taking a 1 year old swimming

[duckyisback]

I have some (probably really silly) questions about taking my 16 mo swimming for the first time.

What do I need to dress him in? I have swim nappies but will he need trunks over the top?

Does he need arm bands/a ring or can he just go in with me?

I can imagine getting dressed being quite stressful

They get cold quickly so I've always used a swim nappy and a wetsuit type outfit with body coverage and longer sleeves and legs.
Arm bands or a ring are handy but I've also just taken them in without. They're a bit wriggly and slippery though so arm bands do stop them getting a dunking.
Getting dressed isn't stressful, just get a big enough cubicle that you can fit the buggy in, or has a seat with straps. Get the child dressed first, give a snack to munch on (they are ALWAYS) starving after swimming. While they're busy with their snack you can get dressed.
Have fun!

Thanks field!

I haven't been swimming in years so am off to buy a swimsuit, will pick up some arm bands too.

Some pools require

Oops posted too soon! Some pools require a neoprene swim nappy ('happy nappy') so worth calling your pool to check.

If it is the first time swimming then I would suggest finding a quiet time to go because it can be a bit overwhelming. Don't be surprised if he cries or fusses, but this passes. We've taken dd since she was tiny and would sing nursery rhymes and take a little toy into the pool when she was little.

I would put trunks over the swim nappy. In fact, one of the all on one sun suit things is better as the child is less slippery!

I never bothered with arm bands, they were a faff and got in the way.

When I took mine, I took a dressing gown for myself rather than a towel. I would take my costume off, put the gown on and then sort out my child. By the time they were sorted, I was dry.

I always got dressed afterwards first as I had very active boys that would roll around the wet floor whilst I was getting dressed. I always had a snack ready to occupy them.

You do still have to do a bit of a dance, one leg in grab toddler, 2nd leg in grab toddler, bra on grab toddler sort of thing!

Ds1 gets cold quickly so he wore a neoprene suit but ds2 always managed in a swim nappy with "happy nappy" over it.

Mine did swimming classes from a tiny age so never used arm bands although they did have swim jackets (with removable floats) as they got more confident . Arm bands hinder them from using their arms, noodles or float jackets are supposed to be better, as they are in a better position for learning to support their bodies in the water. But to be completely honest at this age it is all about safety and confidence. (For Both of you) so if arm bands work for you use them.

Ds2 loved swimming but hated the noise. If you find your toddler gets distressed don't give up and presume it's the water that they dislike!

I always take a toy of some kind in with us - a ball or a squirter bath toy works really well. My daughter wears a puddle jumper arm band which wraps around her (we watch the Peppa Pig swimming episode where peppa puts on her arm bands, seems to help get her to accept she needs to wear the damn thing).

And YY to snacks IMMEDIATELY out of the pool. I take two towels for her, sit her on one and give her a snack while I get dressed in relative peace. Getting her changed first just resulted in her getting dry clothes soggy by crawling around while I dressed if we did it the other way round.

The puddle jumper looks like this: www.amazon.co.uk/Sevylor-Puddle-Jumper-Floatation-Device/dp/B004GB1YRW

If its your first time, it might be worth checking out the pool temperatures of local pools as they can be quite cold although generally the baby pools are fine. Mine used to hate the big pool if we got straight in to that as it was cold but if we spent a bit of time in the baby pool first he was fine. And yes to swim suits covering tops and bottoms and having snacks and drinks ready for after.

Thanks everyone. Will take snacks and am off to the shops in search of a swimsuit for both of us.

There is a baby pool there, I just rang about nappies and she said a normal swim nappy would be fine, I didn't even know there were different ones!