How Should I Introduce My Baby to Swimming?

Water confidence starts right from the first time you give your baby a bath! Being comfortable lying, playing and splashing pave the groundwork for a happy and confident swimmer in the future. As parents, we're often given advice on a range of parenting aspects, including baby swimming lessons. Today we're going to discuss the best ways to introduce your baby to swimming and if formal swimming lessons are necessary.

Baby Swimming Lessons - Are They Necessary & When Should They Start?

New Zealand is surrounded by water. Visiting the beach is a way of life for us who live here. Hanging out at the pools is a popular pastime during the school holidays. Taking a dip in the river or lake is as common as walking down to the dairy. With being in and playing with water such a common part of our culture, it makes sense that we encourage our kids to become as comfortable and as safe in water as we can. In other words, we need to not only show our kids that water is fun to be in, but also the ways in which we can be safe when using it.

Back in 'the olden days,' children were not given the opportunity to learn how to swim, or even use a swimming pool, until they were around four years old. It was believed that children were not developmentally ready for swimming lessons until around that age. Nowadays however, Plunket recommends that if your baby is younger than six months old, you give swimming a miss. Instead, once they reach six months of age, you can begin to introduce a swimming pool as a fun and positive activity to enjoy. Plunket also suggests that a child can begin receiving formal swimming lessons from around age three years.

Many swimming schools around the country offer baby swimming lessons for infants six months and over. But rather than being instructional lessons, they are mostly about building water confidence. Then as your child progresses, the instructors make individual assessments on your child's progress, advancing them along the lesson scale to more technical skills.

As you want to ensure swimming remains a positive experience for your child, you need to look at the whole picture. Do they have swimming togs which fit and won't leak, in case of accidents? Can they bring their favourite bath toy for comfort? What will you store their clothes in while swimming to keep them safe and dry?

Our Swimming Bags can help keep clothes from being lost and ensure they stay nice and dry during the swimming lessons. Each bag is custom named with your child's name, helping them to recognise their belongings and prevent clothes dropping into puddles on the changing room floor by giving a secure, dry storage bag. We've got a huge range of swimming bags, suitable for babies right up to intermediate aged kids - so head over and order yours today!