Water babies/ baby swimming

[beth1987]

Anyone done the waterbabies prgramme, any idea on costs/ did you/baby enjoy it. Or any other baby swimming experiences/advice

I wouldn't waste the money on baby swimming lessons. We did take the kids to the pool ourselves but they didn't get proper lessons until closer to the age of 4.

It was £12 a session when I did it but that was 4 yrs ago. It didn't work out for us as they do a lot of putting the baby underwater which made dd1 hysterical. She still is terrified of getting water in her eyes - hypersensiyive due to astigmatism. However lots of people I know loved it.

I did do lessons but just through the council run pools at a fraction of the cost.

I took dS from about 6 weeks old, but went to PAYG classes at the local baths, rather than the far pricier ones at private pools. The council ones were the same cost as an ordinary swim and you didn't have to book 12 weeks at once.

Well worth it though. I liked the lessons, they gave us some structure and I made some friends. DH can't swim, he'd have bern no good as a pool companion on the werk ends. Also, baby ckasses tend to be on when the pool (and therefore changing room) are really quiet, and not busier than a sunny bank holiday in Scarborough.

Sessions at local pools are great and a fraction of the costs

We didn't bother starting until DD was about 14 months. I just didn't see the point of doing it any younger as I didn't feel she would actually get anything out of it. She's now 2 and now "gets it' a bit more, although it's still just fun splashing with the occasional bit of kicking if she feels like it!

We went on holiday last year and I loved the fact that she was confident with us in a pool, and would even brave the little toddler waterslides, so I think some regular structured swimming is great. I don't regret not starting when a lot of my other mummy friends did AT ALL (4-6 months). DD is on a par with all the others in her class, loves the water, and I saved myself
££££'s to spend on other activities in her first year and possibly the odd bit of maternity leave cake!

Oh, yes. We do the council pool lessons too which are much cheape!

I took DC to little dippers baby swimming & thought they were worth the money. It was a heated hospital pool, uv treated. Small classes, suitable for tiny's with loads of baby singing & rhymes. Met other mums / made friends. DC loves swimming and I think those positive early experiences have helped install a love of water.

How old is your dc?
I took a child I nannied water babies, they put him in a class much younger (he was 18 mnths starting the other babies were from 9/10ish months) he was so upset and frightened to start with, then he chilled out after the first term and began to enjoy it.
When the other babies got to around the age he was at starting many of those began to be frightened too (even the ones that were happily being dunked as babies). I came to the conclusion that the age of irrational fears will still make them water scared at that age if if they were going to be anyway, regardless of how long they have been going.
It's a lovely shared activity when they are enjoying it in the moment, but I don't think baby hood swimming would especially effect future water confidence IYSWIM. I would try in a local pool before you invest in a course.

Having watched my friends baby learning to swim from 6 weeks old and now at two years old being so confident in the water I decided to sign up with London baby swim. It makes sense to me, parents get shown how to safely handle the baby, and how to confidently get the baby to move in the water. I wanted to learn how to submerge the baby, and how to teach it when to breathe etc. also as the water isn't chlorinated so is gentle on the eyes and skin, yet they seem fastidious about keeping the water and facilities clean (in a way public pools often aren't) so, whilst it seems costly I think that given we spend the summers in the pool and sea having a happy water baby is important for us. And will likely be the main class/activity we pay for.

I tried our public pool lessons first, they were awful and the water was cold. They insisted on all babies going underwater and DS hated it.

I then tried Waterbabies and it's amazing - very expensive, but totally worth it. They use private, hydro pools which are warm and fairly small. They teach the methods to use before each 'action' and DS has been going for a year. He is very confident in water because he's been allowed to just develop at his own pace and understands all of the cues and which actions they relate to so he know what to expect at all times. The lessons are very structured and there is a lot of repetition but our instructor just goes with whatever mood the babies are in during the session - no one is forced to dunk, that's a misconception about the programme. At the moment DS is not going under the water because it's upsetting him, the instructor told me not to even attempt it until he seems not bothered by it.

I wouldn't fall for all the merchandise though, everything is expensive and the underwater photos, although impressive, are a huge expense which doesn't seem worth it at all.

So I'd go for Waterbabies every time, the public swimming pool lessons in our area were terrible but that might not be the case for everyone. It's worth checking out what's available.

Waterbabies lessons are brilliant and well worth the money. We changed to the council classes at one point but they were just splashing water around and absolutely shite so went back to water babies. Both my DV were swimming independently at 2.5 years old.

DS absolutely hated water from birth. Even water on a cotton wool ball would have him screaming like he was being tortured. Just before 12months we decided to try one term of waterbabies to see if it could at least get DS to tolerate water. By the 3rd lesson he loved water!!! He'd even have showers.

It is a definate mis conception that you force them underwater. You really don't. They are encouraged to be happy going underwater.

He's just turned 3yrs and has now been going to waterbabies for 2yrs. He is amazing in water. His confidence is unbelievable. He far out does his 6yr old cousin.

At our local council run pool. I've often had lifeguards say "he's a waterbabies toddler, isn't he? You can always tell." One lifeguard who told me he also did lessons there, said the children who'd done waterbabies first were by far the easiest to teach and usually progress far faster than other children.

In my experience the vast majority of people who say they are not worth the money and to just go to the local pool ones, have not done waterbabies at all. Waterbabies are very expensive at 13-15 per lesson depending on where you live and you have to sign up for 10week blocks but I'd say they are definately worth it. DD will start soon (she's 9weeks).

I put all three of mine through baby swimming classes and i found it worth every penny. They all could swim unaided before they turned 3 and, unlike me, they are all completely at ease in the water (which was my main reason for doing it)

My son did not go water babies but at 18 months he is a really great swimmer and one of the best for his age. So while i agree with whyohwouldyou that water babies can really help a baby, I certainly don't think they are essential to help a child learn.

I think it depends how you can swim as a parent, I am a strong confident swimmer myself who has been swimming regularly since I was a girl so had no problem getting my child happy in the water myself but some parents like that extra encouragement and a instructor to help them.

I would maybe try a taster session if available? See what they do in the session and decide then if it is worth the money.

We're doing waterbabies at the moment - too early to judge the results but the warm deep hydro pools are way more pleasant for all than the local council pool. If DH and I both take DS to the council pool it is £11 so not really much cheaper than water babies. Signing up for the term also forces us to go as when we were just going to the local pool ourselves there was always some excuse not to bother. Also I don't think I would have had confidence to dunk DS if we hadn't been in a class.

DH is a great swimmer and was county level at school. I was rubbish as a child and scared of water so we both have reasons for wanting DS to be water confident early so it feels like it's worth it for us.

We go to duckling dives which is pretty much the same as water babies but a little cheaper in our area.

DS loves it and I love it too, the classes are fun and DS loves the water. They are at a hospital pool with really large changing bays. Our local council pool isn't warm enough before 12 weeks and we started at 3!

I think it is well worth the money, as someone else said, the family going for a normal swim is almost as much. But it does depend on you, for me it was a no brained as I wanted to get started straight away and DS being confident in the water is very important to me. There is definitely a change in DS too, we thought as he was so young we'd repeat a term but he was so bored and way more happy in the water than the new babies, even the ones older than him. Now he's in a class with mostly toddlers and really loves it.

Thanks for the replies, mixed experiences. will probably contact them and find out costs/timings. Want to do it more as something nice to do as much as anything else