Little Fishes Swim School

I was really hopeful about this place at first. I had heard they work well with children who have special needs or high anxiety. In fact, when I talked with them about this they really bragged about this. My child was placed in a group class with 5 – 6 other children of various ages and abilities. The teachers were young and forceful with my child. The first few lessons were terrible. I asked about private lessons and the director said to wait a little longer to see if my child adjusts. My child began having panic attacks driving to Little Fishes. As a parent I should have just said «peace out», cancel my membership and try something else. I REALLY regret that I didn’t. $ 500 later, I feel the only thing my child has learned was a fear of the water, people encouraging my child to get in the water, and a stupid soup song. Every week there was a different teacher. It was like we went though the same trauma every week with immature college kids who have not received special training about kids with special needs. This overpriced program may work for the run of the mill kid. If your kid has any special needs (ADHD, anxiety, Autism, physical impairment, speech impairment, hearing impairment, etc) I would highly recommend you consider private lessons with individuals who have worked with students who have a variety of needs.

They do an absolutely amazing job! Each class has a team of 2 teachers. There’s no sitting around — while one kid is doing the task, the others are cheering for him/​her in some way. They use songs and toys really well. The space is clean, orderly, colorful and well thought out. My 4 year old is really gaining confidence in the water.

Best swim classes in St. Louis. Our daughter started at 6 months and 2 years later she loves swimming and has no fear of the water. The instructors are all wonderful, patient and confident so they make sure that your child is underwater every chance they get during the class. We started at the Brentwood location and are now at the Chesterfield one. Both locations are great!

I have taken quite a few kids here that I have nannied and they do a fabulous job. The instructors are amazingly patient with the kids and there is just so much laughter and smiles all around. The locker rooms are clean and there is ample seating for parents and nannies to sit and watch. My only complaint is the humidity is unbearable, maybe it’s just me but I get an afro in about 30 seconds of entering the facility, nothing they can do lol, just being a diva I guess.

Completely outstanding. SO much better than other swim classes we’ve tried. Tiny class size, warm water. My kids have progressed so rapidly! They are especially great with my little one who went into the first lesson kicking and screaming– they’ve seen this a million times before and know what works! LOVE these lessons, totally worth the money.

I cannot say enough great things about Little Fishes, the amazing staff and the overall experience for my son. Our family who lives out of town and have a pool were amazed this summer to see his swim skills. This is definitely worth the time and investment at a young age (my son started at 6 months).

These people are miracle workers. Attempts over the years to enroll my now 6yo in swim lessons have resulted in screaming, tears, bruises and a stiffening resolve to NEVER learn how to swim. A friend with some background in competitive swimming and coaching said that she thought Little Fishes could help. I balked at the price. Y’all, my other kid swims (happily and well) at the Y for literally 10% of the cost of Little Fishes! But a 5 week trip to the coast loomed, and I was feeling desperate for my kid to be safe and have fun by the water.
I don’t know exactly how I convinced my kiddo to even step inside little fishes. But we (barely) made it that far and the staff took over from there. No one seemed phased at all by my son’s screams and refusals — I’d spoken over the phone extensively about my concerns and was reassured that all was well and that they could handle it. And they have! They anticipate that swimming is scary and joyful and know that the crying will be followed eventually by fun. They put my son with large, strong coaches in case he got out of control. he never has, but I have appreciated that. They continually assess his abilities and comfort level, and adjust accordingly. The lesson moves fast and there are lots of fun games — «tricks“according to my son — to help teach him how to swim.
We had our fourth lesson today and my son participated and SMILED the *entire time*. He went *under the water* four times. He jumped in! He is wearing goggles and the shark backpack and having a grand old time.
Another awesome feature of little fishes: your kid won’t smell like bleach, his swim trunks won’t disintegrate, and if you don’t have time for a shower after the lesson, he won’t get a chemical burn.
If you have a kid with special needs around swim lessons, do not hesitate to spend the money on Little Fishes. I am feeling pretty confident that with these weekly lessons and a little practice that my son will be swimming in four months when we go to the coast. If I have any more children I would start them here, very early.

My 3-​year-​old has been taking lessons for about 2 months now. She has fun, and looks forward to swim class each week. She now goes underwater with no complaints and does what they ask her to. She still won’t jump in without at least holding their hand, but that’s an improvement from when we started. She enjoys it, and is getting more comfortable in the water. I think twice a week would be better, but once a week is fine for our goals. The staff are all friendly!
I think they need to clean their Kureg machine. I got a coffee there, and it was the worst I’ve ever had. I took two sips and couldn’t stomach it. I’ve never had coffee from a Kureg, or anywhere that tasted like that. I will never buy coffee there again. They have wifi you can use, so that’s a plus!

I have my 7^th month old enrolled at this place. My daughter as well as me and my husband love this place. my daughter has so much fun! The people who work there are great, helpful and very friendly :) The have a great area for changing and shower rooms. I would recommened this place to anyone.

We tried little fishes with our 2 year old. It may work for some kids. The facility is nice, but I don’t think the class is effective. My impressions were:
1. The instructor didn’t remember the kids from week to week. She was always getting their names wrong, and once I saw her welcome a kid by the wrong name, only to learn it was the child’s first class.
2. I am not really sure what the class was trying to achieve. It seemed to be some lackluster singing and games, coupled with dunking the child a few times. For example, they do a ‘stir the soup’ game, which is supposed to help the child learn the arm action of the breast stroke, but I never saw it translate into anything remotely resembling swimming, or even pushing water, with any of the children. Similarly, there didn’t seem to be much magic behind the dunking process. The teacher said we should blow in their face before dunking them to make them hold their breath, but she practiced this herself intermittently at best.
3. To the extent that the class achieves anything, it might give the child a false sense of comfort in the water without imparting the ability to stay up. That said, our child didn’t develop a comfort in the water.
4. I am not sure if the instructors get in trouble if the kids cry, but our child would cry loudly after being dunked, and then she would look nervous and say «OK, we don’t have to put him under anymore this class.» If anything, I think this just reinforced the idea that if our child cried, he could get out of putting his face underwater. It seemed ineffective.
5. The class only happens once a week for 30 minutes (I guess you could sign up more frequently). It just doesn’t seem frequent enough to teach the kid anything.
Finally, they are up-​front about it, but their cancellation policy is pretty extreme. Because they pre-​bill you for a month, and require a 30 day notice on cancellations, it is pretty hard to try it without spending $ 240 or so.
Maybe it works for older children, or maybe it helps younger kids who are ‘almost there’ and just need a little more aggressive practice. But I wasn’t impressed with the under 3 class.

We have enrolled both of our children in the Little Fishes programs, and we’ve tried a community center swim program as well. By far the LFSS program teaches them much more in terms of water skills, and is a much cleaner and more comfortable facility. With two small children, the private changing rooms are invaluable, and the salt water means we also don’t have to deal with bringing chemical soaked items into the house every week.