Baby swimming

Ages 6 to 36 months. Teacher / Pupil Ratio 1 : 6

Infants and toddlers are extremely vulnerable and we have, under the circumstances, adopted a very cautious approach to infant and toddler swimming. Ours is a GENTLE, FUN approach to teaching babies where the parent or caregiver accompanies the child in the pool. Nursery rhymes and songs are used as a medium of instruction and toddlers are taught through directed play and praise. Every game / activity is swimming-skill related. Toddlers drown at three times the rate of any other age group and our instructors act as facilitators and assist parents to understand that there is no mystery in teaching babies. It is just a matter of simple and logical reactions to normal behaviour so as to shape this behaviour to be effective in water. Lack of knowledge of an infant’s potential in water is the cause of children growing up alienated and fearful of water. Fear of water is acquired and the sooner the child is re-introduced to water, the more harmonious the transition from the natural environment to the aquatic environment. In other words, this early re-introduction to water prevents aquaphobia, which is more likely to develop as a child grows older.

Infants & toddlers, who commence swimming lessons from the age of 6 months and upwards, are taught to turn land skills into aquatic skills and become waterborne far sooner than other children, who may only commence swimming lessons at age 3 years and over.

In our opinion, there is no such thing as a “drown proof” child or person and any swimming school, which guarantees results in a certain period of time, should be avoided. If it sounds too good to be true, it normally is! Many of the videos circulating on the internet and YouTube are sensational and misleading. Parents need to know that back floating has its limitations. They should also be aware that, more often than not, forceful and harsh methods have been used, resulting in considerable trauma and thus placing the infant / toddler at risk, which is usually not shown on the video clips that pop up on the internet. Given the right set of conditions, anyone can drown, including Olympic swimmers, lifeguards and “drown proofed babies / children”. Swimming lessons may prevent drowning but, far more important is water safety training. Training yourself to be safety conscious is even more likely to prevent your child’s drowning than any training you give him / her. Ensure that home pools are enclosed with an adequate fence, LOCKED gate AND pool safety net. Be vigilant at all times, be aware that drowning happens SILENTLY and that a toddler can drown in a few centimetres of water, be cautious regarding fish ponds and water features, which may be out of sight, take care not to leave bath water or buckets of water unattended, constantly supervise your child when near water, no matter how well the child swims and even if lifeguards are present. It is impossible for even the most watchful lifeguard to keep track of everyone.

Most parents have very busy lifestyles and one of the most important aspects of infant/toddler swimming is bonding. Baby swimming affords the parent/caregiver the rare opportunity of giving the child half an hour of his/her undivided attention. This is often the only uninterrupted period of the day that a parent is able to devote to the child.

The various activities and exercises in our baby programme have been endorsed by registered neuro-physiotherapists and occupational therapists and, besides learning water safety skills which will greatly enhance your child’s chances of survival, the benefits and spin-offs of involving your child in our swimming programme include the development of shoulder girdle stability, arm, leg and abdominal strength and co-ordination, depth perception, flexion control, sensory integration, rotation and range of motion, extension control, leverage, breath control, sequencing, memory and visual foreground. In addition, the tactile input from the use of diving rings, sticks, toys, kicker boards, pool noodles and other equipment is also advantageous.

All of SwimQuest’s Infant / Toddler instructors are SSA Todswim trained and accredited

Duration of Classes

Lessons are approximately 30 minutes each and parents can enrol their children for once or twice a week classes, subject to availability. There is very little price difference between once or twice a week swimming as we do encourage parents to attend classes regularly. It stands to reason that the more frequently children attend lessons, the quicker they will learn. Success is all about constant aquatic exposure. Having said this, however, once a week classes are better than no classes at all!

How Long Will It Take For Your Child To Learn To Swim?

There is unfortunately no definitive answer to this question. What we can tell you is that there is no “quick fix” when it comes to learning to swim. The more committed you are to bringing your child to lessons regularly, the faster your child will progress. It is all about constant aquatic exposure. A child would learn to swim as quickly as he / she learns to walk if he / she was exposed to the aquatic environment as frequently as he / she was given the opportunity to practise walking. No child is the same and, just as they learn to roll over, crawl, walk and talk at different times, so it is with swimming.