Swimming

[GillLevey]

Took 5 1/2 month dd swimming for the first time today. I took her in the teaching pool but it seemed to be catered more towards older children. It was fairly cold and had the same steps as the normal pool so I found it quite difficult to get in and out. Getting out was worse as I had to climb up completely vertical steps with one hand and a slippery squirmy baby.

Some friends had said that they were told (in baby swimming lessons) to dunk the baby's head under water quickly at the end of a nursery rhyme (Grand old duke of York). It didn't go well. She screamed so much that I had to leave early. I felt really bad.

Should I try again next time or wait a while?

if she really hated it the whole time you were there i would leave it a while. mine have always hollered for first 10 mins then enjoyed it.

i would consider finding a different pool if possible (local hotels sometimes let you use theirs) or take a friend who can help with getting in/out, even if they ignore you the rest of the time!

(i have never heard of or done the grand old duke of york thing and i dont think any of mine have suffered because of it)

I would find a pool which is warmer and more suitable for toddlers. Nothing wrong with taking them at this age or younger. I wouldnt dunk her though.

I took both my two swimming from about the same age as your's. Both had different reactions to it depending on things like how tired they were or how near to feeding time.

I would find another pool if poss so you don't have to do the steep steps and just take it really slowly. Even if it's just holding baby in the water for 10-20 mins and getting out again.
Make sure she doesn't get cold (check by feeling the back of her neck/top of her back - not her head) and take your cue from her - i.e. if she's not enjoying it and cuddles aren't helping her relax then quit & try again another time.

I think the head under water thing probably relates to the theory that very tiny babies can swim underwater instinctively - i.e. let go and they'll swim. I was never brave enough to do that.

Have you tried one of those baby swim seats ? I'm not sure they're all that great for really little ones - ds & dd both liked being held in the water initially but dd (7 months) loves hers now.

Good luck

Getting in and out of the pool sounds scary. I don't think she's too young, but I'd try a different pool next time.

I would try a different, warmer pool.

I took ds from about 5m and at first he could only stand 15-20mins at a time. It's easy for them to get overstimulated by all the noise and general excitement in the average public pool.

Dunking can be ok as long as you do it gently and quite briefly - ds always looks a bit surprised (even though I try to warn him by bobbing him up and down a couple of times before actually dunking him). Maybe not the first couple of times you go swimming though.

I used to take a baby swim seat - could put it on the side, put DS on it and get out whilst having one hand on/near him. Only suitable until they roll though!

RE dunking, try it slowly. "name, ready GO!" with a handful of water in their face is where our baby swimming lessons started. And always have a beaming smile on your face. When they're used to it, you do this twice and then on the third time dunk them straight under and up again followed by lots of happy fussing.

Good on you for giving it a go. I dunk my 7 mnth DS everytime we go. He seems to not mind it - even in the bath DH pours water over his face ad he barely notices. I think the thing that is key is you being calm and happy - they will pick vibes off that. Have you ever noticed that the unhappy children in teh pool generally have parents who are not that water confident. I suggest you show by example - i.e. swim under water towards her and say boo etc. and just enjoy yourself. AND I would try another pool if I were you. Have you tried aquatots.co.uk

Ooo yes - doing the "name ready go" thing with a bucket of water in the bath is good too - great for hair washing and an scremaing is in private!

My dd has been going to swimming lessons since she was about five months old. We first did Aqualight in Northampton. We now do Waterbabies, which has franchises around the country. Younger babies are generally taught in warmer pools (eg physio pools) and my dd (who is 16 months) often wears her baby wetsuit. She loves swimming. She's not a big fan of being dunked but she is used to it. If the baby really hates being dunked the classes don't push it. I'd recommend a class highly.

whats the whole point of dunking though!? as if ya baba is happy in the water without the dunking bit, then dont do it as ive never have done it to my 10 months old baba and she lurves the water and baths and doesnt mind water getting in her eyes...

It gets them used to water on their face. Then you mvoe on to longer dunks (and jumping in), letting go if them and kind if "pulling" them towards you with the water current as you walk quickly backwards. From there they learn to kick and can be taught to paddle and from there they learn to swim, come up to breath and go under to swim some more. From the jumping in, they are taught to turn back to the side and hold on - a great life saver should they fall into water. Learning to come up to breath also gives them vital extra seconds to be rescued should they fall into water. DSs were both also taught to push up from the bottom of the pool to get their heads above water.

It's all part of a learning process.

The reasons behind dunking I think are to do with water confidence.A lot of children are not scared of dunking if introduced early enough. It can be a big thing that makes them scared of swimming later. Obviously if you're not comfortable and they're not comfortable, don't do it and no one would force you too.

anyways, the main reason we swim with DD is because it's fun for her and for us.

I took DSs to lessons because I am not confident in the water and I wanted them to be different. WOrth every penny.

Took my ds swimming for the first time when he was 3mths. Had a swim seat and he really loved it. Have been several times in the last month, he is 4mths on wednesday. I figuered that he loves his bath, so he should love swimming, and I was right.

I really want to try the dunking thing, but cant actually do it. Might have to be brave and try the "name, ready go" idea.

I took ds1 from when he'd had all his jabs, so about 4 months. I've heard that they don't say yo uhave to wait anymore, so ds2 has been swimming every week since he was 8 weeks. So I now take a 2 1/2 year old and a 3 1/2 month old swimming on my own every Tuesday afternoon!

