Survival Swim FAQ's

The luxury Hilton Hotel in Melville, NY. 598 Broadhollow Road Melville, NY 11747. Sessions are offered year-round.

At Aquafinz™ Infant Aquatics®, our focus is to swiftly empower your child with crucial swimming or floating abilities, achievable in weeks, not years. These life-saving skills drastically improve your child’s safety in water, even while fully clothed! What sets us apart is our gentle and personalized approach. Each child learns at their own pace; mastering one skill quickly while others may take more time. Just like mastering dance, sports, or musical instruments, swimming is a nurtured skill evolving over time. Consistent exposure, practice, and repetition are key. As your child achieves each milestone, their confidence grows. They'll feel secure and proud, wanting to practice their new skills repeatedly. We ensure a balance between acquiring new abilities and nurturing their confidence throughout the learning journey.

YES!  It is not recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP.)

Infants between 6 to 12 months, or those not yet walking, master the skill of rolling from face down to face up and holding a float position if they happen to enter water unexpectedly. These young learners seamlessly maintain the position regardless of whether they're in swimwear or everyday clothing. We highly recommend starting survival training as soon as your baby demonstrates confidence in rolling from belly to back on solid ground independently.

Children aged one year and older, who are already walking, learn to swim with confidence, submerging their faces in the water. They become proficient in the swim-float-swim sequence, understanding when to transition to a float to catch a breath before continuing to swim towards safety or someone/something else. In moments of uncertainty, they instinctively roll onto their back, sustaining a floating posture. These learners seamlessly demonstrate these skills regardless of whether they're in swimwear or everyday clothing. This sequential learning process seamlessly transitions into enjoyable pool activities, enhancing the confidence and self-esteem of these budding swimmers!

Children under 6 months aren't developmentally ready for these programs. If an infant can't roll confidently from belly to back on dry land, they won't be able to do so in the water.

These lessons aren't more expensive in the long run, they're actually an investment in your child's safety and swift progress. In just 4-6 weeks, your child gains vital skills for water safety and enjoyment, including survival floating, which many other programs overlook. While others may take 4-6 years for basic swimming, we prioritize rapid yet effective learning. Shop around, but compare the results achieved and the timeframe. We're confident—nothing compares to what we achieve in just weeks.

After their initial program, we transition all students into our group classes for skill retention, fun, and confidence building. This keeps the vital survival skills sharp while boosting your child's self-confidence. Although no program can make a child 'drown-proof,' maintaining skills significantly enhances retention which will be done through these classes. 

Crying is part of the learning journey and varies in reasons and intensity. It's normal for beginners to express some resistance or frustration, but it's not typically a cause for worry. Initially, your child might show reluctance, but positive encouragement from caregivers helps reassure them. As skills develop, your child usually settles into the lesson routine and may even start enjoying their newfound abilities. We employ diverse methods to build trust and confidence in each child. We prioritize a nurturing, non-intimidating learning environment where no child feels fearful. While it's unrealistic to expect no tears during swimming lessons, these cries often signal fatigue, hunger, or simply voicing the challenge of learning new skills. Miss Rebecca is adept at discerning these different cries. Parents' enthusiastic support—rather than sympathy—is vital for acknowledging their child's efforts and hard work.

Some of the more common causes of early fear of the water have to do with the way parents or caregivers relate to children in and around water. Being involved in water activities before being properly skilled, having parents who are afraid of the water and who have either knowingly or unknowingly communicated this fear to their children, being raised in an environment that prohibits childhood water play, whether as a result of lack of opportunity or parental actions, and experiencing or witnessing a traumatic water incident can all cause very valid fears in young children. Because we understand this, we commit to be relaxed, patient, and understanding toward your child, provide a reasonable amount of control to a frightened child, and create a positive learning environment with praise, toys and activities that promote the learn-to-swim process. 

If you believe your child has any medical condition that might reasonably affect his/her safe participation in lessons, please explain the condition to us PRIOR TO ENROLLING in lessons. If you are aware of or suspect that your child has a pre-existing medical condition, written clearance to swim from your child’s physician must be provided before lessons begin.

Flotation devices give children a false sense of security and hold them in postures that are not compatible with swimming skills. If a child wearing or using a flotation device learns that s/he can jump into the water and go into a vertical posture allowing him/her to breathe, s/he is getting the wrong idea about how to stay safe. Flotation devices are for children who cannot swim. Children who cannot swim should not be allowed to learn that it is safe to play in the water while relying on a crutch. Life jackets must be worn in a boat or around the water when there is the potential for an accidental submersion. They are not a substitute for the ability to swim or for adult supervision.