What are the ideal baby swimming classes

[LovingMum1006]

Hello ladies,
This is directed to parents who attend/attended Baby Swimming Classes. I would love to get some questions answered:

• What do you love the most about baby swimming classes (i.e. Bonding with your baby)?
• What did you hate the most (i.e.overcrowded changing areas)
• What was missing during your classes (i.e. Towel service)

Thanks so much xxx

We started Waterbabies at 4 month and DS is now 3.5 and he loves his lessons. My DH goes in with him now as it's nice for him to do something with him and I watch from the poolside. The thing I love the most is seeing him develop and the look on his face when he does something well and the absolute joy he has from being in the water.

I don;t hate anything about it.

I've never heard of a towel service for kids lessons? Ours is not at a private gym, its run by Waterbabies so you take you own towels and wash them at home. No bother to us.

I did baby swimming with my first from 10 weeks old. It was fun but honestly far too expensive considering a) babies don’t actually learn to swim and b) there’s lots of cheaper things we could have been doing (including cheaper baby swimming). But I didn’t know about what was on back then.

Why do you want to know? Are you trying to choose between classes for your DC?

There really isn't much difference between classes, and I think you can tie yourself up in knots looking for what's 'ideal'. So just pick a class which runs at a time of day unpopular for other swimmers if you want relatively uncrowded changing.

DC are all teens now so lots has changed, but back then most important honestly was a really warm pool. They all got too cold for it to be good apart from when in a hydrotherapy pool. Baby wet suits are more easily obtained now though I think.

Soft changing mats to put the baby on on the floor was the other thing that sprung to mind. One venue never had enough which was just a pain given how expensive the classes were.

Sounds like OP is thinking of going into business...
I'd agree with others that the lessons are far too expensive. I know that the operating costs are likely to be high with venue hire, liability insurance etc, but even so, if you can do anything to bring costs down you're onto a winner.

The booking process with some classes are really difficult. As a term opens up, there's a mad scramble and website crashing as everyone tries to book in for the best time. There's no priority given to people who have already been in that class, which is irritating when you're trying to build classes into a routine (particularly as they get older and in nursery or preschool)
For a great example of classes, look at the rugbytots franchises. Their processes are really simple, fair to everyone and their 'try before you buy' approach is great too.

Oh, and I'm not sure anyone uses swim classes as a bonding exercise! At the baby stage, all the parents in our group just felt frazzled the whole time. Wriggly, wet baby who won't keep still to get dried and changed, trying to keep baby safe while you got dressed yourself, paranoia about a post-baby body in a swimsuit... not a relaxing, bonding time at all 😂

Definitely too expensive which is why we are just taking her ourselves every week.

That is great, thanks so much ladies for the feedback.
Yes, as a matter of fact I am thinking of going into business. I personally went to waterbabies and oakleigh park school of swimming. Both are wonderful apart from overcrowded changing facilities. I personally found it extremely stressful to change baby and myself as you dont really have anywhere to put your baby/toddler down to get changed yourself. I also thought carrying around wet towels the swim nappies is really annoying. I also dont like it when people watch, coming back to dizzydaisies comment about the post baby figure lol.
I understand the most common point is the expensive classes. I will look into this to see if there is a way to bring the costs down.
x

I think the trick is to have both parents involved. We do a weekend class so I get our son ready for the pool and his daddy goes in with him and I watch. Then I get him dry and dress him and daddy doesn't have to worry. Nearly all if our class dies this. And we have tons of changing mats and benches and clothes hooks. Thete ate also play pens in our changing rooms for any babies that need to be put down safely if mum or dad is on their own. I think it's good because it is Waterbabies own pool and not in a hotel or somewhere. And the water is warm. It's sad you've had comments about your post baby figure. No one would make a comment like that in our group.

I love swimming with my DS started a few months ago and he is soon 1. It's not lessons as such but the swimming experience I can still answer some of the questions. The best thing is the great bonding experience whilst in the water, the great fun we have and the trust they give you.
The price I pay for my class is cheaper than an actual lesson but after research I was advised that they don't actually learn to swim yet anyway so just having them in the water is apparently the same at this stage. Apparently water babies are big dunking advocates.
Worst part is nit having anywhere to put DS when I'm trying to get dressed, it nut so bad now as he's walking but still the play pen idea sounds brilliant. Any possible way to get DS as dry as quickly as possible....and bloody heat the changing rooms, the one we go to never seems to be warm.

Waterbabies do put babies under the water but if they are upset by it they stop. At 3.5 my son has just swum across the pool this morning on his own under water coming up for breath. And he loved it. That to me is worth £16.50 A lesson.

From when though. I wouldn’t be surprised if my 2 year old could be taught to swim but I don’t think any of the swimming lessons he had in the first year of his life would have helped in any way to achieve that.

I've done waterbabies with my 3. I love the classes but they've mainly been in small school pools with crowded changing facilities and cold showers. Also no facilities for dirty nappies so you have to take them home with you, which is annoying. Taking towels doesn't bother me though. Would be nice to be somewhere with more baby play pens too so you have somewhere to put them safe while you get dry and dressed yourself.

Our currently water babies class is at a hotel pool and just having a proper warm shower available for afterwards is brilliant, plus being able to go for coffee in the hotel cafe afterwards to make it more of a social thing.

Love all your answers, thanks a lot ladies.

To be honest, I wonder why I bothered. DC1 started swimming after her 12 week jabs/ DC2 started just before he turned 5. At the age of 6.2, he is at the exact same stage as DC1 was at th age age and it has been a lot cheaper & a lot less time consuming to get him to stage then it was for DC1 /!

It's not 100% about the learning to swim for us. It's the fact that he dies something every Saturday that he absolutely loves.