You’ve probably noticed that baby
swimming lessons are a popular weekly activity for new parents, especially here
on the Northern Beaches.
Wondering why it’s important to teach a baby to swim?
Parent and baby swimming lessons are a fun weekly activity, more importantly, water familiarisation and breath control techniques can be learnt from six months of age and are essential water survival skills.
Tips on teaching your baby to
swim:
- Body position for baby is at the surface with feet/legs kicking at the back and arms digging at the front (no running legs).
- When performing back floating with your baby, squat down so your chest and neck are in the water. Your baby’s head should be resting on your shoulder for comfort. This encourages floating in the correct body position.
- Never force floating, encourage it. This is an important skill for water safety and survival. It needs to be gently encouraged.
- A snaking movement often relaxes babies when floating.
- Pouring water over your baby’s head is an important skill. This teaches breath control. To begin say your child’s name then “Ready Go”, before you submerge or pour water over their head.
- Ensure your baby’s mouth is closed before a submersion or when pouring water over the head.
- Always encourage your baby to get their eyes, nose, ears and head wet. Having showers with them when they are infants is a great start. This teaches them not to panic if they ever fall into a pool or a body of water. Instead they kick themselves back to an edge or ledge, or roll over and float, which is taught during your parent and child classes
All the steps taught in our Parent and Baby swimming lessons are not only fun but part of learning how to survive in the water. A skill that is even more important, living here on the Northern Beaches with the ocean being an important part of our beach lifestyle.
During the Parent and Baby classes, be prepared to get wet!
Wear a loose t-shirt over your swim costume which is used when teaching your baby the ‘Reach and Grab’ skill and be sure you join in all the songs and activities, so water play becomes fun!
Remember, if your child is not toilet trained NSW Health Regulations, require a Happy Nappy to be worn at all times.
Keen to join our parent and baby swimming classes here on the Northern Beaches of Sydney? Contact us now about spots available for the new year.
