Your baby spends nine months in your tummy floating and growing in water, it is only natural you want to reintroduce your baby to that environment. Research supports the earlier the better when considering what age to start swimming lessons for your little one.

Did you know that half of all 10 year olds in New Zealand can't swim 25 metres and a quarter of them can't keep afloat. That's a sad fact for our island nation which is ribboned with rivers, streams and lakes. Keeping your little one in lessons year round is one step closer to ensuring they do not become a drowning statistic.

A love of water starts with baby's bath time. Begin with some gentle splashing and kicking and get him used to water trickling over his head and face.

Plunket recommends babies be at least six months old before swimming in a public pool. Their immune system will have developed enough to protect them from diseases, they can hold their head up and their ears can cope with water. Their little bodies can also cope with the change in temperature when they get undressed and into the water and again when getting out.

With that in mind i have put together a quick fire list of ways to keep your little one warm after their swimming lesson.....

-Bring along a nice warm hot water bottle in your bubs swim bag keeping their clothes while you swim.

-Hooded towels are perfect to wrap around your bubs when getting out of the water, especially if you like to dress yourself before dressing your bubs. Personally i preferred to dress my bubs first as that way i knew they were warm.

-Dress your little swimmer in a long sleeve woollen thermal top and pants underneath their swimming togs to keep them warm in the water.

-If you can find a neoprene wet suit or wrap these are a fabulous way of keeping your bubs warm in and out of the water.

-Ensure your bubs is wearing a coat, hat and socks when leaving the hot humid swimming pool environment and going into the colder outdoor weather.

-And finally, enjoy full use of our brand new baby changing ledge equip with a wall mounted heater above it. Very exciting!

If you have any other tips or suggestions please let us know.

And most importantly enjoy your special one on one connection time while in your swim lesson with your precious wee one.

Teaching children a respect for the water is a very important part in water safety education. Children start to learn a respect for the water as they progress through the learn to swim process and begin to understand their capabilities and limitations in the pool. Children need lots of exploratory play under strict supervision from the parent, as well as formal learning which instils water safety values. This concept of “respect for the water” can even be observed in little babies. For example babies can demonstrate their understanding of deep and shallow water, as they crawl along a shallow ledge, stop and sit up at the end and not venture off into the deep water until being invited to do so by their parent. This simple move can actually be overlooked as an important part of the water safety learning process. What’s more, it is very easy to actually reinforce undesired behaviours, if we don’t follow the right steps. For example the baby/child who repeatedly launches themselves into deep water without the ability to independently recover and the well meaning parent or teacher who picks the child up and smiles. So what steps should parents follow?

Instil cues for going underwater

During the initial learning stages we want baby’s first underwater experience to be safe and free from fuss or trauma. Therefore we use our trigger words ‘ready go’, followed by the smooth pouring of water over the baby’s face, to teach them breath control on command. Once baby grows with age this trigger ‘ready go’ actually becomes an invitation for baby to independently swim to the parent or teacher. It’s very important that children learn to swim when Mum or Dad says it’s safe to do so.

Setting up a routine for going in the water is also a good idea. For example getting dressed into your swimsuit, collecting favourite toys, putting on a cap and goggles. This routine may actually alert you to your child wanting to go for a swim especially important if you have a home pool. You want to make sure that your child know that they must always swim with mum and dad.

Teach babies and children to grip

Gripping is very important because this skill could save your child’s life. Gripping starts simply on the parents T-shirt. Here the baby learns to support their own body weight and pull themselves out of the water independently. The parent is encourage to stay down low in the water and make a ledge on their chest for baby to hold on to and keep their mouth out of the water. The grasp reflex allows your baby to do this skill very early on in swimming lesson. As the baby grows with age we advance the skill to gripping onto deck level, holding a pool bar or holding themselves on a high wall. The skill then advances to them learning to monkey along the pools edge and climb out of the water to safety.

