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The benefits of “baby-friendly” infant/toddler swimming are unique, uplifting and contribute to the positive development of the whole child.
Researchers have documented that the stimulating effect of child-paced infant and toddler swimming lessons has the potential to increase intelligence, concentration, alertness, and perceptual abilities. Improvement in social, emotional and physical development has also been published. Of course, the manifestation of such inspired cognitive, personal and motor development takes time, patience and repetition.
Through the soothing medium of water, children are able to experience it’s caressing and stimulating effect. Water’s buoyancy is like an invisible helping hand. Zero gravity allows for freedoms that do not exist on land. Water provides a special time and place for you and your child.
Early swim lessons set a positive foundation towards a lifetime of participation and enjoyment in a variety of water sports.
With Mom and Dad as co-teachers, babies can learn to relate to the water with ease and confidence. Infants as young as six months old can begin to rediscover the liquid environment they left behind in the womb.
1. Human infants are well adapted to swimming. When submerged, they automatically hold their breath and make swimming movements. These reflex behaviours begin to fade as early as 3 months of age and need to be revived.
2. Babies can exercise more muscles on water than on land. They are less restricted by gravity and their ability to sit or stand. This increased strength often manifests itself in early acquisition of physical skills, such as walking.
3. Swimming improves the child’s cardiovascular fitness. Although babies are limited in how much they can improve their endurance, swimming does have a beneficial effect.
4. Early mastery of water movement gives children a head start in learning the basic swimming skills. Stroke instruction can begin as early as 3 years for children who have had the proper preparation.
5. Water helps improve coordination and balance by allowing the babies to move bilaterally to maintain their equilibrium.>
6. Warm water, combined with gentle exercise, relaxes and stimulates babies’ appetites. They usually eat and sleep better on swimming days.
The heart of our swim school is a teaching staff that is known for their patience and love of teaching.
That is why each Aquaventures instructor is carefully selected for their maturity and compassion for children. Naturally, each instructor is a professionally certified swim teacher. In addition to basic certifications, our waterbabies and parent/tot teachers must apprentice under a senior staff member, they must study and demonstrate our individual and long term lesson plans and they must attend regular up date training sessions.
Our senior staff are internationally certified in teaching infants and toddlers. We attend annual professional aquatic conferences worldwide in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, etc.
1. Scientific studies which have been carried out in many countries show that regular baby swim training reduces an infant’s sick rate 65-70% as compared to babies who have not had swimming lessons.
2. A fear of the water is only developed as the baby grows older. Early infant swimming prevents these fears from developing.
3. Babies who have an early swimming experience show improved physical and psychological development.
4. Swimming enhances the baby’s balance, strength, coordination and endurance as well as their concentration and sense of independence.
Check out one of our favourite swim school blogs from the Hubbard Family Swim School at: www.swimschoolbob.com
Learning to swim should be a fun and exciting experience for you and your child. Learning to swim will require a special attitude from you. Your child’s progress will greatly depend on your commitment to the program. Infants and toddlers are very aware of their surroundings, especially the demeanor and feelings of the caretaker adult.
If you are confident, your child will be secure. This is a new environment and there are new routines and expectations for your child. Be positive and reassuring and to embrace each activity or skill with enthusiasm. Be prepared to set a good example; blow bubbles, get wet and experience the skills with your child. Praise your child for every effort, however small. Your tone of voice should exhibit warmth and optimism, since your attitude will most definitely affect your child’s progress.
Using a slow, gradual approach to all new skills and techniques will help keep your child feeling happy and comfortable. We will carefully guide you both through skills and techniques. Each child progresses at his own individual rate and each child is unique in his own abilities. With this in mind, it is important not to compare your child’s rate of progress with others and your specially trained instructor will only introduce new skills when your child is ready.
1. To prevent unnecessary pool closures, Aquaventures has a DOUBLE diaper policy.
If your child is not 100% potty trained, he/she must wear 2 reusable swim diapers with elastic legs and waist. Disposable swim diapers and reusable diapers with Velcro or ties are not permitted because these do not create a good seal around the waist and legs. If you are unsure about a swim diaper that you already have, please bring it in for us to check.
We sell 2 brands of reusable swim diapers: Dolphin Swimwear (adjustable) and Finis.
2. Two towels – One for quick wrap-up when leaving the water and the other towel for after showering. (While the water temperature is warm, children often chill in the air temperature.)
3. A happy and enthusiastic parent to assist in learning about a new environment.
4. Plenty of time to get changed and organized before the lesson.
5. A small snack or juice to provide an energy boost after the lesson.
1. Diapers – use proper swimming attire as described.
2. Floaties or inflatable toys are not needed during the lessons. We will introduce flotation aids to assist your child with specific skills.
Always encourage positive safety behaviors in and around the pool. It is always good practice to carry a young child or hold your child’s hand while walking on the pool deck or entering the pool. Always wait for your instructor to give you the signal to enter the water and if for any reason you must leave the water before the end of the lesson be sure to inform your instructor.
**Remember: No child is ever drownproof and there is no substitute for parental supervision. Never leave a child unattended near any amount of water.
Relax!!! Children can easily sense your apprehensions or excitement (Like transmitting electricity from your body to their body).
Maintain a low stance with your shoulders in the water so that you can maintain good eye contact at all times. Smile, laugh and give plenty of encouragement to your child.
Try to repeat your child’s name as many times as possible to assist your instructor in learning names quickly.
Do not shower the children prior to entering the water as this causes them to cool down while on deck. When drying children off after lessons pay special attention to the head and ears.
Towel drying the outer ears is the safest method, rather than using cotton tips or oils.
Remember your hats in cold and rainy weather!
Tests at the German Sports College Cologne
If children already learn to swim at an early age, not only is their physical development advanced, but also their power of concentration, reaction velocity, intelligence as well as social behavior at kindergarten-age are favorably influenced.
That is why several years of testing, at the German Sports College Cologne, revealed about the effect of early movement training on the general development of the pre-school child.
The starting point was earlier observations of infants’ swimming behavior. It was established, thereby, that children who had already taken part in swimming training in the third month of their lives were not only more skilful in their movements but also more self-confident and independent, in comparison to their contemporaries.
This was fully confirmed by systematic testing on kindergarten children, from 1974 to 1976, supported by the Federal Ministry for Education and Science. The observed children were assigned to six “Groups”, who commenced swimming and gymnastic programs or only received instructions in gymnastics at different times (with 3, 6 or 2, 4 years resp.). One control group received no sports instructions of any sort.
The “swimming children” were ahead of their contemporaries, in all tested areas. Those who took part in baby swimming, from the third month of their lives, fared particularly well in each case. In regard to development of the intellectual capacities, it could be established that early swimmers showed higher intelligence values, already at the commencement of the two-year test period – when they were four years old, in nearly all sub-tests of the applied intelligence tests than the children who belonged to the later advanced groups or also the control group.
In the social area, “swimming children” were more willing to make contact and adjusted themselves better in the group of contemporaries. They were more independent and less timid. They could cope with new and strange situations better and efficiency motivation rose steadily in the test period.
Researchers of the registered Association for training Research Cologne explain the results to the effect that they are not due to physical training alone. Psychic treatment processes probably also played a part. Early-child movement training develops an area which enables the child to have successful experiences relatively easy. This lifts self-confidence and advances independence. At the same time, it seems to influence the manner in which the children and parents deal with one another – that is to say, that more and more independence is given or even urged upon the child. This again influences the pleasure of achievement and development of intelligence favorably.
