Taking Your Child Swimming For The First Time
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| Image courtesy of arztsamui/freedigitalphotos.net |
Twin Daddy and I first took our girls swimming when they were around 6 months old. I was feeling quite nervous about it and I didn’t really know what to expect. We had a choice of two swimming pools in which we could have gone to. The nearest is at our local council run leisure centre. This is a good sized swimming pool and one that I used to go to frequently when I was growing up. It’s a cold water pool and starts out shallow so it gradually gets deeper. It also has a small slide for children.
The other pool was a bit further away, but it was newer and has family changing rooms. This was important to me, so for our first swimming trip we decided to go to this pool. The family changing rooms were spacious enough for us all to fit in although the bench was really narrow, but we did manage to find one with a baby changing table in, so we took it in turns to get our girls ready.
I thought I would share with you some tips for your baby’s first swimming experience:
- Choose the right swimwear for your baby – We went to a cold water pool so we opted for full swimsuits meaning our girls arms and legs were covered too. You can find some cute childrens Swimwear from Zoggs online. If you’re going to a warm water pool you can opt for a more traditional swimsuit for your child. If you have older children you may want to consider some fun kids swimming caps
- Use a swim nappy – they’re brilliant! If you have ever gone swimming to a pool or beach without a swim nappy, you’ll notice that every-day disposable nappies can get really heavy by the weight of the water as they soak it all up. Not only can this can be uncomfortable for your baby, but it can also result in nappy leaks
- I found it quicker and easier to wear my swimsuit under my clothes before I left for the swimming pool and we also dressed our girls in their swimsuits under their clothes too. It saves time when you arrive at the pool as you won’t have to change them when you arrive
- Plan your trip around nap and food times. You should ensure that your baby is well rested when you arrive at the swimming pool so that you don’t wear them out. Splashing around in water is hard work for your baby and they can get tired quickly. You also don’t want to feed your baby too closely to the time that you’re planning on going swimming as the last thing you’ll want is for your baby to be sick in the pool!
- Don’t stay in the water too long – 30 minutes at most. Babies get cold quickly so it’s important to limit the amount of time you’re in the water
- Be prepared – Have a towel to hand at the side of pool so you can wrap your baby up warm as soon as you leave the water
- Dress your baby first – When you return to the changing room, always dress baby first or ensure that they are wrapped up warm and in a safe place such as a playpen. You don’t want to leave them on a bench as they could easily roll off
- Have a drink handy and a small snack to hand. All that splashing about is hard work and can leave you and your baby hungry and thirsty
I hope these tips have been helpful. Please feel free to add your tips by commenting below!
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