My daughter was trepidation at first, but a few weeks in she's really enjoying her lessons with her swim instructor, Coach Humza. This is a swim school where children age 4 months to 12 years learn the basics of water safety and swimming. AquaTots applies a pro-submersion philosophy to instruction, so children go underwater (as they will inevitably do if they fall unexpectedly into a pool or off a dock, etc) on day one and every lesson there after. Small class sizes (4-to-1) provide a manageable group for each child to get the personal touch their swim journey requires. Special Needs Aquatic Program, or "SNAP" also available at this location. Friendly, attentive staff, comprehensive swim curriculum, well maintained facility, and astonishing years of expertise in the field, is why AquaTots is the place to go. read more

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I enrolled for my son in level 3. Within a month he have lot of improvement. The instructor was great and the front desk staff always Kind.

Son has been going here since he was 18 mos and his confidence around water is amazing, staff is friendly and very accommodating.

I will continue to go here but whoever is running this operation has to put the babies at the end of the day so classes aren't constantly canceled for babies throwing up and pooping in the pool. I've never wasted more time in my life...Instructors and staff are amazing!!! But it's a serious flaw in scheduling. read more

If you're a person who finds enjoyment in standing at the top of a mountain and throwing 100 dollars bills off to watch them float away, then you'll love this place. If you're a person who thinks a stationary bike is the best mode of transportation to get somewhere, then this is your place. If you enjoy lack of consistency or think continuity is of no value, this is your place. In the almost 6 months our 4 children attended here they've seen a minimum of 11 instructors, some of which didn't even attempt to introduce themselves to us or our children prior to entering the water. Perhaps it's not glaringly obvious to others but trust is extremely important when it comes to teaching someone of any age how to swim, at minimum an introduction would be important. As others have stated, your class is NOT 30 mins and averages more of a 20 min time frame. There is a chart of skills which we found out about roughly 3 months into our kids taking lessons. Needless to say but the charts are not up to date nor is there communication between instructors. After 6 months our kids have gained ZERO skills. If they fell into the water they would not know what to do. You may perhaps have success doing an intensive plan selection, meaning every day for X amount of days but your children will learn essentially nothing by taking them 1 a week and you'll will merely be wasting money that you could invest elsewhere to receive more successful swim training. This was an utter waste of time and money. There are some competent trainers that seem to take their job more seriously but for many it seems they are phoning the whole thing in. As if that's also not dangerous. (They also cancelled a class to which they make no effort to reschedule in a similar manner nor will they reimburse even if THEY CANCEL IT.) read more

Nice place for the kids to learn how to swim, my daughter looks forward to it each week and the teachers really invest in them learning the correct ways to swim. Classes are normally 30 minutes so it's kind of quick but still think it's a value. read more

I went in to Aqua Tots with really high expectations after reading the reviews! I really wanted to love it because it is a stone's throw away from my house, next to Marshalls, Food Lion, Joanne's AND (coming soon!) Skrimp Shack. The location really can't be beat considering you can make a whole afternoon out of your child's swim lesson. The unfortunate thing is that we had been to another swim school (check my reviews to see which one) first and Aqua Tots didn't surpass the experience we had at the other school. The positives: + Pool is a good temp (nice and warm) + Plenty of chairs for parents to watch + double diaper OR Happy Nappy policy meaning almost no chance of leaks ruining your swim experience + Staff was extremely nice and the instructor was great The negatives: + Chaotic atmosphere - I'm sure it's different during a weekday, but I felt like it was so loud and there were people everywhere + Changing area is not great. There are some stalls, some restrooms, and a couple hair dryers, but there is nowhere to change a baby that is not yet walking/standing on their own besides the changing table inside of the individual bathrooms. + The class didn't last the entire 30 minutes + There was another child having what seemed to be a private lesson that would sometimes come into the same lane as my 10 month old's lesson. Didn't love that + They do not offer the ability to do walk in lessons I'm really going to have to weigh out the pros and cons to see which swim school we are going to commit to. Those the cons were really important, but as we all know, location, location, location is ultimately what takes the cake! read more

