All You Need To Know About Baby Swimming
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Taking your baby to swim along with you could be so much fun. And to watch babies as young as three-months-old swim is unbelievably adorable. You may have come across several videos on YouTube, or other outlets, off babies taking to the water like ducks. The competition, to put it lightly, is rather stiff.
Many moms want to begin swimming rather early after their delivery and also like to initiate their babies to the water. In fact, there are swimming schools that help moms do just that. The fact that babies remain in a watery environment while in the mother’s womb naturally prepares them for swimming. In fact, babies can swim at any time from the time of birth and can begin classes at four to six weeks! You don’t even need to wait to have your baby immunized before taking him to the pool. All you need to do is ensure the following:
1. Your baby’s body temperature cools down faster than yours. So it is not a great idea to let your baby remain in the pool for a long time.
2. If your baby is younger than six months, take him to a pool that is heated to about 32 degrees C. Avoid public pools, as they maybe too cold for young babies. If you find your baby shivering, pull him out of the pool and dry him with a towel and swaddle him to keep him warm.
3. By the sixth month, your baby’s intra-uterine love for water will die down. So, familiarity techniques must be adopted to teach him how to swim.
4. Always take reusable swim nappies along for your baby.
5. Don’t forget to take the feeding bottle (must be kept warm). If your baby is already on solid foods, take snacks along. Swimming makes babies hungry.
6. You could take baby bath toys for fun.
7. Also, carry a nappy bag and changing mat along.
8. Beware of the self-rescuing swimming programmes for babies. It could be quite misleading, and there could be a false sense of security about babies in the pools.
9. Never leave a baby unattended in a pool. Parental or coach supervision is a must. Supervision, in fact, is non-negotiable.
10. The area around the pool will be watery, and since your baby will also be as slippery as marble, you will have to handle him with care while coming out of the pool.
11. Make sure there are changing tables that can hold your baby securely.
12. Even the best-maintained pools can harbor germs, because chlorine does not kill them instantly. Don’t go by the sparkling waters. Also, remember that swimming pools could harbor baby poop – quite the germ carrier! This is one way that public pools could be dangerous to a baby’s tiny body. In fact, a report by the NSW Government Health Department states that toddlers’ pools have been found to be associated with outbreaks of infections and most pools have been found to contain high counts of thermotolerant coliforms – most of which are poop-germs.
13. Parents will have concerns about drown-proofing their baby, which is understandable. But classes for babies are aimed at familiarizing babies with water, and instructors put various drown-proof measures in place.
14. Many experts believe that beginning swimming lessons for babies under six months is not a good idea because the baby is not physically or developmentally ready yet. The immune system strengthens only after six months of age.
15. Don’t consider training your baby in the swimming pool so early on just because other babies are doing it. Stay away from the peer pressure. There is no rush.
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