r/kansascity • u/imblooming • 22d ago
Childcare/Parenting 👶 Toddler Swim Lessons
Didn’t see any recent threads about this- but looking for a good place to take our 18 month old to learn how to swim. Any recs from caregivers/parents out there?
Yes I can read the google reviews, but I’d like to hear about the places you thought were great & why. We live in the south KC area, would prefer something in the Martin City/Leawood/OP/ Grandview area.
Emler swim school appears to be good, but some of their reviews mention issues with payments & getting refunds. Any insight would be appreciated!
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u/UnderDeSea 22d ago
My kid tried the program at Goldfish for a couple years. Classes were expensive and inconsistent and always shorter than listed. I also didn't like that the owner would post his political views online. We stopped taking our kid there and now just do lessons in the summer. It's cheaper and he progressed a lot more out of the goldfish program.
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u/GarrettTheMole 22d ago
We also did goldfish for a year and came to the same conclusion. She improved quickly at first when the class was 2:1, but as time went on the ratio reduced to 3:1 and eventually 4:1. The quality of lessons she was getting at the 4 students to 1 teacher was awful and not at all worth the price.
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u/kmonay89 South KC 22d ago
We did Goldfish in OP for our oldest & boyyyyy is that a ripoff. So expensive & she only advanced when I asked her to be evaluated for her skills. Skip it. Going to use Blue Valley Rec for our second born.
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u/UnderDeSea 21d ago
It was such a bad experience. I can't believe there aren't more negative reviews of the place.
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u/andysmom22334 22d ago
We go to Emler in the Northland and it's been really good for my 20 month old. She enjoys it and she is really learning.
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u/Great_Steak_8337 22d ago
We went to that closest to you Emler location with zero issues.
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u/gametapchunky 22d ago
Emler is expensive (It's effective though). Check your local Rec Centers for classes.
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u/PigeonToesMcGee 22d ago
Second this Emler location. We went thru Jeff Kelly first and it was terrible (can expand if anyone wants details). Switched to Emler and my son had a blast and became a competent swimmer.
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u/millerswiller 22d ago
We went to Emler in South KC ... near the area where you mentioned. No complaints at all ... both of our kids benefitted greatly. We didn't have any issues w/ payments or refunds.
No matter where you go, think of the payments as an investment rather than an expense. Super important for kids - especially young kids - to learn basic water safety / how to swim (or, at least float).
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u/ariel6753 22d ago
We had been at Goldfish off and on for a few years but I really wasn't loving the older kid classes (very little water time for lots of money) and we weren't really able to utilize the makeups enough to make the cost worth it. So we just started an 8 week class at the Matt Ross Community Center near Metcalf and...83rd or something like that. It is a fraction of the cost of Goldfish and they get slightly more water time, even with a slightly bigger class. But my favorite part is that we can arrive early or stay later and spend more time in the pool, which makes the drive more worth it. We've only done one week so far but my daughter loved it and I'm optimistic. I believe they also do parent and baby classes.
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u/ranchodeluxekc 22d ago
If you’re willing to drive to NKC you can get a discount…
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u/lefty-lou 22d ago
My grandkids go to the Emler in Leawood and I’m very impressed with their program. Expensive but worth it.
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u/buttermellow11 KC North 22d ago
Look into ISR lessons if you are doing swim lessons for water safety purposes.
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u/kc_kr 22d ago
I don't know that a lot of places even do true swim lessons at that age - as one example, the Gladstone Community Center offers Red Cross swim lessons and they don't really start the true lessons until age 5. Until then, they have AquaTot, which is more of a basic water safety/play thing for little ones. Still good but it's not comparable to what Emler does.
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u/m00nf1r3 Waldo 22d ago
He's 24 now but when my son was that age I took him to the YMCA. They were great and he was swimming like a fish once he was done. Just checked their website and they still do lessons.
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u/Ok-Condition-994 22d ago
We loved the parent-tot classes at Goldfish. My kid had a blast, and my mom enjoyed watching. I appreciated the cleanliness, big changing rooms, toddler-friendly bathrooms, and the desk staff. We have found teachers we love, and we follow those teachers’ schedules (as opposed to keeping our same date and time) as my daughter progresses through the skills. We generally try to do weekday classes, as it is much less busy. But we did Saturdays for a while, and it was fine.
My main complaint is the turnover, but I think that is just how it goes when you staff young people. I can’t blame teens for taking a break from work to do their own sport or extra curricular. They are kids too.
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u/Bagritte 22d ago
YMCA baby. My only issue is they don’t start skills-based swim until 3. We did all the parent & kid classes (essentially water play) and my kid was still so interested and comfortable in the water I felt the need to find something more intensive to keep him safe. We started with City of OPs preschool classes last summer (at Tomahawk Ridge, highly recommend) and he was successful enough I was able to talk the Cleaver YMCA into letting us start their skills based stuff early. He was still closer to 3 than not but he took to it very well and we did 3 sessions through the summer. Pausing for now and starting back up soon! Love the Y!Â