Kids 1st Swim School

Parents Frequently
Asked Questions

parent questions

Choosing a swimming program is as important as choosing a preschool.

We aim to educate your child and you on the importance of water safety and provide a positive experience for all.

Every child is different so there’s no one answer to this question.  Most children will learn the basic swim skills within 3 months or so but it depends on so many variables such as, what is the child’s age, water experience, fears, separation anxiety, sensory issues, are they comfortable laying on their back, are they strong-willed, etc? If you practice with your child outside of swim lessons, if your child has no fear or anxiety or has prior experience they may learn faster. 

If your child is  nervous in new situations with new people or they don’t like the water on their face, it could take them just a little longer to master all the skills.

Learning to swim and be safe needs to be a priority. It is actually common for a child to cry while getting adjusted to the lessons. 

This is a new experience for many of them.  It’s a new environment, new instructor, being away from their parent, they’re being challenged to learn new skills and usually they would just rather play with Mom or Dad in the pool. 

Usually after a few lessons, your child will get comfortable with the lessons and bond with their instructor and they will soon love coming to the pool!!

No.  Our lessons are taught with just the instructor and your child in the pool.  We work hard to get your child to trust us and feel comfortable with us.  We strive to distract your child from wanting to get out of the pool by making it fun to be in there learning with US. To do this efficiently, we need one-on-one attention. 

We ask that parents always stay positive and encouraging; it will make all the difference in the world.

If your child is not potty-trained they must wear a reusable swim diaper while in lessons.  If you’d like to put a disposable swim diaper under the reusable swim diaper, that is fine.  It’s usually a good idea for them to wear a swim shirt as well.

Please bring a towel and a change of clothes.

Yes, if we have availability on the schedule we can switch your days and times but there is never a guarantee that other spots will be available.

Never assume lessons are cancelled.  Please wait to hear from your instructor.  In many cases it could be raining in one location and not in another.  We do give lessons in a light rain.

Yes.  You are paying for the reserved spot on the schedule, not your attendance.  There are only a certain number of spots available during the day and your spot is reserved only for you, we do not have the option to give it to someone else for the day/week/weeks and then allow you to come back to your spot when you’d like.

If you are unable to attend lessons for awhile, please just give us a one week’s notice and we can remove you from the schedule and you will not be charged going forward.  When you’d like to return, just give us a call and we’ll see what spots are available on the schedule at that time.

Please give your instructor advanced notice that you will be unable to attend your lesson and they will put your name on the makeup list.  She will contact you when she has an opening for you to attend a make up lesson.  We do our very best to complete make up lessons, however, if your child is missing many lessons it may not be feasible to get them all in.

If you are not able to attend makeup lessons due to your schedule, you may have to forfeit them.

Since our lessons are private, one-on-one lessons, your child will get a lot of swim practice during those 15 minutes.  Your child will learn how to float, they’ll learn breath control, how to get back to the wall or stairs if they fall in and how to swim independently. 

For most younger children 15 minutes is the perfect amount of time to stay focused and not get too fatigued.  Our instructors travel to your home pool for 30 minute lessons.  These lessons can be split between two children in the same family if you’d like.

Unfortunately, floaties are very, very dangerous.  They teach the child the incorrect position for swimming…also known as the drowning position.  Floaties keep the child vertical in the water with their head up. Children that “swim” with floaties on get the false sense of security that they can actually “swim”, but they can’t.  If they were to fall in the pool without them on, their body’s muscle memory from wearing them would kick in and they would go into that dangerous vertical postion. They will quickly get fatigued and could drown.

In our lessons we would have to retrain their body to get into the correct swimming position and also how to lay back to float to breathe and rest if needed.  Often times it’s more difficult to teach the child that is accustomed to wearing floaties.

Every child is unique and can learn, but at their own pace.  Just as every child doesn’t walk or talk at the same exact age, swimming will come easy to some and more challenging to others.

We’ve had multiple twins in swim lessons and it’s very common for one child to learn quickly and the other child needs a little more time.

When it comes to children, nothing should ever be guaranteed.  Our highly effective and successful program has taught thousands of children how to swim over the past 20 years. When it comes to children and swimming, ALWAYS supervise them and have barriers of protection in place even after they’ve learned how to swim.