Baby swimming at the leisure centre vs waterbabies/puddleducks etc

[LittleBoPeeps]

Just after Christmas I enrolled for a baby swimming class at our local (council run) leisure centre at a cost of £59 for 12 weeks. We have been for half a term and my DS (4 months) seems to be enjoying it. The sessions last half an hour each and tend to consist of us singing and splashing around.

For instance as we sing we (the parents) 'swim' the babies around in a circle lifting them out of the water and (sometimes) bobbing them under according to the lyrics of the song. There is also 'jumping' off the sides (to songs like Hickory Dickory Dock) and then free time when we are encouraged to get the babes to kick their arms and legs whilst being moved around on their fronts and to help them to float on their backs whilst holding one hand underneath to support them.

Although still very little, DS appears to be gaining in confidence in the water. Plus the outing gives us some structure to the day/week and as he normally sleeps well after the session I get to catch up on sleep/housework so on the whole it works well, seems a worthwhile investment.

The only thing is that I can't shake the feeling that the leisure centre classes (in which there are babies ranging from 3-18months) are somehow second best to the more specialist baby swimming lessons run by companies such as Waterbabies and Puddleducks which are (as I understand it) more streamlined by age and following a set curriculum.

I guess it doesn't help that most of the other mums from my antenatal class have enrolled for one or other of these and are currently looking forward to getting swanky underwater pics of their DCs

While I did look into these when DS was born, I felt that they were very expensive (£10-15 per lesson) and the council ones were therefore much better value, but I am now having doubts and wondering if I am shortchanging my little one.

Has anyone any experience of both specialist lessons and ones like we are going to? How did they compare? Also, how important was the underwater swimming/dunking (which Waterbabies etc seem to emphasize) in the grand schemes of things? We do this a bit in our lessons but its a bit ad hoc and I just wonder if the other lessons are better because of this focus.

Thanks in advance.

[BariatricObama]

i did the waterbabies thing. what can i say, dd was a pfb. classes were good fun and gave us both confidence in the water with each other. sounds like your class is achieving the same thing.

[thisisyesterday]

you aren't missing out on a thing. i think the main thing lesosns like these offer is socialisation for mum,a nd something to do of an afternoon!

i know 2 of my friends who did them who actually reckon it was a total waste of money, one of them has been taking her ds for the last 5 years and he's only just learnt to swim.

that isn't to say it's pointless, as i say YOU get a lot out of it. but as far as the baby goes, really, it's just splashing in a big pool. the moe expensive classes don't make that splashing any more meaningful!

[Rolf]

I did Waterbabies with DC3. We both loved it and did it for about 1.5 - 2 years. We had lovely photos done, we met nice people, I liked the structure it gave the week. Towards the last few months of doing it, it wasn't as much fun. There was a new teacher who I didn't like quite as much, the group changed, it became a nuisance to get there. I didn't sign up with DC4.

Yes, there is a big emphasis on going underwater, but the main point is that you and your child have fun together and the child learns to enjoy being in the water.

I think with lots of activities it's not just the activity, it's the location, the journey, the time of day, the group, the teacher, how comfortable the changing rooms are etc etc. It sounds as though the package is working for you right now, so I wouldn't change it.

[xandrarama]

I don't have experience with any swimming classes at all for my dd, because I am lazy and never got around to signing her up for them while I was on maternity leave, but most of my antenatal group has been taking their dc to the 'specialist' baby swimming lessons for the exact same reasons you are taking yours to the leisure centre - structure to the week, something fun to do, hopefully build up dc's confidence in the water. They complain a lot about the 'specialist' facilities, which sound pretty crap compared to my local leisure centre! (we live in west London)

I don't think the underwater swimming/dunking is going to be that important in terms of how proficient a swimmer someone becomes as an older child. Once the dc are older and taking proper swimming lessons, they will learn all that stuff anyway, and I don't think the kids who've been to baby swimming lessons are necessarily going to be any more advanced. Really, it just seems like a fun way to spend some time out of the house. I think you are doing the right thing and I don't think your ds is missing out at all. Although the underwater photos do sound appealing

[SqueezyB]

your class sounds pretty similar to waterbabies, apart from the emphasis on going underwater. We did water babies til DD was about 15 months - she loved it but then got a perforated ear drum and lots of recurrent ear infections so couldn't go underwater. They were a bit sniffy about refunding me for the remainder of the term, even suggested I could bring her but not do the underwater bits, but to be honest that is such a large part of the class!

