Water Confidence

Basic water confidence is a pre-requisite, if your end goal is to learn to swim with ease and enjoyment! Before starting, remember that the most important key is to always feel relaxed, safe, comfortable, confident and in trust (with the environment and/or the instructor)

New born baby – 6 months old

Due to their delicate immune systems, doctors typically recommend that parents keep their babies from chlorinated pools or lakes until they’re about 6 months old.

Bath time

The moment your baby has his or her first bath, the relationship with water continues. As babies have spent months in the water of a mother’s womb. It is a natural environment for them. The bath is also an excellent opportunity to educate babies and toddlers in all aspects of swimming and can help reinforce the important trigger words and skill learned in lessons.

You may consider to get the travel bathtub with heated temperature water around 32 degrees.

You can also start the experience of cueing breath control in the bath by gently pouring water over the baby while repeating the cue words.

“Baby’s name … 1, 2, 3…Go”

It doesn’t really matter what the words are so long as they are consistent with the water going over baby. You can begin to gently pour water over babies’ heads and faces from day one.

Babies between 6 and 18 months

You should start visiting your local pool with your baby to swim after 6 months old, in a positive, caring way.  Sharing bath time and visiting your local pool are good ways to develop your child’s water confidence and safety skills. Ideally your local pool will have a shallow pool for babies and toddlers.

We advise that babies should be 6 months old before swimming in a public pool because:

• their immune system protects them from diseases

• they can hold their head up, and their ears can cope with water

• their body can cope with the changes in temperature that go with undressing and getting wet.

Try to avoid a time slot that is not when your baby wants to sleep or feed. Tired and hungry babies are cranky babies.

To avoid any embarrassing accidents happening in the pool, it is important that your little one is wearing a swim diaper.

Adequate clothing for after the class and a head covering if the weather is cool will help baby feel warm and snug. Using pacifiers is not recommended.

Goggles are not recommended at this age. It is best if the baby experiences the world under the water with eyes wide open!

For those who hardly to access to any pool, you may consider to get an indoor pool for your baby to start play around and have more confidence with water.

Toddlers and children between 18 months and 3 years

• Teach your child some simple water-safety rules.

• Wait before they get into the pool, and walk, don’t run, when they’re near a pool.

• Let your child enjoy and gain confidence in the water.