Babies love water. They giggle, laugh, and have fun when they hit the water. In the pool or the tub, letting your infant float is one of the best things they can do to enjoy. As such, as parents, it’s our responsibility to make sure that they stay safe while having fun.
However, before we continue, always remember that teaching your babies to swim is not the best way to prevent drowning. It’s a preventive tool, but this should be accompanied by stringent care and protection by parents and adults.
Keeping kids and babies safe near or in water
Before we talk about swimming and pools, we need to consider first the safety of our kids at home, especially in the following spaces:
- During baths and in tubs
Make sure that you have a towel or two in your reach when bathing your baby. Always keep your hands on your baby to ensure safety. It’s also recommended that there should be adult supervision when kids use tubs and, for infants, a safety seat and belt should be added to avoid tipping over. - Safety in the bathroom
Toilet lids should also be put down and must be locked to avoid kids opening it without supervision. Remove all the water from the tub and always close the bathroom door and add a safety lock.
- Secure all water in the home, especially swimming pools
Throw away unused or unwanted water in buckets, tubs, or trash cans. Add a safety fence surrounding your pool with a gate and lock.
When should your child get swimming lessons?
This is one of the most popular questions among parents and the optimal age for babies to learn is when they’re six months or older. During this time, your baby still has not developed the concept of fear, so this makes the best age to enrol in swimming lessons for babies.
It’s also recommended that kids and parents should participate in the training because it creates an excellent foundation for learning. Babies will also have to start from the beginning, which is to learn to paddle and kick, and this is where the parent’s assistance comes in handy.
What to look for in swimming programs for kids?
There are different programs where you can enrol your child to learn how to swim, and these include the following:
- Infant Self-Rescue where babies are taught how to survive on their own when they’re in the water.
- Parent-and-Me Classes are also popular among parents where the child swims with the parents and the professional.
Choosing the right classes for you and your baby also means assessing if the program has the following:
- Experienced and qualified instructors and the team also have certified lifeguards.
- The class teaches both parents and kids to follow and ensure safety in and near water.
- The class you’d want to enrol your kid at should also teach safety and precautionary lessons if they ever get into the water unexpectedly.
- The class should require multiple sessions and have an assessment for both the student and the parents when it comes to what they learned.
How to start swimming lessons for your baby?
When it comes to helping your baby prepare for the class, Tanyas Tadpoles recommends the following:
- Safely and with supervision, let your baby experience the bathtub first.
- Don’t let your kid eat right before the class.
- Always, always maintain the safety mindset, even if there are lifeguards in the class.
Let your kids enjoy and have fun in the water with the best safety and precautionary measures they can learn from swimming class. Of course, stay safe and keep your baby safe!