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Do You Have Showers and/or Changing Rooms?
Since our El Segundo, Palisades and Santa Monica locations are city or school commercial pools, all have complete gender-segregated locker rooms and shower facilities. Our Encino Hills location is a residence so there are no locker rooms, but there is a restroom available.
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How Quickly Will My Child Learn To Swim?
Every child is different and learns differently. Learning depends upon many factors including their developmental stage, previous experiences around water, ability to deal with change, practice and consistency. Some children regress a little before they progress. It is important to be patient and positive. View Matt's videos for more on this topic; View Matt's video on how babies learn how to hold their breath.
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What If My Child Cries?
Most children, especially 1+ year olds, cry in the beginning, which is very normal. Young children communicate with adults in an unfamiliar environment by crying, which is a normal expression. It is important to remember your child is in a new environment with new people and they look to mom and/or dad for approval. As lessons continue, anxieties become less evident and the fun begins. If your child expresses excessive fears it is important and vital to continue lessons until they conquer and overcome their fears. Don't let them learn that crying gets them out of swimming, something that is essential for their safety. When your child cries because they dislike their car seat, do you let them out of it? Being positive and giving them praise is the best thing you can do to help them along the learning curve. View Matt's video on how babies learn how to hold their breath.
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At What Age Is My Child Ready For Swim Lessons?
At 4 weeks of age, infants are already comfortable being submerged in water and lying on their backs with their ears under the water's surface. This is a direct result of the body being surrounded by amniotic fluid in the womb during pregnancy. At about 6 months of age, infants begin to lose this familiarity. The best time to begin exposure to the water, therefore, is after a newborn's navel falls off, between 4 weeks of age and six months old. The earlier an infant is exposed to water on a regular basis, the less anxiety they will experience in the learn-to-swim process. An infant who is regularly participating in water-based activities will maintain a high level of comfort in the water. The earlier an infant can start lessons, the more prepared they will be to start independent swimming when developmentally ready at approximately 3 years of age. The Griffith Study has proven that early age swimming adds intellectual benefits to a child as well. In some cases, kids enrolled in early age swim classes have achieved learning milestones up to 15 months earlier than their non-swimming peers. View Matt's video on when to start swim lessons with your child. View Matt's video on how babies learn how to hold their breath.
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What is Your Schedule And Availability?
Our schedules change as our needs change. We have new students starting lessons all the time as space becomes available to our waitlist. We typically offer parent/child lessons year round at our indoor locations. Class availability, schedule and registration can be found by clicking on the "Register" buttons next to each class on each of the lessons pages under the Classes Menu.
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How Often Are Lessons Needed?
We recommend a minimum of 1 lesson per week to start. More than 1 lesson per week will expedite progress. Consistency is key in the beginning to overcome fears for all ages. Establishing a regular, consistent routine is critical in reinforcing pattern recognition, memory hooks, muscle memory and a foundation of swimming skills and confidence. View Matt's video on measuring your child's progress in the water.
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What If The Weather Is Bad?
Lessons will be held rain or shine unless a facility closure or thunder and lightning force a cancellation. Because Swimming LA believes consistency is key and because we prefer to give parents a choice whether to attend lessons, Swimming LA does not typically cancel lessons due to inclement weather. Since our pools are heated and the kids will be getting wet regardless, we encourage you to embrace the rain and let them swim anyway! Do not ever assume lessons are cancelled - You will likely receive an email or text message in the event of a cancellation so be sure to add our email addresses to your safe senders list or our emails may end up in your spam folder. You must also opt in for text messages in your online account with a valid mobile number to receive text notifications of short-notice cancellations.
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What Can I Do To Help My Child Learn?
Be involved! Understand what we are working on and why and provide time for practice at home in the bathtub or shower. Show your pleasure with your child’s progress no matter how small it is. The more positive reinforcement your child has the more self-confidence they will build. The greatest motivator for any child is the approval of mom and dad. Tell your child that you are proud of them regularly and encourage them to keep working, improving and evolving. View Matt's video on overcoming fear of water. View Matt's video on how babies learn how to hold their breath.
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How Do You Teach Adults How To Swim?
Adults in this program learn best through academic knowledge and repetition of basic skills at their own pace. We do not work on any stroke mechanics until comfort in and under the water has been accomplished. Read Matt's article to learn his definition of "comfortable" in the water. With increased frequency of the skills and exercises taught in class, the adult will eventually relax and begin to enjoy the water without fear. At that point, one can start learning basic strokes, snorkeling, and even SCUBA. It all revolves around remaining calm and comfortable in deep water while staying in control. Read more about our Adult Swimming Program.
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How Long Before A Lesson Can I Feed My Child?
We recommend not feeding your child for at least 1 hour before a lesson, especially dairy products. It is no fun swimming with an upset stomach or spitting up in the pool. If your child vomits in the pool, the City will close the pool for the remainder of the day and all subsequent lessons on that day will be canceled.