baby swimming | splash about | swim wear for kids

If you live in Yorkshire or North Derbyshire you can register your interest in our courses on line. Alternatively you can contact the office to discuss details of our new outreach courses for babies and toddlers. If you are looking for similar weekly classes near you please visit our useful links page for other companies around the UK.

Once you have registered an interest you will be contacted within a few days to confirm details and place your baby on our waiting list for the next available course. Courses are usually between 9 and 12 weeks long with breaks for holidays throughout the year. We will contact you several weeks prior to the start of the next available course to arrange your booking.

Please make sure you have read and understood the terms and conditions of booking before you enroll on a course. Also do read all of this section which contains important practical information for when you attend your sessions.

What age can my baby start swimming ?
Babies can start Flippers classes from 4 weeks of age and ideally before they are 18 months, it is really about when you feel comfortable to bring them along. Courses do however run in terms of about 10 weeks and we do operate a waiting list so it is best to register early to make sure you can get a place when you need it.

What can I do at home ?
Before you come on the course and particularly during the first term we would recommend that your practice basic splash and floating exercise at home in the bath.

Do I need to be able to swim to attend courses with my baby?
No, all our lessons are in shallow water where an adult can easily stand and walk.

What other benefits are there?
As well as water confidence and safety, your baby will benefit from the strength, co-ordination and cardiovascular exercises. Sessions also encourage language skills and a strong bond between parent and child develops, helping baby to relax whilst stimulating the senses in a variety of ways.

Our classes are great fun for parents too and can be a good way to meet like minded friends, lots of our groups meet up away from the sessions too.

Feeding
Try to feed the baby 1-2 hours before each lesson. Do not worry if you need to feed them earlier – milk feeds nearer to a lesson are not usually a problem. Please note that your baby may need an extra feed AFTER a lesson as they have burnt up a lot of energy during the swimming session.

What should my baby wear?
Babies and toddlers attending our course must always wear two aqua nappies whilst swimming: a disposable swim nappy (such as huggies, together with a Happy Nappy on top. The Happy Nappy has been specifically designed for baby swimming programmes such as ours whereas other swimming nappies can leak due to failing to fit snugly enough around baby’s legs.

Your teacher will check that your nappy is correctly fitted. We would also recommend that you bring a spare disposable swim nappy (just in case).

DESCRIPTION	AGE	WEIGHT	PRICE
Extra-small	0 - 3 Months	Under 4.5kg Under 10lbs	£10.00
Small	3 - 6 Months	4.5 - 6kg 10 - 14lbs	£10.00
Medium	6 - 12 Months	6 - 11kg 14 - 25lbs	£10.00
Large swimmer	12 - 18 Months	11 - 18kg 25 - 40lbs	£10.00
Extra-large swimmer	18 - 24 Months	18 - 23kg 40 - 51lbs	£10.00

You can pre-order your nappy when you make your booking or visit www.splishsplashsplosh for next day delivery.

Please do note that even when toddlers are potty trained we will require them to wear a swim nappy at the pool up to the age of 4 years. We do understand that many children are potty trained younger than this age however we have experienced several instances with older potty trained children having accidents at the pool. Any passing of solids into the water can mean that the pool has to be closed and all classes cancelled for that day, it is a condition of our contract with all our venues that we do not let this happen.

The correct use of swim nappies is a health and safety issue and we are now contractually bound to ensure that any baby or toddler who is not wearing a suitable nappy is refused entry to the pool.

All of the pools we use for babies are heated to a minimum of 32 degrees. However if your baby still seems to be feeling cold you may want to consider using a baby wetsuit. These are also essential when taking small babies and young toddlers to cooler pools, most Local Authority pools will only be heated to 29.5 degrees and on holiday you may find the pools are very chilly.

Lesson times and changing
Our classes do start promptly so please allow adequate time for your journey and to change yourself and your baby. This is particularly important for your first visit when you will also need to fit your baby’s nappy too.

All of the pools we use are small, private facilities and are hired on the basis of their warm pool temperature and good water quality. This does however mean that the communal areas and changing facilities are small. Please do come to classes as pre-prepared as possible. Each venue has slightly different changing facilities but we do recommend that you bring your own change mat and change baby on the floor as this is the safest and most hygienic method.

Immunisations
The current immunisation programme does not affect a baby's opportunity to go swimming and it is NOT a precursor to a baby joining a swimming class. For further advice, please visit www.immunisations.org.uk.

Health and Safety
Upon making a booking you will be required to complete a registration form. This will ask you to agree to our standard terms and conditions of booking (link) and also require you to provide medical information and emergency contact details. If your baby does have a medical condition please do check with your doctorbefore booking.

What if my baby cries?
All babies cry for various reasons; tired, hungry, teething etc. Your teacher is experienced and can talk you through any problems and adjust your programme accordingly – it may be that you just need a change in class time to better suit your baby's routine.