About
Aqua-Tots Swim School Toms River, located at 1358 Hooper Ave, Toms River, NJ, offers year-round swim lessons for children of all ages. The facility focuses on water safety and skill development through small class sizes, certified instructors, and a structured curriculum in a warm, indoor environment.
The pools at Aqua-Tots Swim School Toms River are typically heated to a comfortable 90 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 32 degrees Celsius), providing an optimal and welcoming environment for swimmers, particularly infants and young children, year-round.
What are people saying (AI review summary)? Reviews for Aqua Tots present a mixed experience. Many parents highly commend the program, highlighting their children's rapid progress in swim safety and skills, even at a young age, and praising specific instructors like Darren, Shayla, and Greg for their kindness, patience, and engaging teaching methods. The overall staff, including front desk personnel, is frequently described as friendly and welcoming, with one parent noting the owner, Stephanie, as very helpful. Conversely, a deeply negative review from a parent of an autistic toddler describes a 'heartbreaking' and 'damaging' experience, citing a significant lack of staff training and temperament to work with special needs children. This parent felt the facility was not inclusive or nurturing, but rather 'money-driven,' and strongly advised other special needs families to look elsewhere, a sentiment echoed by another reviewer.
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Amenities
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Accepts Credit Cards
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Accessible Entrance
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Accessible Restroom
Reviews
Listing Reviews
June 25th, 2025Jenna Griffiths
We have done 6 classes so far and my daughter has acclimated quickly. She started at 11 months and is thriving thanks to the instructors, especially Darren. He is sweet and seems to really enjoy teaching. The learning activities are perfect for her age and effective in teaching proper swim safety as well as introducing the infants to water skills.
May 3rd, 2025Sharmylla Siew
As a mother of an autistic toddler, I left this facility feeling heartbroken and deeply disappointed. I had high hopes when I enrolled my son in swim classes here, especially since it came recommended by his ABA therapist. Unfortunately, the experience fell drastically short of expectations. Despite being part of a large franchise which you would assume would invest in proper staff training what we encountered were mostly high school-aged instructors who clearly lacked both the training and temperament to work with young children, especially those on the spectrum.My son is autistic, but not severely so. He is very capable of following direction when given the proper support, yet he was treated as though he were incapable of participating. What upset me most was that I had clearly communicated his needs in advance through both the intake forms and in-person conversations. Still, I watched not only my child, but three others, be pulled out of class not due to misbehavior, but because the instructors lacked patience, flexibility, and understanding. This place does not feel like a nurturing or inclusive learning environment. It feels like a money-driven business prioritizing volume over the quality of instruction or the well-being of children. It was painful to watch my excited son be dismissed simply because the staff didn’t know how to adapt or engage. If you are a parent of a child with special needs, particularly on the spectrum, I strongly advise you to look elsewhere. Every child deserves to be met where they are not treated as a burden for needing a little extra care. This experience was not just disappointing…it was damaging. To the manager , who felt the need to reiterate they were not money driven - during an evaluation of this kind , why not redirect the child to a instructor who could have properly evaluated him for your special programming for children with disabilities ? Why go on to tell me theirs a wait list and show the opportunity all while reiterating those classes are basically unattainable As a Forbes council member , a business owner and mother i truly stand by the idea not everyone should be in business and aqua tots should certainly not be in business
June 18th, 2024Nicole Frazier
I want to start my review by saying the owner, Stephanie, was so kind and answered any questions I had via her personal Facebook messenger! It made my planning and decision making so much easier! I have not had a bad experience with aqua tots! The whole staff is super friendly and they always have smiles on their face. I have had three coaches for my son and they all were wonderful! We are now steadily swimming with Coach Shayla! She is AMAZING with my son and he adores her. He gets very excited on the way to class because he will be with Coach Shayla! We have not even rounded two months of swim and my boy is reaching the deep bottom to get the ring and holding his breath and getting to the edge for 5 seconds plus! He has mastered climbing out of the pool to safety! For a new swimmer and being 3 years old I feel that is FANTASTIC! He is obsessed with jumping in, which Shayla lets him do each class and he is over joyed by it! Keep up the good work. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to the entire aqua tot team!
April 13th, 2025Steve Dietlein
I have been nothing but happy with Aqua Tots. Fantastic facility with great coaches. Coach Greg, who teaches my kids, does the perfect job of balancing fun while keeping the kids focused on learning this life-saving skill! Highly recommended.
January 23rd, 2025Sara Beach
The entire staff at aqua-tots Tom’s River is amazing, from the moment we check in at the front to when we leave everyone is so extremely friendly. The women at the front desk are just so nice! They are so kind to my son. He went from level 2 to level 3 recently and it felt like everyone was so genuinely happy for him. We have Miss Shayla as our instructor and she is just the sweetest! She is so patient and kind. The progress he made with her is so great! I tell our friends that have children all the time how great the school is!
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Opening Hours
| Sunday | 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM |
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| Monday | 8:30 AM – 8:00 PM |
| Tuesday | 3:30 – 8:00 PM |
| Wednesday | 8:30 AM – 8:00 PM |
| Thursday | 8:30 AM – 8:00 PM |
| Friday | 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM |
| Saturday | 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM |