Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Water Babies - worth it?

27 replies

Letsallscreamatthesistene · 13/08/2020 15:24

Has anyone done Water Babies with their LO? My son is 20 weeks old and loves baths - he'd sit in one all day if I let him. Its because of this i think he'd really enjoy being in a swimming pool.

Its pricey though. Is it worth it?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

JoJoSM2 · 13/08/2020 15:27

We did baby swimming, can’t remember if Water Babies or another franchise. DS had fun but as with any of these baby classes, it feels like it’s more about getting out of the house, filling your time and trying different things etc rather anything else.

Marmite27 · 13/08/2020 15:30

We did Waterbabies. Eldest was halfway through the final chapter (17) and is desperate to go back.

She has been able to swim independently for a couple of years now. Littlest is in chapter 5 and had a breakthrough the week before lockdown. It’s been worth it for us.

Cutesbabasmummy · 13/08/2020 15:42

DS started at 4 months. He's in mainstream with Waterbabies now but still cant really do crawl or breaststroke at 5.6 years! He's useless on his back too. To be honest a lot of it depends on the teacher. Our current one is crap!

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Babies & sleep General parenting

Gettingonabitnow · 13/08/2020 16:16

We did it. Yes, being in the pool with them is lovely. But unless you keep up with swimming lessons then no swimming skills will be retained. Plus getting yourself and the baby into cossies and then dressed again afterwards in a baking hot changing room, for me, was absolute hell on earth!!!!! I haven’t done it with my second.

60sPony · 13/08/2020 16:19

Our local children’s centre was at a school with a pool and we use to do classes there before lockdown £4 a lesson and my son absolutely loved it. Worth checking if you have a similar set up in a local children’s centre

CountryLi · 13/08/2020 16:23

I loved water babies. Our DS did all the chapters and whilst it still took him time to learn to swim independently it's the confidence and safety aspects which water babies brought which made it so worthwhile. However we did have a series of great teachers- occasionally if one was ill we had a substitute who was not so good- used to avoid/skip her lessons if I knew they were coming up - too pushy and one of the hardcore they must be dunked under water brigade!

ComeOnEileen11 · 13/08/2020 16:23

We did chapter 1 and 2 with DC1. We thought it overpriced for what it was. He didn't enjoy it and cried quite a lot so not worth it for us.

JoandLily · 13/08/2020 16:25

Expensive but worth it imo. My daughter started at 8 weeks old (almost 3 now) and her confidence in water is unbelievable. Whenever we go on holiday people always comment on how good she is in the water.

Hoggleludo · 13/08/2020 16:35

I thought it was incredibly expensive! And not worth it in my opinion.

We did water babies for one lot

Then we did our local swimming pool and it was almost the same

PineappleUpsideDownCake · 13/08/2020 16:41

Depends what you mean by worth it?

For a fun session maybe if you both enjoy it. (Not all babies do.)A parent and toddler fun session in the pool may encourage fun more cheaply/flexibly but if you like groups go for it.

As for learning to swim. No not at all worht it. Save your money and get some good1-1 sessions for when they're 4 ish and they'll be swimming quickly and can miss all the "taking it in turns to go up and down" in group sessions for that age.

Water confidence and fun is the main thing for under 4s, so if you think a structured group is your way to do that thats great. But not at all necessary.

AegonT · 13/08/2020 17:35

My daughter did the entire course; hated it and couldn't swim at the end. This wasn't typical though - every other kid in her class could swim un-aided at 3 years; some amazing well! We regret it for our daughter - we kept thinking it would click and it never did. She finally learnt to swim after almost a year of her
post-Water Babies lessons. I couldn't do it with a second child; we'll go with cheaper lessons at the local authority pool but not expect Water Babies type results; just get them used to the water and they'll learn to swim later. I wouldn't dissuade anyone else though as it seems to teach other kids to swim early and the other kids seemed to enjoy the lessons!

modgepodge · 13/08/2020 17:46

When I looked at it all the swim schools round me were a similar price -£13-14 per half hour lesson. It is expensive compared to every other baby group. I started at 2 months and my daughter hated it for about the first 8 weeks, then was indifferent, it was only about 9-10 months she actually started to enjoy it id day. If I have another I’d wait til a bit older before starting.