I heard the thing about the head dunking before I first took ds1, but never had the guts. However, he would hold onto me and squirm, and sometimes would get splashed, or go under. If he ever did, I would be careful not to appear shocked, but to carry on as if it was part of our play. He seemed to just take to it naturally and is now a real waterbaby! Ds2 doesn't squirm so much when I hold him, but gets splashed by his big brother, and again I'm careful not to react. On the odd occassion when it has upset them, though, I've done huge huge cuddles, and got out if they've needed it.

The pool we go to is great - it has a kind of beach section so when I just had a toddler I would just sit while he splashed around me. Now with the two we go out a bit deeper so that ds2 sits in the baby float and ds1 can throw himself around. I started him in armbands very very early on, at the stage when he couldn't answer back! Now he just accepts them. The baby float is good because you have hands free time, and you can get better eye contact to soothe the baby, and you can walk up and down the pool which is almost as good for you as swimming!

Sometimes we go to an ordinary pool. I have never used the steps. With the baby I lay him by the edge of the pool while I quickly get in, and then pick him up. When ds1 reached the rolling stage I still did this, but put his feet pointing towards the pool. When he reached crawling stage I could still move fast enough. As a toddler he sits on the side with his feet dangling in while I sing humpty dumpty. By the time I get to "fall" I'm already in the water holding my arms out!

I've gone on a bit, I'm sorry! I just love my swimming sessions so much. Finally, the beach pool is incredibly cold. When ds1 was tiny we used to get out when he started shivering! But I've bought one of those uv suits (looks like a little wetsuit) and ds2 wears that over his swim trunks, and can stay in for ages - it seems to keep him warm enough.

Good luck, I would definitely go again. Such good fun!

I loved swimming with my dd when she was very little. I started when she was 4 months and I considered it a win-win for both of us because we both genuinely got something out of it whereas most other activities for her at that age were a waste of time because she wasn?t old enough.

Does your local adult education do any swimming classes? I did some free swimming classes for under ones at this age and they were really helpful at giving ideas of what to do with them and how to be confident in the water with them. It was a really good thigh workout for me if I remember rightly, and after that swim dd always used to pass out at night with exhaustion.
We used to swish them around, bounce them up and down, sing lots of songs, put them on the side and plop them down into the water, blow bubbles underwater to them, pull them, put them on their back and rock them, splash them, sprinkle water on their heads and faces?and then at the end if we wanted we dunked them. For us the signal for a dunking was blowing really hard on their faces twice and then putting them under very gently and smoothly. Sometimes we went under at the same time.

One thing the teacher did say was that if they get upset don?t get out of the water. Stay in the water until you have calmed them and only get out when they are happy.

I am very glad I did it because now she is 15 months she is extremely confident in the water and gets unspeakably excited when she sees a swimming pool and it makes me feel very proud of her.

I'm an ex competitive swimmer and lifeguard and didn't dunk dd until she was well over 1! I just couldn't bring myself to do it. And as for the theory of them swimming under water instinctively - well I'll take their word for it, no way was I letting my baby go! I don't think not dunking her early has affected her, she's now 2.3 and swims in the sea, and if a wave breaks over her she shouts "wipe out"!

At 5/6 months I just used to hold her and swish her around in the water, and let her splash around, and she also had one of the floating baby seats. I also used to go the pool that I could walk in and out of, which thankfully had a really warm teaching pool - never mind them getting cold, it can be freezing for us too!

I took my ds swimming 1st when he was 6 weeks - we now go to a 'little fishes' class which is suitable from 6 months. it is based around nursery rhymes and he loves it. It involves watering them over the head with a plastic watering can during 'mary mary quite contrary', but nothing worse. As for dunking I really don't see the point - I think it frightens them unecessarily at that age as theycan't understand what's going on.
If I were you I'd try somewhere else as I am sure there must be other classes similar to ours.

Here is DS2 looking absolutely terrified underwater having been dunked. Have cleared out my PC recently so don't have the really baby ones atm so he's 18mths in this one.

I take it that although it was the teaching pool it wasn't an actual baby session. Where I go it is a very ordinary bogstandard oblong 1920s miner's welfare pool but the instructor will hold your baby while you get in and then pass her to you. Not really necessary because there are shallow steps with rails (sort of like on a slide) that are easy enough to walk down forwards while holding a baby. Then they do all the watering can/nursery rhyme/ball type activities.

soupdragon, that's a gorgeous picture

We have taken ds for lessons since he was 5 months, as I can't swim and want him to be different.

They say to start off splashing his face, then go 'one two three -and dunk them under-' ds loved this from the start if you say numbers he closes his mouth in time still often comes up gasping but smiling! They do the grand old duke at the end of the lessons but you have to get them used to dunking first!

Ds loves his lessons, (now 16 months) and I think it's worth every penny. Oh and the baby pool at our local centre is usually warm, sometimes the heater breaks and we can't take him though.

We've been swimming since my dd was about 5 months, we went to "aquababies" they do the swimming under the water stuff, it was a private pool, which was nice and warm, i'd look for a warmer one if i were you.
Just expect to stay in about 10mins initially, lots of pools do kiddy sessions with free play aand toys followed by nursery rhymes to finish, just take it at your babies pace and let them get to enjoy it. My dd now uses armbands which originally i'd hoped to avoid, but she's happy. Encourage water play in the bath, splashong her chin once or twice, eventually working up to splashing her face as she gets older.
Most swimming teachers seem to recommend holding baby initially and then moving on to armbands(ideally the pool provided ones) instead of all the other floats you can buy.
Hope this helps