Below are some common questions for the aquatics program.
Acknowledge that you understand that the child is afraid. Tell the child that you know that they can do the things that the instructor is asking them to try. Parents are welcome to come to the pool prior to the first day of class, so the environment will be familiar. Be persistent and don’t give up! Crying is usually toughest on the parent.
Children will progress at their own pace, and usually not at the pace of the parent or of other children in the class. Children sometimes reach developmental plateaus due to body type, a growth spurt, muscle development or the child’s motivation to be in the class. Usually a little additional growth will solve the problem. We encourage both the parent and the child to be patient and to spend some time enjoying the skills that the child has already mastered.
Children learn through play and since the City of Pasadena has several pools with a depth of 1 foot it allows instructors to teach toddlers a number of skills playing games. Games and songs are used to reinforce skills taught to the children.
At City of Pasadena we follow the American Red Cross guidelines that list 1 instructor per 6 students. However, at Coral and Villa Parke the instructor ratio is 1 to 5 due to pool capacity.
- Swim lesson descriptions can be found on the department web site
- All children will be evaluated the first day of class. If a child needs to be moved to a new level the Pool Manager or Sr. Lifeguard will move the child to the appropriate level as long as space permits.