After such positive reviews, I really believe our time here would be nothing short of amazing. We started off a year ago taking lessons elsewhere and really didnt feel there was any improvement other than knowing the basics so we decided to try Aqua-Tots. Let me start out by saying that the front desk staff were absolutely amazing throughout this! BUT - My 2 kids (3 & 4) who LOVED being in the pool playing, are both now completely TRAUMATIZED and refuse to get in the water. There was no easing them into the curriculum. I fully understand the idea of a full submersion curriculum, but what I don't understand is how you can expect and 3yr old and 4yr old to feel safe with instructors who make them fear the water instead of love it. There's no explanation to them about what's happening, it just happened. The first day they were being dunked under the water without warning. They both screamed and cried the whole 30mins after. I was told that this would happen because they were new. I gave it more time (a month) and nothing changed. We went from teacher to teacher each lesson and were still met with the same results. The kids were forcibly dunked and expected to be on the same level as children who had been there for months if not more. There's no "beginner course". I even had one teacher tell me my 3 and 4 year old "just needed to calm down" That was the last straw. I'm not a professional teacher but even I know that all children don't learn the same and therefore the curriculum should not be the same for each child. When I put in my 30 days, I was told that maybe I should bring them in more often because 1x a week wasn't enough. I would've loved to! If I wasn't already paying $250 a month for those 1x a week lessons. Just be aware of what you're getting yourself into. You know your child better than anyone else - screaming and crying isn't normal for children who've been in lessons before. I'm really disappointed this didn't work out and wish the best of luck to anyone else who tries. read more

I have had my son in swimming lessons for almost a year! They have a super high retention rate but that was the only downfall I saw... My son has made a tremendous turn around at HIS own pace. I am so proud of him. However.. the last lesson I went to, one of the owners were assessing the classes, students, and instructors. I did not appreciate the aggressive approach she had with my 7 year old. Apparently she had expectations of him (whom she's never met) that were completely inappropriate being one I am the parent and the payer of these classes. She was being WAY too forceful pushing my sons chin up and head down making him do things she wanted him to. After every instruction she would sternly damn near yell at him to the point he was uncomfortable and I could tell before I even read his face . It was extremely uncomfortable to watch. I understand pushing him. Thats exactly what I did by even bringing him there. He cried his first lesson and didnt want to come back.. but we did. I have never had an experience like this. And after finding out this was the owner. I am questioning continuing services at Aqua-Tots Swim school as a whole. The instructors are great, the people at the front are GREAT. I would've definitely recommended this place before this, but my views have changed drastically. read more

If you want your child to learn how to swim quickly, feel comfortable in the pool and know necessary pool safety from the ground up this place is amazing. I have to brag a little bit on our instructor Andrew. We were lucky to just be matched with him from the beginning and he is really great. He took the time to gain our daughter's trust despite the fact that she was terrified in the beginning. His patience with her is amazing! She went from screaming and crying the first 2 classes to full on swimming and totally confident in the pool. I'm confident that she will be self sufficient this coming summer and probably doing swim team the summer after that- she's 4 years old and has been doing this for about 7 months now. Worth every penny to know that she will be safe in the pool! read more

My son has been at aqua-tots for three years now. I regret keeping him here for 3 years due to my indecisiveness to move. The good: Caring swim coaches who know how to deal with kids The bad: a) Truly 20 min classes which are claimed to be 30 minutes. b) Poor schedule management. you cannot schedule a class more than 6 days in advance c) No continuity with a coach, nor do they keep a good log of record (they keep a card which is invariably lost) of your kid's swim proficiency d) Poor customer service over all. More than twice now I have rescheduled the class and have been put on calendar only to be called to cancel the class. Seems they really don't know what they are doing. read more

This swim school is no joke! If you want warm and fuzzy, then this isn't quite the place for you but their techniques will teach your child to swim! I rarely say any particular technique will work for all kids but this place comes close. Just remember that if your child has any type of anxiety that paying for private lessons might be the way to go. The west end school is often crowded but the indoor pool means classes never get cancelled if it storms. My only complaint is some of the rules that they enforce that are apparently set by the aqua tots corporate office such as requiring a 30 day notice to drop a class which you can only do in person by signing a form and don't get me started about scheduling a makeup class. I've found this to be the best method of swim lessons around though so I'll deal' Super disappointed to see that for the 2nd year in a row my kids are not recognized for their improvement. We won't be returning. read more

Very aggressive instruction with small class sizes. We have restarted classes as warm weather has come back. I will say that it gets crazy and hectic in the evening with lots of parents and limited changing rooms. Give yourself a little extra time to get settled. Love the constant feedback on our classes and the thick glass that keeps the viewing area quiet. read more

Aqua Tots Swim School - Quiet in the waiting area - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Henrico, Virginia

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This is our second summer doing swimming lessons at Aqua Tots. Our children are 3 and 4 and we have seen HUGE improvement from them this summer. Some of their tactics are aggressive and I'm not sure that every child will respond well. I don't think it is really worth it for children under 3. I also think it's very important to find the right coach. We have been very lucky. I would advise trying to get your child with a Master Instructor. They are more experienced and I have seen better results. I will say that their policies are a little intense. To drop a class you need to give 30 days notice in writing, you can't switch classes online, and it's very difficult to schedule a makeup. Also the desk where you need make all of these changes is typically very crowded. read more

I enjoyed having my kids do lessons through Aqua Tots. The instructors were always very patient and understanding of my little ones and that made me feel happy about this choice. Will continue this summer. read more

Great instructors who are very patient and encouraging. My boys went from crying at the beginning and not wanting to swim, to now extremely excited to swim every week. read more

Well trained staff focused on teaching kids to listen and follow instructions while also teaching them water safety and boundaries.

