FAQ’s

Survival Swim instruction incorporates the technique of Swim-Float-Swim which teaches young children the basics of how to float and breath for an extended period of time in the event of a water accident, regardless of the depth of water, until they can either reach the side of the pool or shore or until help arrives. We put extra time into learning what each student needs to be successful.

Many programs teach children to lift their heads to breathe while swimming. This motion takes a significant amount of strength and energy and is, therefore, very difficult to maintain. Using this head lift will cause a child to fatigue very quickly. Infants may not be able to lift their heads at all and would not be able to save themselves. Survival Swimming incorporates being able to breathe when needed by teaching the child to roll onto their back to breathe and rest. If your child accidentally ends up in a body of water Survival Swim Lessons focuses on the skills needed to stay alive until help arrives.

Survival Swim Technique would teach your child skills that would allow them to save their own life if they were to have a water accident such as a fall or slip into a pool or body of water.

Your child will learn to float first, swim, and then float for rest. In age-appropriate situations, your child would learn to climb out of the pool and locate an edge that they can grab or stairs so they can exit the pool. If all else fails they would float on their back until help arrives.

Your child will receive one-on-one instruction from a certified Survival Swim Instructor. Daily instruction will be tailored to your child's needs, strengths, and weaknesses. Your child will learn essential survival skills in a matter of weeks making it safer to visit locations with swimming pools, lakes, beaches or even just putting your child in the bathtub.

Manta Swim Academy is a family-owned business with a mission to preserve the lives of as many young children as possible. We use gentler techniques and methods to teach the Survival Swim skills needed to survive a water incident. We specialize in all children, including those with special needs or those that have been involved in a previous water incident. We put extra time into learning what your child needs to be successful. Our greatest accomplishment is your child's success.

We teach Survival Swim to infants through elementary-aged children.

We teach beginning swimming to children out of elementary through any age.

Yes, we teach adults too.

For Survival Swim, Sessions are 5 weeks long with a total of 20 lessons. Each lesson is 15 minutes long and your child would attend Monday - Thursday.
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For maintenance swim and beginning swim, the student would be evaluated and we would suggest the type of lessons the student should attend. Typically, the student would attend lessons 2 days a week for 30 minutes or 4 days a week for 15 minutes.

Because that's what works. With infants and toddlers any longer and it would be counterproductive. I know it is hard to wrap your head around packing your child up to drive for such a short lesson. Trust me when I say, your little one will be exhausted. Survival Swim lessons are fun but hard work, and these babies only need 15-minutes at a time to obtain success. Repetition and consistency are the keys to learning.

Price is a valid concern. While it's pricey on the front end, the life saving skills your student will achieve are priceless. Group swim lessons rarely take a non-swimmer to safe swimming in less than 2 months. If your child was ever in a water incident you will not regret the money you spent.

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Every child is different. You will be amazed at the strides your child makes during their sessions. Each lesson will be different, and we will work to accomplish different skills so no lesson will look the same and no child will have a set date of skill mastery. They will, however, learn to swim and be successful if you trust our instructors and allow them to work with your child.

All children 3 and under are required to wear a disposable swim diaper. Toddlers and infants are required to wear a reusable swim diaper over the disposable swim diaper. You are encouraged to have your child wear a swimsuit over the top of their swim diapers. I know it seems like overkill, but accidents happen, and we want to do everything to avoid shutting the pool down.

Starting something new with someone new is sometimes scary for our children. Our instructors will work diligently to build trust with your child. Even with this extra effort, it is very common that a child will fuss for the first couple of days and while every child is different the fussing will last different lengths of time. We use a very gentle approach to teaching these babies survival skills, but it is hard work, and we would rather our children cry due to hard work than our parents cry due to the loss of a child because the child did not have the Survival Skills needed during a water incident.

When learning to go underwater we will teach your child to close their mouth but sometimes when learning to roll to their back they will drink water. This can cause them to have wetter diapers (or for older children the need to use the restroom more often) If you have a child that doesn't wet the bed, but their lesson is later in the evening, and they wet the bed one night it could be because they got water in their mouth during their lesson. It is important to remember that they are learning, they aren't doing anything wrong, it is just part of learning.

Your child may spit up during or after a lesson. Again, there are times when your child may get water in their mouth and end up having a belly full of water which may induce spit-up or loud burps.

We will not do anything that is unsafe for your child.

Expect to see amazing progress. You are a key to your child's success. Praising the little progress goes a long way for your child.

NO, NO, NO. PLEASE Do Not feed your babies prior to their lesson. This usually ends up causing a mess. I know it may be hard to hold off, but we will all be glad you did.

Try not to feed infants and toddlers 2 hours prior to their swim lesson.

Yes. We ask that if you plan to go to the pool with your child, let your instructor know so we can give you things to work on that won't jeopardize their success.

We also ask that you not put your child in puddle jumpers or other flotation devices while in lessons. The reason is simple, it will hinder their lessons. It causes a child to swim vertical and we are teaching them to swim horizontally. It also gives your child false confidence. Many people know that their child will run to get in the water, and you must remind the child to get their flotation device(s) on BEFORE they jump in. The child does this because they have false confidence. Our mission is to give your child confidence backed up with their skills.

Once your child has completed Survival Swim, we strongly encourage you to keep them in maintenance lessons. Maintenance lessons can be taken 1 to 5 times per week 15-to-30-minute lessons depending on your child's needs. During maintenance lessons, we will ensure that your child maintains the skills that he/she worked so hard to master. If you choose to take your child out of swimming for any reason, it is important that you understand that your child may lose the skills that they have been taught IF they don't continue to practice them. For this reason, we encourage you to keep your child swimming year-round as accidents don't just happen in the summer.

Encourage! Encourage! Encourage! Cheer for your child while watching them learn. Seeing their loved ones cheer them on, gives them a sense of accomplishment and pride. Even when they are fussing or say they don't want to attend, cheering them on and offering words of encouragement can and will help them get over any fear they may be experiencing. You know your child better than we do and a huge part of their success is you. Be their biggest cheerleader and watch them succeed.