You can see that we follow a building block approach to learn to swim. This very first step of gripping the t-shirt leads into children being able to climb out of the pool to safety. Furthermore if we teach children to grip onto the T-shirt from an early age then we actually never have to pick them up from underwater activities. In fact as the baby swims to the parent they actually pull themselves up and recover independently. Of course we would build this skill as well, with the parents gently assisting during initial float and pull up attempts, but it’s about progressions designed to help baby understand their own capabilities.

Teach independence under strict supervision

Laurie has been a long time advocate of building independence in the baby swimming lesson. In 1995 he presented at the International Infant Aquatic Education Conference in Melbourne and pressed the concept of “Independence being the key to learning a respect for the water”. Building independence is about the baby/child learning to do things for themselves. The idea is that they learn their capabilities and limitations in the water, under the careful guidance and encouragement from Mum and Dad. Gripping and pulling up on the T-shirt is a great activity to build independence. So too is shallow water exploration where they crawl, float, pull up and play. Activities like turning underwater become essential to build independence and teach water safety as the baby/child learns to return to the safety of the parent, pool ledge or side of the pool.

Of course all these independent activities are done under the strict supervision of the adult caregiver. Remember skill building is the key if you want build independence. It’s not about throwing them in and making them to it by themselves, then swooping in when you realize they can’t. It’s about slowing breaking skills down and gradually giving less and less assistance and support. We never want to frighten the child in the learn to swim lesson. It’s very important that you read the baby/child’s body language. If they are reluctant to swim to you then take a step closer and don’t move backwards after they push off. The goal is that they feel confident and that you reward even the smallest success. After 3 goes of little swims with success they will be happy to go further. But if they have 3 goes where they struggle then I guarantee they won’t be willing participants during the next swimming lesson.

Give lots of water play

Play outside of the formal learn to swim lesson is ideal to help build confidence and teach children a respect for the water. Children need to explore a variety of environments like the beach, creek, and public pool with different water temperatures. All these environments have different dangers and things to consider. The more exposure children have to these environments the better understanding they will develop. You may also find that children will be very confident swimming in the familiar environment where they have their swimming lessons but are less confident and even fearful in unfamiliar surrounds. This is very normal and displays your child gaining an appreciation of water danger. With exposure their confidence will grow. Remember children learn through exploration and play outside of the lesson will also help them in the formal swimming lesson.

Follow water safety rules

Children need to learn to follow water safety rules. This means teaching them to read the pool signs or signs which are displayed around other environments. There is the common rule like swimming between the flags when you’re at the beach, but there are many other signs that will be on display to ensure community safety. If you take your child surfing for instance you will not be able to swim between the flags and therefore they need to learn to read the other signs on display. Pools will have many rules to follow like no running, no bombing and no pushing. You should also consider things like teaching children to never swim alone and to wade into creeks or rivers, never dive because the depth of the water is unknown and there is very often debris in the water which can be very dangerous. Parents should model water safety behaviour to their children. Supervision within arms reach is mandatory for children under the age of 5. But remember children still need active adult supervision well after this age.

You’re at your weekly swimming lesson and “Lachlan” is playing up once again. You’ve given him the warning speech before the lesson started but once again it’s gone in one ear and out the other. He’s bobbing underwater while the teacher is talking and he’s distracting the other children in the class.

This is when you start to think

I’m not bringing him to lessons anymoreThe teacher thinks I have no controlThe other parents are getting annoyed that my child is disrupting the classThis is so embarrassing….

Rewind just a little bit. No one is judging you, “Lachlan” is completely normal and don’t worry because you can work with your swimming teacher to overcome this phase.

Things to remember

Being in the water is fun and exciting and so different to being on landChildren love to jump and bounce and experience the different sensations especially weightlessnessHave realistic expectations of your child’s behaviour and consider their age and attention spanRemember swimming is one of the first formal and structured learning environments before children start school Things to avoidDon’t bribe your child with lollies unless you are prepared to give them one every weekDon’t make idle threats like “You can get out if you’re not going to listen”

Things to try

Talk with the teacher about your expectations (this may require talking to administration or the deck supervisor if your child’s instructor is teaching a class)Find out what the class rules areMake sure your child understands the class rules and expectationsBe consistent and follow through with consequencesWatch your child’s lesson and give them positive feedback after they have finished the lessonGive your child a chance to play outside of the formal swimming lessonMake sure you let the teacher know if your child has any learning difficulties

Don’t be embarrassed because all parents have been there, whether it’s during swimming lessons, at the shopping centre or while visiting friends and family. All children go through stages where they are testing their boundaries and your child is certainly not the first child your swimming teacher has dealt with and certainly won’t be the last.