If your child is a beginner swimmer, PLEASE DO NOT SEND THEM TO THIS SCHOOL! Save your money and especially save the trauma that will be caused from this experience. My 4 year old is a complete beginner and does not know what it means to hold her breath under water. My child was completely dunked under water with no warning, no instruction, or anything. She came up gasping for air and throwing up in the pool. The way the building is set up, they have the parents in a waiting area with glass in between the students in the pool. I went to the glass door to retrieve my child and the instructors seem hesitant about letting her out. They just sat her back on the edge of the pool and continued on with the lesson. My older daughter was also in this class session but she is 10 and understands how to hold her breath under the water so she did not have much of an issue. This was very traumatic for my 4 year old, stating that she was scared to die!!!! This is straight up negligence and child abuse. After the swim session was over, the swim instructor, Kaitlyn Buckner, came and spoke to all of the parents. I asked her why don't they start the smaller children off slower, with blowing bubbles in the water and getting them more accustomed to the water first before dunking them like that. She stated, (and I quote) "We don't do that here. We teach them to hold their breath by dunking them under. When they start choking, I (the instructor) just say to the child, see that's what happens when you don't hold your breath." WHAT KIND OF MESS IS THAT! Me and my husband are FURIOUS. This has left my child traumatized, exactly the opposite of what we were trying to achieve. She had a 'healthy' fear/respect for the water, now she is worse off before we started these lessons!! I could not sleep all night from the sight of seeing her being dunked under the water. I repeat, DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE!!! I have a whole lot more to say, but I will save that for the regional director on our phone call today. read more

Fantastic. Caring and your child will not only learn to swim but also learn very young how to be safe around water. Great at helping them over come their fears read more

So far great start. The receptionist was very friendly and informative about the different classes. They even offer an evaluation of your child has had lessons in the past to make sure they place them in the correct classes. The instructors seemed very friendly but also helpful. I look forward to having my son come weekly and get lessons. Wish they would open a location in the Mechanicsville area so it would be more convenient. read more

Love this place for getting little ones used to swimming. All of the instructors are patient, kind and make the classes fun. I started my little one at 7 months and my only regret is that I would have started sooner! You can start at 4 months. Highly recommend! And if you can, get a slot during the day. MUCH quieter and less kiddos. read more

This place is great. They teach excellent swim safety. My 2 year old had never been in a pool before and within 2-3 weeks she could easily get to the edge and find her way to a safe place. The have a "pool deck manager" Aaron. He is amazing. He has his eyes on all the kids and is amazing with first timers who are having a hard time getting adjusted. I was a little nervous about the cost because it's a lot for us but it's totally worth it. We go in the pm around 5-530 and it's always busy. It they are very organized. read more

I realized during bath time that my daughter had a big fear of the water but loved being in the pool. Found Aqua-tots on accident and once I walked in I knew it was the place for us. In a matter of weeks her fear was gone and her love for the water has grown. The instructors are amazing and very knowledable , the receptionist are so friendly. We really enjoy our time here and will always recommend this location to friends. read more

This is a very fun and convenient atmosphere. It's clean and there are comfy chairs set up to observe the little ones swimming. The coaches are all incredibly nice, experienced and are able to multitask well between the children. read more

The teachers are very passionate about swimming and are very patient with the little tadpoles! We love being part of Aqua-Tots! My son is excited for thursdays and asks to go swimming! read more

Great program. Although there has been some changes for which coach will teach our classes. Consistency would be preferred if possible.

I decided to sign both of my children up for swim lessons for the winter. My daughter is about 2, she screamed the first lesson and I was afraid I would have to pull her out of the class. But the instructor worked with us, continued to smile, and made me feel comfortable about keeping her in the water. The next week, my daughter can not wait to go "wimming" and "kick" in the water. My son loves every minute of the lesson, and looks forward to seeing his progress card, and what he can do to improve his swimming. But of my children now can not wait to see their instructors and have their time in the pool the next week. The staff is helpful and welcoming. They are also very accommodating when we arrived for the first time, and if we needed to rearrange their lesson for the week. I highly recommend AquaTots Richmond for allowing your children to feel comfortable with the water and gain useful swimming/ water/ pool safety. read more

This place is fantastic. The people here genuinely care and want to help. Fabulous work environment. They're more than a staff, they are a team. read more

