TEACH your BABY to SWIM!
Across the world, babies as young as five days old enjoy the enormous social and physical benefits of learning to swim. Using techniques pioneered over the last forty years, Water Babies will teach you and your child the skills needed for a lifetime of water confidence and enjoyment.
Babies love the fun and freedom of swimming, and sharing this experience with your newborn is one of the most exciting and rewarding activities you can do. Using word association, movement, games and songs we create sessions that are informative as well as fun - teaching you to teach your child. Water safety is also a priority. With progressive training your baby will learn vital life-saving skills such as turning onto their back or swimming to the surface following a sudden submersion.
The first year of your baby’s life is crucial in terms of development - being the time when their brain grows more rapidly than at any other. Regular exercise plays a vital role in this, with every movement they make helping to strengthen their brain for new learning. Uniquely, swimming provides the perfect exercise as water allows a baby’s muscles to move freely without constraints of gravity.
Playing in warm water is the perfect bonding experience, where you act as support for your child. However, our unique techniques also enable your baby to swim underwater from very early on. For a tiny infant - dependent on others for every aspect of its life - this is an exhilarating and empowering experience and one that will increase your confidence as much as your child’s.
it's only natural
Babies have a real affinity with water, having spent their months in the womb suspended in fluid. As time progresses this confidence decreases. Between 10 and 15-months, babies can develop a fear of water if not already regularly exposed to it.
All babies have a ‘gag reflex’ - meaning they automatically hold their breath when their faces are submerged. This is at its strongest when they are under three months old but can be re-learned at any time through responding to voice commands.
why water works
The emphasis in the sessions is very clearly on strengthening the bond between you and your child and the two of you having fun. However, there are also many other benefits:
* swimming from birth is excellent for your baby's development. A German study found that such babies had advanced motor development, social skills and intelligence. Similar Finnish research showed that swimming babies developed excellent muscle control, demonstrated through early walking.
* despite the gentle structure of the lessons, each provides a complete physical work-out: strengthening your baby's heart, lungs and respiratory system, in turn aiding development of the brain.
* learning to respond to commands can make your baby sharper mentally and increase levels of understanding
* regular swimming can enhance your baby’s awareness and improve eating and sleeping patterns
* early swimming can ward off future breathing complaints like asthma
special needs
* the course is ideal for teaching babies with Downs Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy, as it helps improve muscle development and co-ordination. The Downs Syndrome Association recommend swimming as one of the best activities for their babies.
how it all works
Your baby needs to be under 12-months before commencing the course. The full Water Babies programme lasts one year, divided into four ten-week blocks:
Beginners Intermediate I Intermediate II Advanced
Your baby must wear a double nappy system as specified by Water Babies and we also recommend you buy a baby wetsuit for any extra trips to your local pool.
some common questions
Does my baby need to have been fully immunised first?
Thousands of babies across the world have been taken swimming prior to being fully immunised with no harmful effects. The NHS website states that you can take your baby swimming at any time (www.immunisations.org.uk) and many health professionals actively encourage it. Water temperature is the key issue with young babies and pools in which we operate are all heated to at least 30◦C.
How big are the classes?
Classes are kept small, with a maximum of ten accompanied babies per session. This helps foster a sense of camaraderie within lessons, which are generally very sociable occasions with many friendships being formed.
Can I get a photo of my baby swimming under water?
Yes - it’s one of the best bits! When your baby has completed the Beginners course you will be offered the opportunity. The photos are taken at a local pool, using specialist underwater equipment and you can order any variation of print quantities and sizes.
What happens at the end of the Water Babies programme?
The programme is designed to teach you a broad range of skills with which you can naturally encourage your child to swim. At the end of the year a comprehensive leaving pack is available or you’re welcome to join one of our limited number of toddler classes, subject to availability.
About the company
www.waterbabies.co.uk
Eliza Cottrell aged 4 months