SWIM Classes at Under 2 - Kew Gardens,NY

I would check with your local YMCA/YWCA. My daughter has taken lessons through the YMCA and they were not overly expensive, their instructors are certified and she likes them, and she is now a very good swimmer. By age 9 she had passed all the swim levels. Her daycare from age 3 months to kindergarten was through the YMCA and attached to one, so her swimming "lessons" started at 6 months old. Her daycare teacher would take one baby at a time to the pool.

I recommend looking into this: http://www.infantswim.com/

If I'd known about ISR when my kids were little, I'd have definitely taken them. My boys did lessons at the YMCA when they were 5.

I have taken swim classes around here with my kids since they were about nine months old. I usually look for red cross certified instructors.

MOST classes will not teach start teaching kids to swim until about age three. Earlier than that, it's mommy and me swim classes. They teach you holds to get kids comfortable in the water and positioning for swim strokes. They usually teach water safety too...often a day of CPR reminders. You play water games and learn to blow bubbles. That sort of thing. I usually paid in the neighborhood of $65 for a two week class for mommy and me. Now that I am looking for classes for my three year old, it's going to be about $85 for 8 sessions. I have always used our local rec center. But the YMCA usually gets good reviews around here too. And there are places that deal exclusively in year round swimming lessons too (Aquakids is one here locally), but they are usually a little more expensive.

There are classes available that teach "infant aquatic survival" skills. Basically they teach babies to flip over and kick until they get to the edge of the pool. Apparently it is a hotly debated topic. I talked to my pedi about it. He said that it can't hurt, but those lessons are NOT swimming lessons, they are survival skills. He also said that many babies did not enjoy the survival type lessons and they could cause anxiety for some children. When I called and talked to a private instructor she said she definitely recommended the survival classes for parents with pools, but not to those who didn't have pools.

I have a six year old and a three year old. The six year old is an excellent swimmer for his age. My three year old can swim underwater like a little fish.

I looked for an accredited swim school where they taught a broad range of ages and had year round classes. Convenience to our home was important too since we are working parents. I also wanted flexibility with scheduling classes. Based on availability I pick the time and day for each week and that schedule is set for a single month. From month to month I can add or subtract days every week and/or change days/times. We pay per class ($16.50/class) with an annual family fee ($45/year). The annual family fee means any of us can take classes at any point during the year. For example for our toddler I enrolled him for the month of June for a Tuesday evening class. Since there were four Tuesdays, the total for the month was $66. For all classes in the under age 2 and half group a parent is required to get in the water for safety reasons. Also you the parent learn the techniques you can work on with your child outside of class. The emphasis in these classes is for the children to learn how to hold their breath under water, safe entry/exit and how to float on their backs to get to the side of the pool. The class size is 6 children/6 parents per instructor and the lessons are thirty minutes in length. We did try out local YMCA but I was not impressed. The classes were disorganized and I felt like the children weren't learning anything. Good luck.

I would get him into some swim lessons as soon as possible since it sounds like he takes to the water very well. My kids are 3 and 4.5 and just finished a two week class at the ymca. They really learned a lot and are showing a higher level of confidence in the water even though they have always enjoyed splashing around.
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YES! DO SWIMMING LESSONS ASAP! The sooner yoou start them the better. You never want a child to fear the water but you do want them to respect it. Learning how to swim is a step to water safety and respect both. Even if a child can swim they are never without supervision but if they know how to swim if they fall in they have a better chance of being OK.

My kids were at a private pool for lessons indoor all year long starting at 16 mths. AZ is big on drowning kids here unfort....so we started very very early. This school wanted to teach the little ones a turn over tech right away and that took about 6 months to master. The key was for them to get right in the water and immeditatly turn on their back. lil ones had a hard time with being away from mom and so there was a lot of crying involved, but most of them did great. Once they got that tech down, then the freestyle was later incorp. I am sure every school will have their methods. But at that age, the turnover tech was important for them. There is mommy and me classes but at 2 I was able to send them in with out me, which I was fine with since me being there made it harder for them to learn. Good luck . Oh cost here was $18 a class for 30 min. 3 kids in a class with an adult at the step while the kids played one was being out in the pool. They were all certified and well known here.