Baby swimming courses |float suits | kids swimming aids

The Swim Babes course is primarily designed to use baby’s natural affinity to water, and where appropriate their early gag reflex, to introduce them to water confidence and safety from an early age. Babies can join the swim babes programme from 6 weeks up to 18 months of age.
All courses are based on baby’s and children’s developmental needs—physically and psychologically. Groups are kept small to provide a calm environment and teaching is geared to individual needs. Click here to see our Booking Terms and Conditions.

History
The course has been developed based on initiatives from Australia and the US where the issue of water safety has been at the forefront for many years. The courses developed here are immensely popular for both the skills they provide and the enormous social and physical benefits that are derived. Most of our teachers have undertaken the advanced birthlight training programme which has a strong emphasis on the overall well being of baby and parent with links to baby massage and yoga.

How Taught
Courses are on average 10 weeks long but may vary slightly depending on how they fall between major holiday periods such as Christmas and Easter. Classes are either 25 minutes or half an hour each long, depending on your chosen venue, each week with babies entering the water under the supervision of a parent or carer (dads and grandparents welcome) and, of course, your teacher.

All babies begin on a Preliminary One course which introduces the ‘play, train, play’ program. Babies then progress at their own pace through Preliminary Two (building on basic skills); Intermediate (introducing skills such as turning and swimming to hold on); and Advanced (breath holding and greater water confidence skills).

There are 5 levels from prelim 1 to swim school. Groups for 25 minute sessions are no larger than 6 and in our half hour sessions can be up to 10, with parent. Teaching is based on word associations and repetition, the instructor provides demonstrations for new skills and the level of the skill is built up through the course and levels.

Your Teacher
Your teacher has been specially trained to teach these classes and has passed pool tests and written examinations to qualify. All of our teachers have current pool lifesaving certificates and several of our teachers have completed the Birthlight advanced training programme. All instructors are ASA or STA qualified and hold the National Pool Lifeguard qualification or NARS Certificate. It is our policy to ensure all staff hold current Life Saving qualifications and have current first aid certificates for dealing with babies and children.

Progression
The journey to good swimming takes a lot of practice and patience. Every child will achieve the goals in their own time and should not be rushed or forced into activities they are not ready for. The course is not competitive and our teachers believe that the child’s confidence is only developed through allowing them to develop at their own pace – maintaining their enjoyment throughout the programme.
The key to development at this early stage is repetition – reinforcing verbal instructions and ensuring longer term awareness of water safety and confidence.

Most babies will make the move from Prelim 1 to Prelim 2 and from Prelim 2 to Intermediate upon the completion of the full course. Once at intermediate there are several skills to be mastered before a baby / toddler can graduate to the advanced stage. These include being able to perform a 180 degree turn, execution of a long free swim and swim to hold on. Toddlers in the advanced lessons develop a range of skills and must be competent at swim and breath exercises before they can progress. In swim school we encourage the development of skills to a level where the parent is no longer in the pool with the child and they can swim a full width unaided.

Clearly the age that a child can attain each level will vary from child to child and will depend on the age that they started their swim babes programme.

Will my baby learn to swim on his/her own?
Our classes are small and are held in warm pools. Getting children in the pool early means that by the time they are four they may have learnt to doggy paddle and might even have mastered some basic strokes. At the earliest stage they learn lifesaving skills including floating, turning and swimming to hold on. Through continuous development on the course they may be able to swim 5m unaided by the age of 3 years.

Awards and Course Booklets
When you enroll on a Swim Babes Course you receive a course booklet that sets out general information on the programme and has all of the levels of achievement with a space for you to insert the silk ribbon awards that your baby will achieve at completion of each level. This is an excellent momento of your baby’s early swimming with Swim Babes.

Why Teach My Baby To Swim ?

Philosophy
Our philosophy is to ensure safety and water confidence in the water, encouraging parents to fully utilise the benefits and enjoyment that they can have swimming with their children – whether at classes, on holiday or trips to the pool.

Water confidence and the ability to swim from a young age is certainly a gift for life - opening the door for you to enjoy a wide range of water based activities from diving to sailing.

