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Parenting

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Original poster

Swimming with a 14 month old

37 replies

LuckySalem · 16/03/2009 22:29

Me and DD have been swimming since she was about 5 months old but when I take her swimming she just hangs onto me and we "wade" through the water.

I think that she's getting old enough now that she should try to do other things but I don't know what.

She's VERY confident in the bath and LOVES it but when we get to the pool she becomes this clinger and I really want to change that if I can.

Any ideas or help is much appreciated.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

nappyaddict · 17/03/2009 14:26

You can use them from 1 year. A different shop sells the same ones but more expensive and says from 1 year.

MarlaSinger · 17/03/2009 14:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lljkk · 17/03/2009 14:29

I agree that swimming should mostly be fun at this age.

An aquafloaty suit was terrific for us, and some babies get the hang of them from 10-12 months. DD always clung to me until she got one of the Aquafloaty suits. She was 4yo by then, and before that she had gone in several times/month since she was 5 months old.

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Original poster

LuckySalem · 17/03/2009 20:53

Well we went to the beach type swimming pool today and it was a total hit.
I've not been since she started walking so I don't know if it was the pool or the walking but she LOVED it.

They put the wave machine on and she stood in the shallowest part (barely over her feet) and laughed everytime the "wave" got her
We also went down the HUGE slide a couple of times again with her giggling away.

The best thing though was that they have a small area that's kinda cordoned off from the rest - protected from the rest by a medium slide (not for adults ) and she played in there for about an hour, falling over and getting back up and only clung to me once when she had to be fished out the water as she didn't come up quick enough for the worrier in me. I'm pretty sure it was cos I was a little panicked though.

I really should get her some armbands or something as I think she would be better on her own in them and I'd stop panicking as much too.

OP posts:

nappyaddict · 17/03/2009 23:49

LS next time you go try and progress to her sitting and lying on her tummy in the water. DS loves doing that and swooshing the water with his hands.

shonaspurtle · 17/03/2009 23:53

Ds was clingy in the water at this age. By about 18 months he still wanted to hold my hand but was floating by himself with armbands. By the time he was 2 he would let me let go of him and float by himself.

I think the suggestions are all good, but just to let you know that even if you don't do anything she may well become more confident just by growing bigger and moving on at her own pace.

Original poster

LuckySalem · 17/03/2009 23:57

NA - I actually tried that today but best I could get was sitting on my knee.

OP posts:

nappyaddict · 17/03/2009 23:59

LS - just try each time you go but don't push her if it's obvious she doesn't want to and she will do it when she's confident enough. Would she copy you if you were to lie on your tummy in the water?

Original poster

LuckySalem · 18/03/2009 00:00

No, I tried that. Theyve got an aligator inthe water for the kids to climb on so I lay by the side and as pointing to his teeth so the clever little so and so comes and sits on my back pointing at the teeth!! lol

OP posts:

nappyaddict · 18/03/2009 00:05

For sitting in the water you could sit next to each other in the shallowest part and splash the water. Ds also likes to sit in the water and watch this do it's stuff.

thumbwitch · 18/03/2009 00:10

Don't know if this will help or not - just a bit of solidarity I suppose - we took DS to baby swimming classes from about 4/5mo, and he had a great time to start with; then had a bit of an issue at an underwater photography sesh and lost confidence; He got progressively less good in the water and finally we had to give up with taking him last month because he had (since 13mo) refused to let go of me, clung like a limpet and you couldn't get him to go under for love or money without hysterical screaming for ages afterwards.

I was told that sometimes they go through that clinging phase but they should get over it and be ok again. We stopped going cos it was a lot of money to pay when we weren't progressing (had already repeated the same level once, didn't want to do it twice) and mostly didn't participate in the lesson, just stood in the corner letting DS just "be" in the water without screaming.

He loves baths, loves splashing, but does kind of object to having water on his head even now.

soon2befamilyof4 · 18/03/2009 18:42

Sounds like you have made lots of progress just by going to the beach pool! That is a big achievement on its own. Well done.

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