Have you taken the winter off swimming? Need a refresher before starting Term 4 lessons? or perhaps your swimmer has spent a while at the same level and needs a boost to learn the required skills to progress on to the next level?

There are many reasons why families take up school holiday swimming lessons, we have many families who ONLY attend school holiday blocks due to busy schedules or shared care arrangements making term time swim classes near impossible to juggle.

Whatever the reason there is no denying that attending swim classes every day for an intensive block of either 5 or 10 lessons over the duration of 1-2 weeks has unbeatable results. The swimming skills are taught everyday allowing the swimmers brain to retain the information more effectively resulting in the swimmers physical swimming skills to improve rapidly in a short space of time.

Every child learns in their own unique way and time, for some, swimming once a week long term is an adequate formula, for other's this can be too much time in between lessons to retain the information required to master the skills within their level.

Children have typical spikes and plateaus in their learning within all areas of their lives and in swimming we see this all the time. If a child speeds through a level or two rapidly, at some point they need to plateau to consolidate all the skills learnt.

For some swimmers, it just take's a little longer at each level to learn all the skills required to progress on. This is where 'school holiday block intensives' are so effective, it gives the swimmer a positive boost to help work on specific skills to progress forward.

As well as countless physical benefits to swimming in a school holiday block intensive, there are also emotional benefits to mastering new skills (especially if the swimmer has been struggling with it for a while) such as confidence, self belief, and self satisfaction.

And finally as a mother of four whose children attend nearly every holiday block we do it because its FUN, we love having a warm indoor activity to fill our school holidays with year round.

The number one question we receive online and at administration at our swim school is: How long will it take for my child to learn to swim? Every child is different and therefore it is impossible to give an exact answer to this question. But the good news is that practice and exposure are the keys to learning. If you want your child to learn quickly they will need to visit the pool regularly.

How regularly? Laurie always recommends two or more times per week. While your child can learn basic swimming skills like breath control, floating and propulsion quickly, parents should be under no illusion, mastering good swimming technique and water safety skills will take years to accomplish.

Now I can hear your mind ticking over, yes you’re right, you’re going to invest thousands of dollars on swimming lessons. Notice I said invest, trust me, it is the best investment that you will make. Not only will it make your child safer in the water, it truly is a gift that will last a lifetime.

Your child will go on in life to enjoy a huge range of either competitive or recreation activities around the water including swimming, boating, fishing, and surfing just to name a few. Another bonus is that teaching your child to swim actually makes your child smarter. Griffith University did a longitudinal study on early years swimming and it showed that those children who received lessons in the early years were more socially, emotionally and physically advanced that those who were not given the opportunity. You can read all about this at the following link http://www.griffith.edu.au/education/early-years-swimming/publications.

So now that you know that you’re going to have to make both a financial commitment and a time commitment to your child’s learn to swim journey, let us give you some tips on how you can enhance the process.

1. Arm yourself with knowledge

Use www.worldwideswimschool.com to get all the information you need on the learn to swim process. This will help you to either teach your child yourself or for you to understand what your child is learning and how you can help. There is a huge variety of free articles available on the website and you can even submit your own questions. You can also purchase interactive video programs for a particular age group or swimming stroke. Or you can subscribe to our hub to have access to all of our information at any time.

2. Don’t have a break over winter

A lot of people drop out of swimming lessons during the winter months. This only results in disappointment come the following summer when children are back to square one and need to re-learn skills previously mastered. Winter is actually the most important time of year for swimming lessons because children have less exposure to play situations around water in the home pool, friend’s pool, beach, lake or during any other recreation swimming activity.