We believe that introducing to water from an early age helps them avoid the traumatic experience that older children sometimes suffer around water. More importantly we believe that babies who learn key life saving skills from an early age, many of whom can swim by as young as 2 years old, while not drown proof have a much greater regard for water and are safer around it.

Benefits
Babies have a natural affinity with the water. They become totally liberated as water is a free environment for them.
We all have an inborn “gag reflex” but it is generally strongest in babies up to 6 months old, this enables them to hold their breath underwater naturally and provides a gentle introduction to submersion. They also have primitive swimming stroke actions up to 6 months of age and can propel themselves through the water. Swim Babes builds upon babies natural reflexes to enable your baby to be completely happy moving in and through the water.

Introducing babies to swimming aids and improves babies and children’s development – physical, intelligence, language, emotional and social.

Physical
• Strength is built through muscle development from an active lifestyle swimming which can aid early walking
• Co-ordination and associated motor skills are also improved through regular exercise
• A weekly swim provides a good workout and improves the cardio-vascular system – heart & lungs

Intelligence
• Weekly classes maintain development – using building blocks of development and progressive practices.
• Classes are structured to ensure babies are constantly & continuously stimulated.

Language
• Language development can be also be improved via swimming. Babies are constantly interacting with their carer / mother throughout the sessions.
• The teacher also provides a verbal stimulus through teaching.
• Babies are also copying other babies & children.

Emotional
• Water is a natural environment for a baby. Babies feel safe and secure within this environment.
• Weekly swimming is a very special time for a baby and mother and further develops the maternal bond.
• Many mums state that that their baby's sleeping & feeding can improve.
• Starting to swim early can avoid traumatic experiences that some children go through when learning to swim. It familiarises children with deep water and gives them the confidence to swim below the water level.

Social
• During our lessons babies interact with adults and other babies & children.
• Mothers & carers also interact and socialise.
• These unique swimming sessions can develop a special relationship, which are looked forward to each week.
• Flippers lessons are FUN. Classes use lots of games and nursery rhymes. They perform and integral part of all the lessons and Flippers Swim School actively encourages learning through play.

Little Flippers Course Details

Little Flippers offer water confidence classes for toddlers from 2 to 5 years of age. These courses have a strong focus on water safety as well as general confidence and are designed to teach parents key exercises that will enable their child to swim confidently at an early age without the use of floatation aids. Groups are kept small to provide a calm environment and teaching is geared to individual needs.

We offer weekly term based courses, similar to our baby swim programme. These are most suited for younger, pre-school children as they are held on weekday mornings and limited afternoon slots. A course booklet will be provided for the parent to assess a wide range of skills between courses with the child and then stickers and awards will be given at the next course.

The programme will ensure your child is competent at a range of skills initially including jumping in, rotation, floating, kicking with floats and climbing out. The course then develops through and to complete the course your child will be able to show a range of skills and basic stoke development techniques including blowing bubbles, submersion, moving freely around the pool using a bar or edge, good kick action, arm action and confident free floating. On completion of the programme your child will be able to swim up to 5 meters independently on their front and back, many children have achieved this by as young as 3 and 4 years of age.

Courses are on average 10 weeks long but may vary slightly depending on how they fall between major holiday periods such as Christmas and Easter. Classes are either 25 minutes or half an hour each long, depending on your chosen venue, each week with babies entering the water under the supervision of a parent or carer (dads and grandparents welcome) and, of course, your teacher.

Your Teacher

Your teacher has been specially trained to teach these classes and has passed pool tests and written examinations to qualify. All of our teachers have current pool lifesaving certificates and several of our teachers have completed the Birthlight advanced training programme. All instructors are ASA or STA qualified and hold the National Pool Lifeguard qualification or NARS Certificate. It is our policy to ensure all staff hold current Life Saving qualifications and have current first aid certificates for dealing with babies and children.

Progression

The journey to good swimming takes a lot of practice and patience. Every child will achieve the goals in their own time and should not be rushed or forced into activities they are not ready for. The course is not competitive and our teachers believe that the child’s confidence is only developed through allowing them to develop at their own pace – maintaining their enjoyment throughout the programme.