Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Di kelas renang khusus balita, pengasuh selalu berada di dalam air bersama anak-anak. - In the special swimming class for toddlers, the caregivers are always in the water with the children.

Di kelas renang khusus balita = In the special swimming class for toddlers
This whole phrase is an adverbial of place (it tells you where the action happens).

Indonesian often starts a sentence with a place or time phrase to set the scene:

Di kelas renang khusus balita, pengasuh…
= In the special toddler swimming class, the caregiver…

You could also say:

Pengasuh selalu berada di dalam air bersama anak-anak di kelas renang khusus balita.

Both are correct; the original just emphasizes the location first.

How is kelas renang khusus balita structured? Which words modify which?

You can think of kelas renang khusus balita as:

kelas renang = swimming class
khusus balita = (that is) specifically for toddlers

So the structure is roughly:

[kelas renang] [khusus balita]
= a swimming class [specifically for toddlers]

There is no explicit “for” (like for toddlers). Instead:

khusus = special / specifically (for)
balita = toddlers

The “for” meaning is understood from context:
kelas renang khusus balita → a special swimming class (for) toddlers.

What exactly does balita mean? Is it just “toddler”?

Balita is a very common Indonesian word meaning roughly “toddler / child under five”.

Literally, it’s an acronym:

bawah = under
lima = five
tahun = years

So balita = “under five years old”.

In everyday usage, it’s like “toddlers / very young children”, usually 1–5 years old.
You’ll see it a lot in contexts like parenting, health, daycare, and early childhood programs.

What does pengasuh mean, and how is it different from guru or pelatih?

Pengasuh literally means “caretaker / caregiver”—someone who looks after children (or other dependents), not necessarily a formal teacher.

Common related words:

pengasuh = caregiver, nanny, childminder
guru = teacher (school, tutoring, academic)
pelatih = coach, trainer (sports, skills)
instruktur = instructor (often for classes like swimming, driving, fitness)

In this sentence, pengasuh suggests a focus on:

safety, supervision, and care,
not only teaching swimming technique. That fits well with balita, since they are very young.

What does selalu do in this sentence, and where can it go?

Selalu means “always” and here it modifies the verb phrase berada di dalam air:

pengasuh selalu berada di dalam air
= the caregiver is always in the water

Typical positions:

pengasuh selalu berada di dalam air (most natural)
pengasuh berada selalu di dalam air (possible, but less common and more marked)

You generally place selalu:

before the main verb or verb-like word:
- selalu datang, selalu bermain, selalu berada

What does berada mean, and how is it different from ada or just di?

Berada roughly means “to be (located) / to be present / to stay (at a place)”.

In this sentence:

pengasuh selalu berada di dalam air
= the caregiver is always in the water / always stays in the water

Comparison:

ada
- Basic “there is / to exist / to be (present)”
- Ada orang di kolam. = There is a person in the pool.
berada
- More formal/specific: to be (located or present somewhere)
- Often sounds a bit more careful or descriptive.
- Pengasuh berada di dalam air. = The caregiver is (located) in the water.
Using just di + place after a noun:
- Pengasuh di dalam air.
  → Understandable, but feels a bit incomplete or casual in a full sentence.
  Native speakers would usually add ada or berada for a complete, neutral sentence.

In this context, berada emphasizes the state of being in the water as an ongoing condition.

Why is it di dalam air instead of just di air? Is there a difference?

Both are possible, but they have slightly different nuances:

di air = in the water / on the water (more general)
di dalam air = inside the water (more explicitly inside, not just at the edge)

Dalam means “inside”. So:

di dalam air emphasizes that the caregiver is actually in the water, not just by the pool.

You could also say:

di kolam renang = in the swimming pool (location)
di dalam kolam renang = inside the swimming pool (even more physically “inside”)

Why is it anak-anak and not just anak or para anak?

Anak-anak is the plural form of anak (child).

In Indonesian, one common way to show plural is reduplication (repeating the noun):

anak = child
anak-anak = children

You don’t have to mark plural; context often tells you:

anak di kelas itu lucu.
Could mean the child is cute or the children are cute depending on context.

Here, because it’s clearly a class with multiple kids, anak-anak is natural.

About para:

para anak is grammatically possible but sounds a bit formal/literary and is more common with certain nouns:
- para siswa (the students)
- para guru (the teachers)

In everyday speech here, anak-anak is the most natural choice.

Could I say pengasuh selalu di dalam air bersama anak-anak and drop berada?

In informal spoken Indonesian, you might hear something like:

Pengasuh selalu di dalam air sama anak-anak.

People do sometimes drop ada/berada in casual speech.

However, for neutral/standard Indonesian, especially in writing or careful speech, it sounds more complete and natural to include ada or berada:

Pengasuh selalu berada di dalam air bersama anak-anak. ✅ (best here)
Pengasuh selalu ada di dalam air bersama anak-anak. ✅ (also acceptable)

So for learners, it’s safer to keep berada (or ada) in this kind of sentence.

Can the word order be changed, like moving bersama anak-anak or the place phrase?

Yes, Indonesian word order is fairly flexible, as long as you keep the core structure.

Original:

Di kelas renang khusus balita, pengasuh selalu berada di dalam air bersama anak-anak.

Possible variants:

Pengasuh selalu berada di dalam air bersama anak-anak di kelas renang khusus balita.
→ Still natural; now it flows more like English.
Di kelas renang khusus balita, pengasuh selalu berada bersama anak-anak di dalam air.
→ Emphasizes being with the children in the water.
Pengasuh, di kelas renang khusus balita, selalu berada di dalam air bersama anak-anak.
→ More written/formal, with the location as a kind of inserted phrase.

What you generally don’t change:

Subject before verb: pengasuh selalu berada… (not normally selalu pengasuh berada in this context)
Keep di / di dalam / bersama attached to their noun phrases.