3. Use holiday programs to speed up children’s learning

Holiday courses are a great opportunity for fast skill progression because the children get to practice every day. Parents always notice a huge improvement in their child even in just a week. For this reason if children are frightened, have plateaued in their learning, or need to master a specific stroke or water safety skill, it will certainly give them a kick start. Holiday programs can sometimes be discounted and therefore prove to be great value for money in terms of price and progression. Even family holidays around the pool can make huge improvements to a child’s swimming progress.

4. Enjoy family time around the water

Exposing children to a variety of play situations in different aquatic environments is essential for their learning. Parents can help children learn about the different dangers that exist in different environments. Through play under strict adult supervision, children can also learn their limitations and boundaries. Children love having dedicated play time with mum and dad and the water provides a perfect and unique opportunity. Parents can access some free resources from the Kids Alive website to help teach their children about water safety http://www.kidsalive.com.au/early-childhood-program/.

5. Don’t rush the process

If you want your child to have good swimming technique that will last a lifetime don’t rush the process. Good swimming teaching is about building good swimming skills. Focusing on the basics like breath control, submersion, floating and propulsion is the key. Swimming skills must be repetitive and it is vital to develop good skill execution. Lots of repetitive swimming drills are necessary to develop good muscle memory. Swimming short distances with good technique is much more important than swimming long distances with poor technique.

Now that we have given you some tips, I hope you are ready to enjoy the learn to swim journey with your child. You are giving a gift that will last a lifetime.

Preparing your baby for swimming lessons

Babies arrive in the world from the warm liquid environment of their mother’s womb, free of inhibition and without an inbuilt fear of water. Typically, however, a baby’s innate responses to the aquatic environment are lost at around the age of 12 months, and they may sometimes develop a fear of water or a sense of feeling uncomfortable in water around this age. That’s why baby bath conditioning is so important.

Early introduction to the water has also been shown to improve the physical and psychological development of baby, and to enhance their strength, mobility, concentration and independence.

In this article we will discuss baby bath conditioning: tips on bathing a newborn, positions you can hold them in the bath, how to familiarise your baby with water, how to and teach them to hold their breath and prepare them for swimming lessons, and how to make sure you do it all as safely as possible.

Tips on bathing a newborn

Many new parents worry about bathing their newborn. Here are some tips on when and how to do it to make sure it’s an enjoyable experience for everyone:

Bathing does not increase the risk of infection to an umbilical cord stump, so you don’t need to wait for the stump to heal completely before getting your newborn into the tub.Choose a time for bathing when there will be minimal interruption and plenty of time for undivided attention.Bathing before bedtime will help your baby relax and sleep better.Avoid baths just before or after feeding – if a baby is hungry they won’t relax and enjoy the experience, and if they are full from a feed there is a risk of them ‘spitting up’.Never leave your child unsupervised or alone. If you need to leave the bathroom to answer the door or phone, wrap your baby in a towel and take them with you.Bathing your baby can be much easier if you join them in the bath. Handling a wet, slippery body is challenging, and being in the bath with your baby means better security and safety for all.Minimising heat is important, so make sure the air and bath temperatures are comfortable and appropriate for your baby’s sensitive skin.

There are 3 positions you can place your baby in to allow them to experience different sensations while in the water.

Before you begin, make sure the bath doesn’t have too much water (even with the parent in the bath with baby, only a few inches of water are required). And remember, at no stage should your newborns face/mouth/nose be in or under the water.

First position for baby bath conditioning

In the first position, parents lower themselves into the water, lying on their back. Baby is then placed stomach down on their parent’s chest/stomach in a way that allows them to snuggle and feel close contact with their parent.

The parent then gently pours water from a cup over baby’s back and legs (which, for safety reasons, remain out of the water and on top of their parent’s torso) allowing the baby to feel the warm stimulation of the water running over their skin.

Second position for baby bath conditioning

Once the baby has been introduced to the water in this way, the parent may sit up and cradle their baby in front of them (between their legs).

Supporting baby with one hand behind their neck/head and the other behind their lower back area, the parent then gradually lowers their baby into the water so that the back of baby’s head and ears are submerged, with their face remaining clear of the water. The back of their head must be supported at all times by the parent. This cradle position allows for face-to-face contact between parent and child.

