La Petite Baleen Swim Schools

I know a lot of children that go to La petite baleen since I am a preschool teacher, but only recently did I find out through a friend that La Petite baleen offers free classes to infants under 6 months old. The pool seems quite small for the number of children and classes they provide at a time. The changing room is quite small and with 4 diaper changing tables, so sometimes after class ends, you may have to wait for your turn with your wet baby. They do also have one playpen so you can put your baby in there while you the adult changes. But again if there are more babies, it makes it hard. I bring my stroller so I put my baby in there after I change him so I can change, or you can bring someone else to help you if that is an option. There is only one bathroom stall and it's not big enough for a stroller to go in as well. There is a draining mat in the dressing room so it's not slippery. I didn't appreciate this until I went to the other La petite baleen and the floor was slippery. Do bring some slippers. One time I forgot and while it was ok to walk around the deck without slippers, the mats in the changing room do hurt your feet if you walk around there doing all the stuff you need to do. There are no waiting areas around the deck so it would not be good if you want to take pics or your children in the water. There is an observation deck behind glass for parents or grandparents to wait.

The lesson is pretty much standard (at this location) with some skills and circle time on a floating mat, however I feel like there is a different feel based on the teacher you have. For example one teacher would give my son goggles or the noodle boat and another wouldn't. The water is nice and warm so I didn't need to shiver as I walked into the water with my baby.

You can choose your swim time and it's booked for you weekly. You are allowed to choose another time so if you don't like the teacher, you can choose another one. They do seem to have subs quite a bit. They also give you two free make up classes per season which you can use if you miss a class or even if you don't, they can be used as extra classes. You can book one week in advance and they have the classes on the website which you can conveniently choose. However you are not allowed to book your make up class if it's within the week but considered the next season. Overall I feel like it's a good place for children to learn to swim and they seem to like it.

Been taking my baby for the Infant Swim Program since she was 2 months old which is the earliest. This location is at the far end of the San Bruno downtown area with street parking and parking in the back available. The facilities is ok but when you compare it to the other branch locations like Redwood City, this one is not the best one because of its size and upkeep. The changing rooms are tight so when the baby changing stations are all used up, I've had to use the single stall bathrooms to dry and change my baby.

I agree with what others have been saying. It really depends on the teacher. Some teachers do a variety of activities while some just do the minimum and more on 1:1 time. I prefer the former because it keeps things interesting for the baby.

Quick tip: 2 month to 6 month babies are free! You just have to pay for the annual membership fee. After 6 months you are auto-enrolled to continue but can cancel if that is your decision. Free street parking and more parking in the back.

My daughter and I did a Toddler intro class a few weeks ago and had a blast. Designed to get little tots comfortable in the water, the class consisted of songs, flippers, and toys. I was amazed that even though this was her first swim class ever, she was already comfortable putting her face in the water and jumping off their floating board by the end of class.

I would have wished for a little more 1:1 time between the kids and the instructor though - there was quite a bit of time where each parent was hanging out individually with their kids just playing, without any real structure. If I'm paying for a class, I'd like to get a little more out of it than something I can do myself outside of class.

This place sucks!!! Class was cancelled because the pump was broken. When we arrived. The whole place was emptied. They could have simply give us a call and told us class is canceled today and saved us over an hour of round trip driving there just to drive back. On top of that, they allow one make up class if you miss one. I have been trying to get a make up class for the last 3 months asking them every week. They always say it is full and no class available. I asked how about just don't charge me for the next class? They said they can't do that. So you can't give me a make up class, but you also can't give us a credit for it? This business is all about taking every dollar they can from you and give you nothing back. Shady business. Go somewhere else. Plus all the teachers are teens, they pay their workers minimum wage wage and charge you a big premium. You can telll they don't care about their workers nor any of their customers. Stay away!!!

Was calling them to inquire about enrolling although they apparently never pick up their phone, nor do they answer their live chat. What a dang shame.

We've been consistently taking our daughter to LPB since she was 3 months old. Our daughter is now a little over 2 years old and she's swimming about 6 ft with fins. We've had the same teacher since she started (teacher Rocio- HIGHLY recommend). Since she's started, we've made it a priority to take her on a weekly basis with an exception of a few classes. Our daughter absolutely adores her teacher along with her swim-mates! Teacher Rocio makes the class so much fun for the kiddos and also for us parents.

Overall, it is extremely important to ensure you have a teacher that is well versed and knows to interact with the kids and make the class fun. We highly recommend Arianna, Rocio and Angelica!!

We started taking our baby here since he was 7 months old he is almost 2 years now. We love this place, the pool isn't very big but they make it work. The place overall is very family friendly and safe, the changing rooms although not the best are ok (recently i think they made some new accommodations) and the important part, the classes are very fun and time flies away, the playing, singing and learning is always on point, my only note and this is of course a preference choice is that not all the teachers we have encountered are as good as other are favorites were for sure "Angelica" and "Quin Lynn" we also had Vince for some time which is think is actually a director for here and he was great to. Overall La Petite is a very greta place for splashing and Learning!

My daughter is 5 years old and she's been doing swim lessons at LPB for two months. Before swim lessons, my daughter did not know how to swim, was afraid to put her head under water, didn't even want to get her face wet, and would only stay at the stairs whenever we were in a pool. She is so much more confident in the water and her swimming skills continue to improve each lesson.

I was originally drawn to this place because they offer a free trial lesson. After our trial lesson, my daughter was so happy and she immediately wanted to return. She loves coming in every week and had a great time.

The space is bright and clean.There are showers and changing rooms. Once new skills are mastered, the kids get a ribbon. Lessons are 30 minutes long.

Sardines in a can - most of the instructors don't really care...the good ones are few and far between. Gotta keep an eye on your kid and their progress. They just care to maximize the $/hour they make. The owner/manager only talks to the Caucasian kids/families. You pay $40 for a total of 7.5 minutes of attention.... Go somewhere else!

My daughter is 6 and started at LPB in RWC in May. In the span of just three months she's gone from "will definitely drown without floaties" to swimming totally independently, now happily spending hours at the pool diving for toys, swimming laps, and just generally having the time of her life. We love the structure of the classes, and our daughter is really motivated by the levels/ribbon system. The teachers and staff have all been great, and the facility is clean and accessible (with a big parking lot on site, too).

Once you are in a class, booking classes and make-ups online through their parent portal is really easy. Their booking staff is also super communicative and responsive (and also forgiving, which I appreciated because I made a lot of mistakes when we were first figuring out enrollment). My biggest complaint is that I wish they had a waitlist system! Class availability can be very limited, especially when first enrolling or trying to move up a level. I spend a lot of time online checking availability, which changes daily. Still, it's worth it to see my kid happy, confident, and safe in the water.