Baby Swimming Lessons in New Jersey: 10 Top Picks for Babies and Toddlers
Looking for the best baby swimming lessons in New Jersey? Here are our top picks throughout the Garden State.
Summer is here, and whether you are joining a pool, going on vacation, heading to the Shore, or sending your kids off to camp, chances are that swimming is part of your plans. While your kids are still young, mommy-and-me swimming lessons (or daddy-and-me) are a great way to carve out some special time for you and your child to bond.
These swimming lessons usually run for children 6-36 months—although some start even younger—and involve a parent in the water along with the child. Singing, toys, and water play are often incorporated into these swimming lessons to help children feel comfortable in the water and have fun while learning valuable water safety skills.
If you are interested in signing your infant or toddler up, read on for a description of swim clubs that offer these mommy-and-me classes in New Jersey.
Find more great things to do in our Summer Fun Guide, and be sure to bookmark our frequently-updated Family Activity Calendar.
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British Swim School caters to kids as young as 3 months.
Baby Swimming Lessons in Northern Jersey
1. North Jersey Aquatic Club – Multiple Locations
The North Jersey Aquatic Club offers semi-private lessons, with a swimmer to instructor ratio of 3:1, as well as private swim lessons. The program uses song and play to help infants and toddlers develop a lifelong love of water. They work to develop water safety skills such as breath control, buoyancy, and finding a way back to the wall.
2. British Swim School – Multiple Locations
The British Swim School is located throughout New Jersey and offers Tadpole classes for babies 3-36 months. These water acclimation classes are parent assisted and capped at six children. Tadpole classes stress no tears and no fears and feature a lot of singing and splashing.
Spend time with your little one in the pool at a Mommy-and-Me class at the Five Star Swim School.
Central Jersey Baby Swimming Lessons
3. Five Star Swim School – Multiple Locations
The Five Star Swim School has infant swimming lessons that are meant to be dedicated one-on-one time you spend bonding with your child. In these Seahorse classes, basic swim instruction will be introduced in an engaging and fun way using songs.
4. Goldfish Swim School – Multiple Locations
The Goldfish Swim School believes it is never too early to introduce your child to water and so offers baby swim lessons for children 4-35 months old. These 30-minute infant through toddler swimming lessons will provide children with life-saving skills as well as improve coordination and build muscles.
Learning to swim is important for safety reasons. Photo by Lisa Warden
Baby Swimming Lessons on the Jersey Shore
5. NJswim – Multiple Locations
NJswim features a heated indoor pool and offers year-round lessons for children of all ages. Water baby classes are offered for children 3-15 months that focus on water acclimation with 100% parental assistance. Water baby classes are continued for kids 16-30 months that focus on developing breath control and coordination and weaning children from using parental assistance in the water.
6. Pied Piper Swim School – East Toms River
Pied Piper is a family business where one of the owners personally teaches each class. Courses run around 6-8 weeks and are offered for children ages 6months and up. The classes are kept small with a maximum of six children per class and one adult per kid in the parent/child classes.
Southern Jersey Baby Swimming Lessons
7. Katz JCC – Cherry Hill
The Bubble Babies class is for children 6-36 months that have an adult in the water with them to participate in the class. The class is designed to get your child comfortable in the water and provide a foundation for water safety and, eventually, independent swimming.
8. Kennedy Fitness – Multiple Locations
The Mommy-and-Me class at Kennedy Fitness is on Saturdays and runs for eight weeks. I personally did this class with my 2-year-old at the Mullica Hill location and we really enjoyed it. The instructor was fun, and the water toys and songs helped my son to forget his fears and enjoy being in the water.
9. Kids Swim First Schools – Multiple Locations
Mommy-and-Me classes at Kids Swim First Schools are 30 minutes long and designed for children 3 months-3 years. The weekly classes teach buoyancy, propulsion, and breath control.
10. South Jersey Aquatic Club – Voorhees
The Water Babies class is for children over 6 months, and a parent must be present in the water. The class is meant to be a fun introduction to the water and water safety. They are aimed at teaching confidence in the water and strengthening the bond between parent and child.
Unless noted, photos courtesy of the schools