Once comfortable in this position, the parent may remove their supporting hand at the base of the baby’s spine to allow the baby a greater degree of independence and increased freedom to experience the buoyancy of the water.

Third position for baby bath conditioning

The third position involves the baby being held tummy down in the water with the parent seated. Baby must be constantly supported to keep the mouth and nose clear of the water.

In this position, the parent’s hands are held under baby’s armpit with thumbs pointed skywards. The palms of the hands are rotated upwards to allow the wrists to come together to support baby’s chin and to allow the baby to rest their head on the hands of the parent.

Baby lies in a horizontal position to the water, with their head kept up (supported by Mum or Dad’s hands) and their backside close to the surface of the water. Babies love this prone position because it gives them freedom to move and extend their legs in a motion that is otherwise not possible on land. It also allows the parent freedom to swish baby from side-to-side and back-and-forth. And it even allows baby to push off the end of the bath, which can strengthen the legs of the baby and give them an added sense of security.

Once the child is comfortable in the water in these positions, parents may commence teaching breath control via stimulus response as detailed below.

The trigeminal reflex of newborns prevents water inhalation

Newborns have a trigeminal reflex that enables them to automatically stop breathing for a short period of time if they are submerged underwater or if water touches the nasal/mouth region of their face. The reflex also helps prevent infants from inhaling water (even with their mouths wide open) for a short period while underwater.

However, you shouldn’t try to ‘dunk’ or submerge your infant prematurely. Babies need to be conditioned to water first. You can use a simple routine at bath time that will guarantee a simple and natural transfer from above water to underwater (and from bath to swimming pool). Water conditioning develops a child’s breath control and breath-holding capacity in preparation for submersion.

Teaching your baby to hold its breath around water – stimulus response

Through verbal and visual cues, babies can be taught to hold their breath as a small amount of water is gently poured onto their face. You can use the following stimulus response technique when your baby is having a bath:

Take half a cup of water, preferably in a brightly coloured cup to add visual stimulation.Gain your child’s attention using the cup as a visual cue.Using the key words ‘Child’s Name, Ready, Go!’ pour the cup of water evenly and consistently across the child’s head. This Cue, ‘Name, Ready, Go! is extremely important in the conditioning process. The phrase is a trigger which tells the child to prepare to hold their breath.Congratulate and provide positive reinforcement to your baby. This will increase the child’s enthusiasm, confidence and relaxation towards this process, and with being in the water.

Once your child is comfortable with having a small amount of water poured over their face, you may increase the amount of water in the cup. Or, alternatively, you can gradually increase the amount of time it takes to pour the same amount of water out of the cup. This technique improves the breath-holding capacity of your baby.

And of course, your baby must be supervised at all times throughout this water-conditioning activity.

When to stop the water-conditioning process

If your child is crying, distressed or has ingested water you should stop the conditioning process and remove them from the bath.

You can use lots of positive reinforcement if your baby is upset or has accidentally ingested water. Also, vibrant toys or a new activity can often provide an effective distraction.

Why not jump in the bath with your baby?

Sharing the bath with your baby during water conditioning offers a number of benefits. Firstly, it prevents you from being distracted. Secondly, it allows easy access to hold your baby upright in the bath so that water is free to flow down their face rather than up their nose.

Thirdly, sharing a bath with your baby allows you to form a stronger bond of trust while conditioning them to water. And lastly, it can be a lot of fun to share this part of your child’s development.

So don’t be afraid to get in the bath and get wet with your infant as part of their preparation for your babies swimming lessons!

How to help your child relax during the process

If you can remain calm and relaxed during this process, this will help your baby feel the same way. Your baby can feel if you are nervous or stressed.

Remember, the aim of conditioning is to provide a positive introduction to water, so keep a close eye on your baby’s reactions to different experiences.

How to be safe at bath time

In New Zealand an average of 19 children drowns in bathtubs annually. And the majority of these deaths occur silently and in seconds, in a few centimetres of water while the parent or caregiver is not in the room.

A number of simple steps can be taken to make sure bath time is safe.