Some places you might find council leisure Centers offer something cheaper. My sister found lessons for £10. But they’ve now gone under thanks to lockdown 🙁

PineappleUpsideDownCake · 13/08/2020 18:39

Council leisure centres are around £5.

I really do advise leaving it later. We didnt for our first, second had 1-1 after starting reception and was doing lengths with a competitive club by 6. Not that you'd nec want that but the every week grind just isn't necessary, but the marketing sucks you in.

There's lots of things you can learn wuicklu when developmentally ready like reading) that it makes no sense to force when younger.

Fun in the water though, absolutely!

Original poster

Letsallscreamatthesistene · 13/08/2020 19:05

My motivation isnt learning to swim, its more because I know he'd love it and ive seen nothing else advertised

OP posts:

mindutopia · 13/08/2020 21:27

No, we did it for about 6 months with my first. It was miserable. I certainly wouldn't do it now, because there is surely no social distancing. We quit when she was a bit over a year. Never really did much swimming after that. She started swimming in PE when she started reception and swims just fine now. I wouldn't bother.

bravefox · 13/08/2020 21:29

We found waterbabies very slow and very crowded. We moved to lessons at the local council pool which were in a much smaller group and the kids got to do a lot more each lesson.

Oh, and it was also half the price of WB too!

DressingGownofDoom · 13/08/2020 21:30

If you want to do it then go for it. Be warned though, they'll try and get you to spend a fortune on pictures of your baby underwater. They're the Bounty club of swimming.

LunaLoveFood · 13/08/2020 21:32

We did puddle ducks and definitely recommend, even simple things like washing hair is so much easier when they are used to getting their face wet. My DC were able to swim 5m at 4 and could jump in, turn onto their backs and get safely to the side of the pool from 18 months.

justoverthehorizon · 13/08/2020 21:38

My DD has never had a swimming lesson. I took her regularly to the pool, just me and her and she is now very confident and a good swimmer. so yes if want to try it great ..I think swimming is 90% confidence

Cattenberg · 14/08/2020 00:46

DD did chapter one with Water Babies, starting when she was six months old. With hindsight, I wouldn’t have bothered. It was very expensive and Water Babies are obsessed with dunking the babies underwater.

DD decided that she didn’t like going underwater. The teacher’s response was to give DD less warning before dunking her, so she didn’t have time to object! That didn’t sit well with me at all.

DD did sometimes enjoy the rest of the class, but I think the dunking put her off and by the end of the chapter she’d obviously had enough. Thank goodness I’d given notice to quit in good time, or I’d have had to pay for at least some of chapter two.

GarlicMcAtackney · 14/08/2020 09:49

You could just have him in a bath with you, it’d be massively more hygienic than a pool and babies do nothing in a pool, just get swilled about and then shit themselves and cry.

PineappleUpsideDownCake · 14/08/2020 10:07

Ah yes forggot the dunking obsession!

And of course the "photo opportunity" you then feel compelled to buy.

It is afterall a moneymaking scheme...

bananaramama · 14/08/2020 13:06

We love water babies. Our son adores the water and has so much fun at the lessons. He is extremely confident in the water.

It is however very dependent on the teacher.
We have been lucky and mainly had excellent teachers. The odd occasion where we've had a bad teacher we've changed classes. It is too expensive to suffer bad teaching.

Thamantha · 14/08/2020 21:17

My little one (18m now) was going before lockdown. He loved it, and it did build his confidence in the water. The main reason we went thought was so that dad could get in the water with him and have some bonding time as my partner has postnatal depression and found bonding very difficult.

Temple29 · 14/08/2020 21:24

We did it when DS was 6 months old or so and he loved it. He also loves the bath and water in general so it sounds like your LO would enjoy it.

We just did it as a fun activity for him and our health insurance covered 75% which was brilliant.

Flip

1 2