Our zero experience swimming 3 year old grandson went here for his first lesson yesterday and let me tell you ... I AM FURIOUS !!! No warning ... no instruction whatsoever ... he just gets dunked. He comes up crying and terrified ... only to get dunked again for longer. This is what a bully does to you in the pool. Zero verbal instruction. Just dunked. No blowing bubbles. No reassurance. Just dunked. Crying the entire time with no reassurance and now COMPLETELY TRAUMATIZED by the entire experience that lasted a couple minutes ... and he WAS SO EXCITED to be there. Horrendous. Do your child a huge favor ... and do it yourself. Thank God my wife was there and had him pulled immediately. Saw all the pics and video to know exactly how it went down. I am livid and this place shouldn't exist with these practices and traumatizing children without any consolation. This is the stuff lawsuits are made of. Shut down or change your practices completely. DO NOT GO HERE !!! ... and we had to PAY for this. read more

Aqua tots transformed my child from someone who wouldn't put his head in the water to someone who wanted to touch the bottom of the pool! Sometimes it is hard for the instructors to keep 4 kids engaged during the lesson, but I am thrilled with my child's progress and plan to enroll my other child when he is old enough. read more

The worst place you could ever deal with. Completely mismanaged, wrong and conflicting information provided by a bumbling uncoordinated staff. They have turned swim lessons into a factory for paying themselves with zero focus on the child's progress, concerned only with the bottom line and how many kids they can fit into every class and move them through a curriculum that the teacher is flipping through to look for what he/she needs to teach the kids 4 of them over less than 30minutes. The same curriculum is taught at every class in each level and decision for advancing is random and subjective. Save your money and take them to Nova Swim school or for private swim lessons. read more

We love all the coaches here at Aqua Tots. My son had a fear for water. But now he can't wait for his swim lesson to start. I wish the lessons are longer than 30 mins. But overall nice staff, nice people! I wish I had put my son earlier. read more

Let's get to the point: I would not recommend Aqua Tots to any of my friends or colleagues. While every child is different, I was appalled by some of their techniques. My spouse and I had two children (ages 7 and 2) enrolled, and while we "finished" the lessons we had already paid for with our older daughter, we pulled our younger daughter from the pool at the end of the first lesson. Let's be clear: We strongly believe that becoming a swimmer is a life saving necessity and agree with Aqua Tots views on this end. However, continually putting an absolutely terrified, screaming, and frantic child under the water who is ACTIVELY crying is not the way to accomplish this. If anything, this leads to a fear of water! After watching this for longer than I should have (my daughter was actually clawing at the TWO instructors that were holding her under and trying to fight back and gain control of a very forced situation), I simply asked for her to be removed from the pool. When a manager came over (I didn't ask to speak to anyone, just wanted my daughter back), you could tell she had a well rehearsed response to the situation. She explained that it is "our policy to put them under the water while crying as long as they are not breathing in at the time". Yes, you read that correctly. They wait for an actively screaming child to breathe in, then put them under. Quite simply, our two philosophies couldn't be more different. My daughter spent the first half of the summer incredibly afraid of the water (despite loving it prior to her "submersion lesson"). She tells most people she sees at then pool that she doesn't like to go under because the lady held her under at her swim class and she couldn't breathe. It's also important to note that our other daughter also felt as if her instructors were continually forcing her under, but simply being an older, stronger person allowed her to fight back more than a two year old can. I have no doubt that we will find a place better suited for our child or let her learn to swim on her own, which is how our first child learned and is an active member of her swim team now. Last, as many other people have commented in their posts, the billing procedures are ridiculous. My husband has tried to cancel multiple times, yet we continue to be charged a monthly fee of over $100 for the child who didn't even complete her first lesson. We were last told that the complaint was being "escalated to a manager who would get back to us" yet we are still waiting for this to occur. Save yourself the money and the trauma and find somewhere else for your child to learn to swim. I couldn't have been more disappointed. read more

If I could give a -5 stars I would. My grandson was in a class and the instructor was not paying attention and he almost drowned. I had to rush the pool area to alert her. I got from the exit door all the way across the room into the pool area and she still did not notice him struggling to get above water until I came in there screaming. There were no monitors anywhere. They have surveillance cameras and I asked them to tell me how long he was under water and they lied to me about the time. He was under water for at least 32 seconds and they lied and told me 15 seconds. IT wasn't until his legal guardian demanded to see the video that the truth came out, 6 days later. Their concern and the handling of the almost tragic drowning of my grandson was non-existent and very reckless. I want everyone to be aware !! IF I had been on my phone like 1/2 of the parents in the waiting room that night I would be attending a funeral for my grandson. DO NOT trust them. They have lied and are now refusing to release the video footage of this terrible incident. I have yet to see a refund either because they are not returning my phone calls. read more