At Swim Generation, our baby classes start at three months old, with water safety and confidence-building being key aspects of the program. Our classes aim to help babies overcome any water fears they may have, ensuring they feel safe and happy in water. In this article, we outline five techniques to help build your baby's water confidence.
Using Toys To Play & Distract
By incorporating toys into the water experience, you can turn it into playtime and create a fun, exciting experience. It can help boost engagement and enhance a baby's affinity to water. Below are some techniques that can be incorporated:
-
Floating toys: Are great to help relax and create engagement. Babies often love to watch them float along the pool's surface.
-
Interactive toys: Such as cups for emptying water, help promote sensory development and keep babies entertained in the pool.
-
Favourite toy: Creating a relaxed and secure environment is essential, especially for babies new to swimming lessons; familiar toys can help achieve this.
Music & Song To Lower Stress
Music can create a calming, fun atmosphere, whether through recorded tunes or gentle singing to your baby. This not only helps reduce stress for the baby but also for the parent, fostering a happy and joyful environment.
-
Nursery rhymes: They help create a relaxed atmosphere, especially when they are familiar.
-
Upbeat songs: A fun tempo can help create a positive atmosphere and foster a positive connection with pool time.
-
Parents' voice: A parent's voice is one of the most calming and reassuring sounds for a baby. Singing to your baby can help them relax, breathe more easily, and build trust.
-
Cueing songs: Using cueing songs helps reinforce familiarity and the required actions through pattern.
Body Language Is Key
Your body language plays a vital role in helping your baby build confidence. Babies are exceptionally perceptive and sensitive to your expressions and actions. At Swim Generation, our baby classes focus on strengthening the bond between parent and baby.
-
Eye contact: Maintain eye contact as much as possible; it helps build connection and provide reassurance. Often, babies look to their parents for cues.
-
Smile: Again, this helps create a relaxed environment; additionally, babies often copy, and smiling can encourage them to do the same.
-
Relaxed posture: Even if you're feeling tense, try to appear relaxed, as babies can often sense tension.
-
Exaggerated encouragement: Over-amplified enthusiasm can help create a fun, exciting and encouraging environment. This can be through facial expressions, arm movements or praise.
Short Frequent Sessions
Long sessions can cause fatigue and overload; consistency is crucial for developing muscle memory and fostering a positive experience. At Swim Generation, our baby swimming classes are designed to create the perfect session, guided by our qualified and expert coaches. Benefits of short, frequent sessions include:
-
Overload: Keeping sessions shorter limits the chances of overload, helping babies stay focused.
-
Ending on a high note helps reinforce a positive impression of the experience and makes them more likely to look forward to their next session.
-
Familiarity: Short, frequent sessions can help reinforce familiarity, as babies are less likely to be tired and beyond their attention span.
-
Enforces muscle memory: Regular lessons allow repetition, helping develop it.
Group Dynamics
Social interaction with other babies and parents can be extremely influential on your babies and help them learn. Through social interaction and expert guidance from our coaches, group sessions can foster faster learning whilst creating additional excitement and confidence.
-
Babies naturally copy what they see, and they will try to imitate other babies splashing and playing in the pool.
-
Social interaction with other babies and parents helps familiarise and support the development of swimming skills.
-
Watching other babies in the pool and having fun helps to normalise being in the pool.
-
Group sessions can also help reassure parents, creating a more relaxed and stress-free environment.
Summary
Swim Generations offers swimming lessons for babies in London and Surrey, helping your baby build confidence in the water in a fun, luxurious, and safe environment. Our fully qualified and vetted coaches create an exciting and nurturing environment that helps build lifelong water skills. Contact our friendly team for more information or to make a booking.