Never leave your baby unattended in the bath

It’s easy to get distracted by the doorbell, food cooking on the stove, your mobile phone ringing, or another child crying. However, you should never leave your baby in the bath—for any reason. If you need to leave the room, simply scoop them up, wrap them in a towel and take them with you.

Get everything together before starting the bath

All necessary equipment such as the child’s clothes, nappies, dry towels, bath toys and soaps should be organised prior to running the bath. This helps ensure you can provide constant arm’s reach supervision of the infant throughout the bathing period.

Don’t get an older child to watch a baby in the bath

An older child left in charge of a younger child may not recognise or react fast enough to an incident. So don’t ask an older child to watch a baby in the bath while you go and do something else. If you need to leave the bathroom, take the baby with you.

Share the bath with your baby

In the case of young infants, you can hop in the bathtub and help make bath time a bonding experience. This also minimises the risk of distraction. The recommended depth of water for a bathing baby is between 5-8cm.

Use non-slip mats in the bath

Non-slip mats can help prevent immersion accidents, and are a wise investment for baby bath time.

Baby and Toddler swimming lessons often recommend that parents stay in the water and participate in their child’s lesson. WorldWideSwimSchool is a huge believer in parents staying involved in the learning process until the age of 4. This article will discuss the many reasons that we believe in parental involvement in the learn to swim process. Of course we understand that every swim school, family and individual situation is different but our philosophy remains the same for teaching swimming to children under the age of 4 years.

Maximum Practice Time

Parents in the water with their children increase the time that each swimmer is able to participate in activities within the lesson increases. The one on one practice and support gives swimmers an opportunity to be constantly practicing and honing skills needed for great propulsion through the water. Parents can assist with keeping swimmers moving whether they are moving in a wave formation all together or in a circuit or circular formation where swimmers take it in turns. No matter how great an instructor is, there will always be more practice and movement with parent involvement in the water.

Physical Manipulation

Parents can place hands on their child and physically manipulate arms and legs to create great swimmers. Physical manipulation of kicking and paddling creates neuromuscular patterns between the brain and the muscles. The more a child can receive physical reinforcement the better their skills will become. Parents should ensure when manipulating that:

Paddles are focused on actions under the water – getting a good feel for the water will help a child move through the water effectivelyRestrict the depth of the kicks so that the knees are bent just a little bit – too much bend in the knee will promote bicycle kicks or create a less effect kicking patternPaddle manipulation works better when done on the spot as opposed to hopping/moving through the water. Manipulate with swimmer on your knee and then send them on their wayKicking manipulation is best done with a kickboard or on the ledge to stabilise swimmer and keep them on top of the water. If kicking manipulation happens in deeper water swimmer may get a fright or be unable to take a breath when needed.

Safe and Secure Environment

With parents offering 1 on 1 supervision within the lesson under the watchful eye of the instructor, swimmers safety is paramount. It is important that instructor and parent not only discuss but practice safety scenarios such as safety slide in the water from the side, climbing out independently if possible, turning back to safety, only swimming with parent supervision and more.

Parent and Child Bonding

In today’s busy society there aren’t many opportunities where parent and child can spend half an hour focused on each other! Technology, siblings, other activities and more take up most of the precious time in our daily lives. Swimming lessons offer parent and child a special bonding time where everything else is left outside the pool and the focus is on the swimming lesson.

Discipline

Having parents in the water is a huge help in the disciplining of the class for the instructor. Many parents have different styles of parenting and disciplining their children. With parent participation in the water they can ensure that this discipline style continues throughout swimming lessons. It can be a difficult task to keep a group of young swimmers listening, sitting still waiting for their turn and on task! Parents can help instructors achieve that by assisting their child within the swimming lesson.

Having the parent in the water and participating in the swimming lesson doesn’t mean that the child ‘needs’ their help to swim. Of course they may be proficient in their skills to swim by themselves. Swimmers will have the opportunity to practice independent swimming throughout the lesson but by achieving the things discussed in this article parents, instructors and swimmers will work together to produce swimmers with excellent technique, a good feel for the water and a love for swimming and water safety.