/rest, flip back over, and continue swimming.

Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death among children 1-4 years old. Getting your child safe in the water is a priority! At Aqua Baby Survival Swim School, our focus is getting your child safe in the water in weeks, not years. Once your child completes our survival swim program, he will know how to respond if he ever encounters an aquatic accident. Once your toddler learns to roll over to float, relax and breathe, he will experience the pleasure of swimming and gain confidence.

Imagine that in 6 short weeks, your child will go from no experience in the water to knowing exactly what to do in the event of an aquatic accident! Your child will be the only student in the water with an instructor where the entire lesson is focused on your child with no other distractions hindering the lesson time. This allows your child to retain more of what is being taught. Your child will transform in the water right before your eyes, having the ability to swim in weeks, not years!

Your child is encouraged to attend semi-private group classes once or twice per week to retain and build upon their skills. This is especially important during the warmer months when your child may be swimming/playing differently than how they learned while swimming at home. By having them attend group class, it will encourage them to use their skills correctly. Children under 2 must continue to attend weekly lessons as they will outgrow their skills much faster than an older child. With how quickly babies and toddlers grow during the first few years, their center of gravity tends to shift, affecting their ability to float comfortably. Maintaining their skills is very important whether it’s with us or at home.

NOTE: your child must graduate from Aqua Baby Survival Swim School’s survival program to be eligible for group lessons.

This program sets a proper foundation for any child to learn strokes. Typically children do not have the coordination to learn strokes such as freestyle and backstroke until they are about five years old. Younger children can learn the swim•float•swim technique. This technique must be mastered by all of our students regardless of age. If we have students ages 4 and up that seem ready, we can introduce side breathing, freestyle, and backstrokes to them during lessons or a semi-private group lesson.