VENTURA : Little Ones Get in the Swim at City Program

As 11-month-old Evan Mathers splashed his hands in the water at the Buena High School pool at the beginning of his swim class on Monday, his mother, Kym, knew exactly what to do.

She held the baby up out of the water, looked into his eyes and told him that he was going under, but only for a moment. “One, two, three--and down you go,” Mathers said as she quickly immersed the child, who came up smiling. “He feels much more comfortable in the water than when we had just started.”

Teaching a child to safely go under water is one of the many techniques that Mathers and other parents learn at the infant and preschool aquatic summer program offered by the city of Ventura.

The 10-lesson course at the Buena High pool aims to teach infants and children ages 6 months to 3 years how to kick, blow bubbles, float and get ready to learn to swim.

The 30-minute classes begin with signing songs and bouncing in the water before the day’s work begins.

“For the youngest, the goal is to make them comfortable in the water and to show their parents how to teach them basic water safety techniques,” said Mari Alsip, the pool manager. “The parents learn more than the kids.”

Alsip said parents often do not know how to treat infants in the water.

“You have to speak to them as if they understand what you are saying,” Alsip said. “And the more you repeat the same technique, the more likely they are to learn.”

As the babies grow older, they can continue taking summer swimming classes offered by the city. Since 1974, the city has provided a variety of classes not only for infants but also for children ages 3 to 17, Alsip said.

Brazaleen Lyons, 35, has enrolled all five of her children in city swimming classes for the last three years.

“I don’t want them to be afraid of water,” Lyons said as she taught her 7-month-old baby how to kick in the water. “And at the same time, I don’t want them to hop in without knowing what they are doing.”