0-12 Months ·Aug 25, 2022

Preparing Your Baby for Swimming Lessons

by Lucy Woodward

Swimming is an essential life skill so we’ve put together some quick and easy tips to help you prepare your baby for swimming lessons.

Bathtime helps prepare for swimming

You night have guessed it, but we’ll say it anyway: bathtime helps prepare baby for swimming. Being immersed in water regularly will help your baby become accustomed to the sensation, and there are lots of ways that you can utilise this every day activity to build up to lessons in the pool too.

Developing water confidence

Help your baby to develop water confidence during bathtime with some simple games and activities. Start by gently swishing and splashing the water and encouraging your baby to copy. This will help them get used to having water splashed on their face and body, which hopefully will mean being in the pool shouldn’t be too much of a shock.

Make bathtime fun

We’re firm believers that bathtime should be fun for all ages, and especially for little ones. If your little one has fun and enjoys bathtime, there’s a higher chance that they’ll also enjoy swimming too. Bring Agee appropriate bath toys into the tub, sing songs that you can repeat in the pool, and always maintain eye contact with a smile. If you enjoy bathtime too, your baby will follow suit.

Blowing bubbles

Blowing bubbles in the water is an amazing way to build water confidence for little ones- but you might need to show them how to do it first! Blowing bubbles into the water helps to develop essential breath control skills, which are essential as swimming skills progresses. Eventually, your child will learn to adopt a pattern of breathing in when their face is out of the water, and blowing out when their face is in the water. So blowing bubbles in the bath is not only fun, but a great way to start practising this.

Pouring and sprinkling

Get your baby used to having water on their head by gently pouring or sprinkling using small jugs, sieves and bath toys. Let your baby explore different containers to use for this.

Bathtime games

Bathtime games are another great way to develop water confidence for babies and toddlers. Read our post on bathtime activities here, and sensory bathtime activities here. We’ve got lots ion ideas to keep it fun and playful at bathtime.

Finding swimming lessons

So you’re ready, your baby is ready- what next? On to lessons, of course. Word of mouth is usually a great way to find good local lessons, but you should do your own research too. Look for a swim school that has accredited teachers, and ask to join a taster lesson before you commit to regular sessions.

What to pack in your swimming bag

You probably know by now that when you’re a parent, you need a lot of ‘stuff’! Sorry to tell you this, but you’re going to need even more baby gear now! We recommend the following for your baby’s swimming bag:

Swim nappy
Hooded towel to wrap them up in afterwards
Swim suit/ wet suit- babies tend to get cold a lot more quickly than we do, so all in one wetsuits are a good option
Warm clothes to dress in afterwards
Snacks/ equipment needed for a feed
Bath toy
Coins for the locker
Dressing gown and towel for you