Top tips for swimming with children.

Swimming is something I have always thought to be a really important skill for a child to learn, after all it can save their life! 

I have taken both my children from young babies and James absolutely loves being in the water now (in fact we can't get him out most of the time!). I know that taking a young baby swimming on your own can be quite a daunting experience so I have shared below some of our top tips and advice for swimming with your child and building water confidence. 

- Get your children used to the water at home first in the bath. Encourage them to splash about and make being in the water fun, sing songs and play games. This will help build up your child's confidence in water in a relaxed environment in their own home. 

- Attending swimming lessons can really help build children's confidence in the water and not only that but they can really help build up your confidence when taking your child swimming on your own. The instructors at these lessons will often teach you lots of helpful hints and tips on keeping safe in the water and encouraging your baby to enjoy the water more and more. 

- The first couple of times you take your baby/ child swimming don't expect to be in the pool long. Being in the pool (especially if its a little busy) can be quite overwhelming for small babies and children and often quite tiring. When we first started taking James we found around 20 minutes was plenty of time in the pool, we gradually increased that time and now at 5 I think he would stay in the pool all day if he could!

- Using a buoyancy aid can also help your child gain confidence in the water. We found the SwimFin to be the perfect buoyancy aid as it kept the child in the optimal swimming position and only offers the amount of support your child requires. It is also shaped like a shark fit and so children will love wearing it and as they bound around the pool they are gaining confidence and often learning basic swimming skills such as reaching with their arms and kicking their feet to move faster. 

- Take a towel or if you have one a hooded poncho style towel to the pool with you and leave it pool side (somewhere it will remain dry). As I am sure you have noticed when you get out of the pool its REALLY cold, babies especially will really feel this so having a towel to hand when you get out will mean they stay warm until you get them dressed.

- My biggest top tip would be to stay relaxed and calm, enjoy the experience and bonding time with your child. Have lots of fun and remember your baby will pick up on your mood so lots of smiles and encouragement whilst in the water will mean they will feel more happy and relaxed to be there. All children will develop and learn in there own time and confidence will come over time so just stick with it.

Do you have any top tips for swimming with babies or children?

xXx

This post was written in collaboration with our SwimFin review.