The facilities are very nice. We love to bring our kids to the outdoor water park area and even to the indoor pool for swimming over the winter! This review is to caution those who might be considering swim lessons there. I'll tell the story and you can give whatever weight to it you will.
Last summer we enrolled our 3 and 4 year olds in summer evening swim lessons. Being the first lesson for our 3 year old, he was apprehensive. Normal. We encouraged him that it would be so FUN and he would have such a NICE teacher who was going to help him swim! What we got was a complete dud of a teacher and a terrible experience. I'll refrain from name calling as she was technically a child. She did not smile at the toddlers or get them excited in any way for what they were going to do. Seemingly annoyed at even having to deal with them, she dumped a bucket of water over each of their heads first thing. Ok. . . several sputtered and a couple cried a bit, but I guess tough love? I still had hope for a good experience. She brought them out onto a platform with a PVC handle in the middle of the pool. My son began to cry. She ignored him for a bit. Offered no words of encouragement or comfort. To a 3 year old in his first swim lesson.
Where I started to get agitated was when I saw her go up to him and sternly tell him to "STOP CRYING" right in his face. Really? Do you have a heart? Still no smiles, working with the kids in a very apathetic way. No one is having fun. My son having received only harsh treatment from his teacher is looking for me on the poolside and begins leaning off the platform to reach for me (though I'm about 10 yards away). His teacher tells him if he leans he is going to fall in. True. I come to the edge and tell him it's alright, stay with your teacher, YAY SWIMMING YAY! After I sit down again, he's still distressed, she still doesn't care. I watch as he leans off the platform again and drifts off into the water, floundering. She sees him quickly and lets him struggle for a moment before pulling him up. I can even be ok with this. . . it's a natural consequence to falling off the platform and he needs to hold on to be safe. What made my blood boil is what came next. She pulled my son up out of the water from under his arms. He's scared and crying as he obviously cannot swim. She looks my sobbing child in the face, tells him to "STOP CRYING" and DUNKS him. Dunked a crying three year old. A child gasping for breath and upset because he is only receiving negative attention from this person who is supposed to be teaching him. Dunked him to teach him a lesson? Dunked him as punishment for crying? I was horrified and dumbfounded.
As a former teenage lifeguard and swim instructor I recognize that it's just a summer job for many of these employees. Some don't care much about how much the kids learn in their lessons, just get through the 30 mins, whatever. What is unacceptable is when children are treated dismissively or in a mean spirited way.
I don't expect Mary Poppins to charm my 3 year old in a fairy tale swimming experience. I DO expect my kids to be treated kindly. I also know there are "bad eggs" and not everyone who teaches lessons at this facility is like this girl. The head lifeguard was very sympathetic to my concerns and appalled at what I reported happening in the class. I was relieved to be taken seriously and he offered for me to talk to a manager. This manager could not have cared less. He nodded along to my recounting of the incident with a smug *grin* on his face. With no offer of apology or a solution forthcoming, I asked him if this is how his lifeguards were trained to handle children. Another smug grin with a "I would have to check their training materials". At this moment I was done with the interaction. I asked for a refund on their lessons and expressed how disappointed I was in how we were treated. More smug slap worthy smiles and non-apologies for what "you say happened". I told him we would not be back for lessons again, invited him to please watch any video they may have of "what I say happened" and then I had to leave before I did something illegal.
Beyond this incident, which while not catastrophic did scare the guts out of my kid, it is highly disappointing that I do not feel safe having my kids in the care of CAC employees. The lack of accountability on the management end is what gives me pause the most. read more