With equal parts excitement and bewilderment, a wide-eyed, 10-month-old Rowan Fortenberry plunges below the water's surface and then quickly resurfaces. His mother, Cary, showers him with praise as he blinks his watery eyes.

Rowan is one of about 12 children enrolled in a Parent & Child swim class offered every summer to kids 6 months to 4 years at Ventura Community Park Aquatics Center.

Designed primarily to enable parents to teach their children swimming basics, the class also teaches safety and relaxation techniques while preparing students for the Level I Preschooler Water Adjustment class.

Annie Devericks enrolled her 21-month-old son, Paul, to get him used to the water.

"It's important," Devericks said of the class. "It's not just a sport; we are doing it for safety reasons, too. We have family (members) that have pools, so we want to get him used to it and have fun for sure."

Instructor Mary Dugan is teaching the Parent & Child class for the first time and said watching the kids progress from fear to comfort is rewarding.

"It's awesome, and the kids have a lot of fun," she said.

Mike Trigo of Ventura trained his camera toward the pool to document his wife, Allyson, and 17-month-old daughter in the class.

"We just don't want her to have any fear of the water," he said. "We're water people, so we figured we'd get her started early, and we read that's the best thing to do."

Not all of the diaper-clad students take to the water like fish. A few prefer to sit on the edge of the pool and play with rubber ducks and other toys.

"It's kind of hard when they don't want to do it and start crying; it always breaks my heart," Dugan said. "But after awhile they start to get comfortable with it, and if you just encourage them they'll try it, and that's fun."

Each 30-minute class is combined with singing as the parents gently tow their children through the pool, encouraging them to kick and splash with their arms. For those old enough to stand, jumping from the side of the pool into their parents' waiting arms is a highlight.

The course is taught Tuesday through Thursday during four weeks, or just on Saturdays. The next Saturday session begins Sept. 8; the next Tuesday through Thursday session begins Sept. 11.

For more information, contact the Ventura Community Park Aquatics Center at 654-7511 or log onto www.cityofventura.net.