I do think now with water babies there is too much emphasis on making them 'swim' underwater, I don't think any of the kids particularly enjoyed that part, I think it's more for the novelty for the parents. Plus I think it may have contributed to her getting a perforated eardrum. Yes they did good things for water safety, such as teaching them to hold on to the side and 'throwing' them in so they're not afraid of falling in, but you can do all those things on your own. Now DD goes once a week to the local pool with DH and she loves it just as much.

[LittleBoPeeps]

Thank you all for your quick responses. I guess it's just a case of me thinking the grass is greener for those taking the waterbabies classes! DS is pfb too so that probably contributes to my worry about doing best for him.

I have to say the timing of the leisure centre classes suits us very well and one downside of the waterbabies lessons - according to some of the mums that go to them - is that because of the heavy demand locally they had little choice in which class to enrol on. One friend goes to lessons with her babe at 5pm which would be too late for us I think.

So I will look on the bright side - our lessons are at 11am and his long sleep afterwards lets me convince myself that we ARE developing a daytime sleep routine!

[kb74]

Waterbabies any day. My daughter went to Waterbabies until she was too old to go at 4. Could swim a length by then. Since moving to council run lessons over a year ago has made no progress and at one point was even scared to go in the water as the staff are nowhere near as well trained or as capable as waterbabies ones. We've now pulled her out and travel 15 miles to another Waterbabies area that caters for older children.

[suboptimal]

What a waste of money!

Dd has been swimming since she was 3 months old. She snow three and has tons of confidence - she can doggy paddle with arm bands on and happily jumps in, goes under the water and down water slides.

She's never had a lesson, we just go to the pool a lot - which is free for her!

[hippo123]

I did neither with dd. I just took her myself to local council pool once or twice a week and had fun splashing about with her, singing, playing with watering cans etc. she had a little swim jacket on until her feet could touch the floor at about 2 and then just a woggle. Never bothered with armbands. At just turned 3 she was swimming without any aids for a few metres doggy paddle style. At 4.5 she started proper lessons and was put straight into a stage 3 class where most of them seem to be about 6. She's 4.9 now and has just got her 10 metre badge in front crawl. Seriously save your money. Unless you are really nervous of the water or just enjoy the social side of chatting to other parents there's simply no need.

[wheresthelight]

I think it very much depends on the way the council lesson is taught. my local ones use arm bands and floats almost exclusively where as waterbabies teaches her independence and basic water survival without floatation aids (although are added for some bits). fir me this was the deciding factor as let's face it if they fall in aunty gladys's pond it's unlikely they will have a set of armbands on!

also the council pools here are regularly over chlorinated and dd is sensitive to it so the private pools are better (and warmer)

[BikeRunSki]

I always thought I'd do water babies, but actual ended up at the leisure centre due to timing, and because it was PAYG until the children are 2. It was all fine and sounds very similar to Waterbabies etc. We went with friends and usually stopped for a fun swim and lunch.

DS was able to swim a length without floats at 5.

[BikeRunSki]

..... Although the council pool I went to had a seperate, warm teaching pool.

[superzero]

I've done both.All that matters is that you keep taking them somewhere so they feel happy in the water,doesn't even have to be a lesson.In my experience they don't really start to swim properly until 3 at the earliest and unless you live right on a canal this is fine as they will be supervised when near water anyway.

[Anticyclone]

Since this zombie thread is 5 years old, I wonder if the OP can come back and tell us how her DS is getting on with his swimming?

[Xmas2014SantaC9957]

Your class sounds just like water babies, which I did with pfb. If you are happy I would continue.
Fwiw dd hated going underwater, so we didn't do that bit. I enjoyed the classes as they were friendly and sociable, just like yours sounds.
We stopped when I went back to work, and dd, 5, is now really water confidence after swimming lessons.
Seemingly swimming underwater as a baby wasn't a critical life skill ;)

[hippo123]

oops! didn't notice the zombie thread! hopefully op child is a champion club swimmer by now

[plipplops]

Puddleducks all the way!! (And reached up to age 10 so OP could still take her DCs!)

[rocketnot]

Yes yes to puddleducks, so worth the money and so much better than council run aqua tots. It teaches them lifesaving skills from birth and to swim without floats. It goes beyond confidence to ability.
I know a lot of people who have done water babies and quit for various reasons but on listening to them it doesn't seem nearly as good as puddleducks.

No I don't work for them. But sometimes I wish I did!