Puddle Ducks
Swimming is a lovely way to spend time with your baby and has many benefits for you both. Babies have a natural affinity with water and love the freedom it gives them. Having spent months floating in the womb, they recognise water as a safe, warm and supportive environment. Baby swimming also provides massage, exercise and an all-round sensory experience.
Babies can go swimming from birth onwards; you don’t need to wait until they have had their injections. Going to baby swimming lessons gives parents support and structure that can help them relax and enjoy their time in the water with baby.
The teaching style, content and activities, quality of the teaching and learning environment (pool) can vary greatly between different swimming schools. So it’s important to take time to find a class that gives you the experience you want. For example do you just want water familiarity or are you looking for a more progressive approach? Do you want the class to be relaxed and fun, or more formal and regimented?
Good baby swimming teachers are trained and experienced to understand the needs of both parents and babies, and should also be qualified in lifesaving and resuscitation skills. They should be happy to answer all your questions on this.
It’s a good idea to go and visit your chosen swimming pool and see what it’s like before signing up to a block of classes. Check you’re happy with the pool temperature, the changing rooms, the facilities and cleanliness of the learning environment. If possible, ask to meet the teachers too.
Specialist baby swimming classes tend to follow a clear and progressive structure. They usually involve some underwater swimming for your baby. However, the emphasis should be on parents and babies having fun. No baby should be forced to do anything against his or her wishes.
The best baby swimming classes are full of carefully designed but simple activities and gentle submersions. We also believe that children learn best when learning is associated with music and rhymes. Our classes are packed full of songs, which provide gentle stimulation and are an effective way to communicate with your baby. Repetition is fun, reassuring and promotes learning.
Puddle Ducks has been running baby and toddler swimming classes in South Leeds, Wakefield and Barnsley for over ten years.
We employ a child-led approach to swimming. The focus is on getting babies and children to be comfortable and confident in the water. As being underwater is a key part of a child’s swimming journey, we have worked with Birthlight and the Swimming Teachers’ Association (STA) on the best and safest way to submerge children so they feel empowered and never forced. Our policy is that the child decides.
Children love copying their parents. We see babies from as young as eight weeks copy their parents by putting their mouths and faces in the water – the first step in swimming head down. They initiate the activity when they are ready and it’s no surprise that this leads to independent swimming sooner than adult-led activities. Our classes are designed to create opportunities for elective submersions. But we always use a signal, listen and look for any negative reactions.
Our classes are split into ‘Baby and Pre-school’ (for 0-4-year olds) and Swim Academy (for 4-10-year olds). The Baby and Pre-school classes are further broken down into age groups:
One of the key benefits of our child-led approach is that children can join at any time and with any ability level. Class activities are tailored to individuals to ensure everyone can progress and feel confident.
We hope this has been helpful. If you’d like to find out more about Puddle Ducks classes in South Leeds and Wakefield, click here for all the info and contact details.
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