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Original poster

What is the point of baby swim classes / dunking

96 replies

HuntIdeas · 01/09/2019 05:45

Quite a few of my friends seem to be signing their tiny babies up to baby swim class, where they seem to spend a lot of time dunking the babies. What’s the point of this? Is it worth paying for the classes rather than just taking the baby myself?

One friend said they are teaching the baby what to do in case it falls into the water. To be honest, I’m pretty sure my baby won’t get a chance to fall into the water, plus if it did somehow happen then I would be close enough to jump in and rescue the baby without him needing to rescue himself!

OP posts:

Dyrne · 01/09/2019 07:12

Why do people have to be so sneery? If it gives parents confidence to take their babies into the water then more power to them, surely?

Yes, it’s pricey but so are many other baby classes... you don’t take your baby to rhymetime because you think they’re going to be a poet laureate...

JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff · 01/09/2019 07:13

All my children started lessons at 5mos. £4 per lesson at local leisure centre. We go religiously every Sat morning because they need to learn to swim and handle themselves in the water. They will also do open water safety when they are big enough.

I think it's great. DD1 4.5 is a naturally unsporty and not particularly confident child, but she is now almost done with Stage 2 and will very happily jump in - and more importantly, knows how to get herself out.

We live in a coastal area - the primary where DD starts in a few days is a couple of hundred metres from the beach - and her best friend already goes paddle boarding regularly before the age of 5 and lives in a wetsuit.

In that type of environment, it just makes sense for them to have confidence and safety skills as early as possible.

Teateaandmoretea · 01/09/2019 07:15

Most people I know started learning to swim at 3 or 4, when lessons are cheaper and they learn faster as more physically able and can swim perfectly well.

I started mine at 5 and 4 respectively.

The one that started at 4 was a brilliant natural swimmer, when we went to Germany just before she was 5 on holiday people were . She then did her own style and largely ignored her swimming teacher till about 7 (so possibly we wasted loads of money and should have had a gap). She's now improving and starting to look reasonable at 'proper swimming'.

The one that started at 5 was the most inept thing I've ever seen in a swimming pool and went through the stages at snail pace. Then eventually one day she just got it and bizarrely enough now swims competitively . Again, I put it down to when she started actually listening properly to instructions.

So probably the most 'efficient' way is to book them some private lessons before they start school then keep taking them but give them a gap of a couple of years and restart lessons at the start of year 2.

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BertrandRussell · 01/09/2019 07:15

It’s the greatest marketing exercise since bottled water.

Teateaandmoretea · 01/09/2019 07:17

Why do people have to be so sneery? If it gives parents confidence to take their babies into the water then more power to them, surely?

^^ I agree with this.

Also I would never take the 'efficiency' route I suggested as the lessons did them good between 5 and 6 in other ways ....

JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff · 01/09/2019 07:18

Am I the only person whose local council does swim lessons??? I also thought it was weird that people on here moaned about the cost! We pay £4 per child per week and as a perk, we get free swimming year round for any child enrolled in lessons so we can also take them swimming ourselves for free.

This is just the local council pool.

Teateaandmoretea · 01/09/2019 07:20

Johnny ours does too. The preschool lessons are very limited though - they won't move them up to stage 3 until they are 5.

Wolfff · 01/09/2019 07:20

FFS why are some people so judgey about others. I took my first child from the age of about 18m and the second as a small baby. We all enjoyed it. It was half an hour of playing and socialising. It is not correct to say it is just dunking. If people can afford it what’s wrong with that?

imip · 01/09/2019 07:21

My dc didn’t take well to dunking. Even st 6 months. I always refused to do it as they’d get quite hysterical. I’d feel a bit of a failure as other babies would come up cute, smiley and giggly!

I have 4 dc and some started at 5, others at 6 months and one at 3. Ones who started older are more able swimmers now (aged 7-12).

Fast forward a few years and 2 of them have ASD. Dunking must have been a fucking sensory nightmare! I’m so glad I trusted my instinct.

I really think if dc are distressed by it, why do it?

BertrandRussell · 01/09/2019 07:26

My problem with baby/toddler swimming is the idea that it is essential. If it’s fun for you and your baby and you can easily afford it, then do it. Just like baby gym or any of the other things you can do. If you and your baby don’t enjoy it or it’s a struggle financially, don’t do it.

AnnaMariaDreams · 01/09/2019 07:29

Do you have buy an overpriced “Nirvana baby” photo.
I did waterbabies with DS. At 12 months he started absolutely hating it and we gave up at 15 months, they said he had water wobbles and it would pass but it felt like baby torture.
He started proper swimming lessons at 3, having forgotten all the waterbabies stuff.
He’s now 7 and a good swimmer, very water confident.

hopelesslyromantic93 · 01/09/2019 07:30

I've been taking my daughter on and off since she was about 4 months old - but it is just a local class so it's only about £4 for the lesson. She loves it and is really happy in the water. I think it's a good way to build up confidence of the parent and the child in water.

