[cb2]

Hi
Posting here for more traffic
For those in Vic I am after some feedback on any of then mentioned pools/classes for a toddler

Aquarena

Nunawading pool

Babyswim Blackburn

Healthways Mont Albert

Bubbles Swim school (private lady)



What are these places like?
Facilities?
Do you find with the bigger public pools that your LO would /did get distracted

Can you recommend any other really good pools with great teachers
Suburbs willing to travel to: Whitehorse/Manningham/ Booroondara/ Monash close in such as Glen Waverley, Knox will go as far as Wantirna, Ringwood

Thanks in advance
also any tips/advice of what to look for when enquiring about swim classes I realise that under 2 it is pretty much water familarisation but what from there on???
Thanks

[StarKingdom]

We haven't done lessons at Nunawading, but we go there a bit and have seen the classes.

I wouldn't have my kids do lessons there. It is very noisy and busy. I don't know how the kids can hear the instructors. I know of some people who have left there recently as they have not been happy - I think the main reason being that the classes are more crowded due to the extras being taken on while Box Hill Aqualink is being refurbished.

They have moved onto Healthways in Ringwood and are happy with that.

Personally, I can recommend Swim Like A Fish in Ringwood. We have been going there for 3+ years. For my kids (6 & 7 years old) there are no more than 4 to a class and no more than 2 classes at a time. Water familiarisation has maybe 8 - 10 bubs and parents in the pool at a time.

If you look at water familiarisation as fun play then there is no harm in going. My kids went from 2yo (DS) and 18mth old (DD). I don't regret it at all. But from my observations, kids that start lessons at 4yo nearly catch up to the kids that do it earlier, although some seem to lack in confidence.

From when each of my kids turned around 5.5yo I've been happy to watch them from the sidelines as they jump into deep water and swim to the edge confidently by themselves.

I've got no real advice about what to look for as all I know is I'm happy with what we have.

[froggy1]

We use Nunawading and are pretty happy with it - but StarKingdom is right, it has got busier lately. We've had a good run there and are probably too lazy to investigate anything else! But really, I'm finding myself really happy with the quality of my 7yo's swimming in particular - she's had excellent instruction and has very good technique. I dragged my mother along to watch a lesson and she was extremely impressed with the focus on good technique (and she taught swimming for 20 years). So from that perspective I'm happy to stay.


This post has been edited by froggy1: 04/02/2013, 07:42 PM

[libbylu]

Although I live in Melbourne, we are in the inner north so use a different set of pools. But, there are a few things to consider when picking a swim school.
Some private pools may be quieter, but may not allow you to stay in the water and play after (or before) your lesson. This extended play time makes a big difference in how confident kids get, and is just fun, really - giving you better value for money. At a public pool, as the kids get older you can meet up with friends with kids of similar age and enjoy the experience together etc.
Also, the instructors can make a lot of difference.
I would visit the pools and watch a lesson and see what you think.
Even in pools that seem very noisy from the edge, when you are down at water level, bobbing around with your little one in your arms, it can be less of an issue.

[StarKingdom]

Some private pools may be quieter, but may not allow you to stay in the water and play after (or before) your lesson. This extended play time makes a big difference in how confident kids get, and is just fun, really - giving you better value for money.

Yes, that is true. We've never had that luxury and we pay for recreational swimming at other pools, such as Nunawading.

[ubermum]

To be honest, I wouldn't and I didn't waste my time and money with swim classes at that age. I took my kids to the pool with a bag of toys and we got in and played. I used the Uswim program with them. It meant I didn't have to pay for classes they missed through illness, make up classes at different times or be stuck with a certain time we had to go every week. I was also able to choose a time to go when the pool was quiet and go to a pool who had facilities that best suited our circumstances.

Now that my kids are in first and second year of primary, they get lessons through school for part of the year and I enrolled them in Vicswim as a two week block in the recent holidays (total cost $5 per lesson per child plus pool entry). They are both as good if not better in the pool than most kids their age, including the ones that did structured lessons from a young age.

[tiggy2]

My kids have done classes at aqualink box hill, nunawading, Ashburton an Healthways over the years.
For the under 6s I would recommend Healthways. The pool is small, warm and salt water. My kids both went blue from the cold in the pools at box hill and nunawading. It's also distracting having so many people around.

Ashburton is worth considering too, the small kids are on the warm smaller pool and you can have a play swim there too, which you can't at Healthways.

I'm really happy wih Healthways though.