Most children have their first experience of being in water from a bath or maybe in the paddling pool on a rare warm summer’s day.
If you do use a paddling pool take care once the children have finished playing in it- it is all to easy to forget that it is still there full of water which can be a real danger for children.
I took my children swimming as babies guidelines at the time were to wait until they had received all of their vaccinations before introducing to a public swimming pool . I chose a pool in a hotel as the water was much warmer than the pool in the local leisure centre, the changing room was warmer and cleaner too.
There are swimming classes all over the country that are aimed at babies and young children which are wonderful, I took mine along and introduced the pool to them myself.
My youngest son also joined a swimming lesson class when he was around 3 years old. He was asked to wear a pair of socks in the water, the idea was that he had to kick his legs really hard to remove them – I’m not sure that he actually achieved this task but it gave him the general idea and he was soon swimming independently which was just as well as a few years later while on holiday he stepped into the deep end of a pool without realising that it was so deep. I was watching and my older son quickly jumped in after him so there was no harm done.
When I was working as a child minder I took a small group of children to a paddling pool in a local park. One child was aged around 18 months so I carried her in the pool and gently lowered her into the water, she loved it and screamed and splashed with delight, when I attempted to lift her out she screamed blue murder until I dipped her back into the water, every time I tried to take her out she objected until eventually I told her we could have an ice cream when we were dried and dressed. When I told her mum about this later she said that she encountered the same problem when getting her out of the bath.
When I took my babies swimming I would wrap a towel around myself when we were back in the changing room and dry and dress my child first then I strapped him into his buggy and gave him a toy to amuse him while I dressed myself. I have witnessed the odd parent get themselves dressed first while a child is stood shivering and crying.
Swimming for children is not only a great way to spend a few hours but also great exercise and could be a life saver.
My tips for taking babies/young children swimming are:-
Try to find a pool that has warm water.
Take along a few bath toys to play with.
I have even sang to them while in the pool ring-a-roses is a good song because you can dip under the water (and your baby if you are brave) for a second when you sing all fall down.
Use a commercial swim nappy to contain any accidents.
Take them swimming when they are not tired or hungry (although they should not swim too soon after eating).
Above all make it fun if your child doesn’t like it take them home and try again another time.
All 3 of my grandchildren love to swim and are wonderful swimmers, their mother is a qualified life guard so they haven’t really got an excuse not to be.
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ALWAYS SUPERVISE CHILDREN NEAR ANY WATER, even shallow water can be a drowning hazard.
I would love to hear other parents experiences of taking their children swimming.
As always questions/comments are welcome and please share on social media.
Karen
x
Great tips! Definitely informative. Thank you for sharing. #thesatsesh
Another lovely blog Karen. It’s brilliant when children learn to swim at a really young age. I didn’t learn to swim till my teenage years and a lot of people of my age never got the chance to learn in their school years. It’s so lovely to see how exciting swimming can be and so much fun. All my family can swim even the great grand children with the exception of the youngest little boy.
YES!!!! It is so important to get them swimming young. It is so much harder to teach an adult to swim. Kids are so trusting. #thatsatsesh
Stopping by again from #familyfun this time!
I have never heard making children wear socks so they have to kick them off, great tip! #pointshoot
Great advice. My twins hate swimming, so we’ve stopped lessons for a bit to concentrate on having fun in the water. I’m a little worried they may develop a phobia! #triumphanttales
Really good tips here – I too have sung nursery rhymes to mine in the pool before while we’re having. #thesatsesh
Great tip to use a hotel pool, warmer and less busy. Thank you for linking up to #pointshoot 📷
Both my boys sarted swimming at a young age and it makes a massive difference X #pointshoot
Swimming is definitely an important life lesson, along with safety. #itsok
My mummy used hotel pools when I started off and then helped me with my confidence in the water before I went to classes 🙂 swimming like a fish now. Great tips x #BloggerClubUK
Swimming is such an important skill to have but safety precautions need to be taken at all times even if kids can swim well #globalblogging
Fabulous info! My little one is 18 months and we are constantly taking her over to our in-laws’ pool to get her used to swimming. Unfortunately, lessons for little ones out here are always full and private instruction is so expensive! We’re hoping with enough requests from parents of young ones, they will hire more instructors for mommy and me swim classes. I am not qualified to be teaching swim, so I hope I can get my little one taught by someone soon so I don’t worry as much!
#Blogstrvaganza
Swimming is so important! I used to take my daughter when she was younger and now I take her to regular weekly classes and she loves it! Swimming is so important for everyone – my partner can’t swim and I think it’s a travesty (and unsafe too!). Thanks for linking this up to #coolmumclub Karen x
We took all the kids swimming at Easter and trying to get the 3 of them dried and dressed was a nightmare and they were freezing 🙁 Swimming is such an important skill: I can’t do it! Thanks for linking up with #globalblogging
This is a lovely post. I thoroughly enjoy taking my boys swimming! Thank you for linking up with #Blogstravaganza 🙂
Great tips! I really need to get mine signed up to a course as I’m a terrible swimmer and am yet to take mine…. thanks for linking up #twinklytuesday
Great tips, I love water and so hoping I’ve transferred that on to my little one. He’s been going to swimming classes for the last few months but not so sure how much he’s picked up yet. 🙂
Great tips, thanks for sharing. #itsok
We’re away this weekend at a caravan site with a pool and I can’t wait to get my little boy in the water more than usual he loves it Thanks for sharing with #TriumphantTales.
We did Puddle Ducks baby swimming lessons with number two & loved it! #twinklytuesday
We tried all those things and the Tubblet just hated it. Really hated it. No idea why. Sometimes things work and other times, not so much … We’re keeping at it though as being able to swim is really important
Swimming is a valuable life skill that I think needs to be mastered early on. Bizarrely I have one who loves the water and is very capable and the other who loves it but I worry about on a daily basis. Not quite sure what the answer is. Thanks for joining us again. #TweensTeensBeyond
I started my daughter at 3 months and am so glad I did. So important to get kids used to it. We didn’t learn until later in life and unfortunately the fear has a already been instilled by then. Thanks for sharing with #tweensteensbeyond
We have that exact pool in our garden right now!! Swimming is such an important skill. All three of mine have been in the water since they were 3 months old and they all love it. #TweensTeensBeyond
All excellent tips. When I took my child swimming for the first time, she was 4 and I did pretty much everything you did 🙂
Except for the warm water, since we don’t have heated pools in India as such. I love that you’ve incorporated swimming at such an early age. Much needed skill.
I nearly drowned at age 4, so for me, swimming is a life skill all kids should have the basics of, and it’s such a fun activity to enjoy for kids and the whole family as well as being a good sport to take part in. Thanks for sharing these tips!
#tweensteensbeyond sorry for this comment being late. I have been ill!