SoVeryLost · 01/09/2019 07:32

@MsTSwift I cannot stand a cold pool nor can DS. He literally shivers as soon as he gets in a pool. Thankfully his baby lessons were in a warm pool and we now know a local small pool which is hot.

cakesandphotos · 01/09/2019 07:32

I took my DS from 9 weeks to our local Lemaire centre which is £6.50 a lesson, I couldn't afford the more expensive one. It would cost me £4.50 just to swim with him and if I'm honest I wouldn't. 6 weeks off over the summer and we haven't been once so for me, having paid for a block of lessons means I actually go. And they're only dunked once a lesson, we hardly stand there constantly shoving them under the water. DS is happy and it's gaining confidence being in the water which is good enough for me. It's also building his muscle tone as he still doesn't walk at nearly 19 months

cakesandphotos · 01/09/2019 07:32

*leisure centre

Stayawayfromitsmouth · 01/09/2019 07:33

Both my dc love the water but hate getting dunked under. Dc1 we had a term of baby swim lessons where it was mostly dunking. He hated it but still loves the water so I just took him to the local pool toy sessions instead. Dc2 came along and I could only take them both at the weekend with dh. Both love a nice warm pool.
They now both have proper lessons age 3 and 5 and can actually listen to instructions. Ds1has finally got over not putting his face in the water after a year of coaching. Ds2 still finds it terrifying.
Neither seem to have that whole gag reflex thing so both would come up spluttering water when dunked.

MsTSwift · 01/09/2019 07:35

Imo the “sneering” is from the swimming class attenders showing off to the other mothers implying they are “better” for taking their baby swimming. Sorry but it’s true. My kids are older now so can see this for what it is. But hey my lovely friend runs a baby swim school - so go! Spend the cash

leasedaudi · 01/09/2019 07:43

We just do the leisure centre classes which are £24 a month. No big emphasis on dunking just splashing and games. Also doesn't matter so much if we miss a week since it's cheap!

I was a competitive swimmer as a kid and my mum just took me to the pool for splashing when I was a baby. I don't think the water babies classes really add much value except for cool photos..

mrsplum2015 · 01/09/2019 07:44

I took all three of my dc to baby swimming because it was the one activity that was non negotiable in my eyes. They all have done lessons (youngest still going) until they are squad level.

To me it is as important a skill as riding a bike as it is a gateway to many other water sports and activities. For enjoyment and safety.

They probably don't need to start so young but they like it and it was a nice activity to do together so why not! It does also make it quicker and easier for them to learn than if they start at 3 without being used to going under water or familiar with the lessons. My dd could swim across a pool by age 3 which I don't think she would have done if she'd never had a lesson.

CherryPlum · 01/09/2019 07:52

I was persuaded (by my NCT group) into taking DD1. She absolutely hated being dunked and would cry the entire 'lesson', it was incredibly stressful. The 'teacher' kept telling me it's ok all babies get used to it after a few goes. I went along for a few weeks, DD hated it every single time. Now I am older and wiser I see what a waste of time and money it was for us. It was also stressful having to arrive at a set time at the pool with a tiny baby.

Basically I fell for the marketing, as a new parent wanting to do things right, feeling I would let my baby down if I didn't join in like everyone else. I am embarrassed that I signed up to it now and realise I was naive and just so keen to get things right.

They even tried to sell underwater baby photos at an extortionate price.

wildflowersandweeds · 01/09/2019 08:00

We love it for a number of reasons; it's DD's special time with her dad, and both of them love that, especially in the early months where DH often felt DD was stuck to me constantly! It's made DD super confident in water, and we've never had any bother washing her hair in the bath. And most importantly, we live on a farm with a river and lake. I'd like to say I could guarantee DD will never be out of my sight, but how many people have lost a toddler/ young child, even for a few minutes? It makes me feel better knowing that if she did escape me and fall in somewhere, she has some skills and knows about holding on to stuff.

BertrandRussell · 01/09/2019 08:00

I hate this “swimming is non-negotiable” thing.

Siablue · 01/09/2019 08:01

My neighbor teaches baby swimming she advertises that her classes do not involve dunking so there must be some controversy about it.

aliteralAIBUforonce · 01/09/2019 08:05

It helped my baby sleep. That was the main reason. It's also given him a bit of confidence and is happy in the water.

He can't swim unaided yet but can paddle about happily with a pool noodle but he's two.

Swimming is an important life skill. One of the first things I did when I went to uni is sign up for classes as my parents never taught me. My DS won't have to. He'll also get driving lessons, music lessons etc.

Nobody ever regrets learning a skill.

confusedparent12 · 01/09/2019 08:11

We did the classes with ds1 but he hated them so much we had to stop. He is now an ok swimmer at 10 but officially couldn't progress beyond Stage 3/4 in proper lessons and we have stopped those too, though he swims with school still and will do survival swimming again this year. He has sensory issues which explains the baby swimming wobbles. DS2 has been taken swimming since he was tiny and is only just ok with having his face in the water at age 5, still won't jump in. He has suspected asd and sensory issues too. We will keep trying until he can be safe in water but are dialling back on paid lessons for now. Would they be even worse without the exposure at a young age? No idea!

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