When Can a Baby go Swimming?
Many parents ask themselves the question, ”How young can a baby go swimming?” and this is a very valid question in our opinion. In Australia, the ability to swim is a life skill and we firmly believe that every child should have the opportunity to learn how to feel safe and confident in the water. Learning how to swim with Mum or Dad is a great way for a child to have fun and bond with their parents. It provides the young child with exercise and it’s a brilliant way to strengthen those gross motor skills. Children who start swimming earlier in life tend to have greater confidence compared to those who start in elementary school.
Start Healthy Habits Early
With the rise in the use of electronic devices in the home, it’s also vital to give your children access to a range of interests in order to have a healthy and balanced start to life. In a poll from the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne it was found that by the time children hit their teens, they are spending up to an average of 44 hours a week on screens, including mobile phones1. In other research from 2016 by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, children between the ages of four and five were averaging two hours of screentime per weekday. When it comes to computer games, 25% of six-year-olds spent at least one hour a day playing; a figure that rose to 53% by the age of 11 years old2. Clearly this makes for concerning reading, but instilling exercise into a child’s daily or weekly routine from a young age can help to counteract the temptation of screens.
So How Young Can a Baby go Swimming?
At JUMP! we offer baby swimming classes starting at 3 months for wannabe water babies. Our swim school pools are calm, soothing environments, where the water is heated to a comfortable temperature. This is important as no one enjoys being forced to stay in cold water for a lengthy period, and the warm water can mimic the experience of being cocooned in the womb, which can be very soothing for the child. Beginning classes at three months can give your baby a head start on all those developmental phases such as learning to walk, gross and fine motor skills, coordination and so on, as they will have built muscle groups and awareness of what their growing body can do. Our swimming babies programs are suitable for children from 3 months to three years old, and have the benefit of a carefully designed curriculum, so that parents can feel reassured that they are “doing it right” when it comes to their baby’s first experiences of swimming.
We also offer a teacher-led Independent Swimmers Program and a Stroke Development Program to take children onto the next step of their swimming journey. Who knows maybe this will be the starting steps of a new Olympic champion? The main goal for JUMP! however, is that every child feels confident and safe in the water and most of all, has a great time. We believe every baby can be a water baby!
Get in touch with us to learn more about our programs and how to book.