Some days they are full of energy and others they need plenty of sleep. Parents and teachers should be aware of this and plan swimming lessons and practice accordingly. Here, we discuss when should you stop swimming with your baby and dry off.
Babies are little individuals
Once a baby is tired and has had enough, it is time to stop swimming and hop out of the pool. This may not be at the end of the lesson: very young babies may not be able to make it to the end of each lesson – tiredness, hunger or a sense of being overwhelmed can contribute to ending the swimming experience.
Signs that a baby has had enough and should stop swimming:
- Rubbing eyes or excessive blinking
- Grumbling or crying for no reason
- Lack of attention
If you can read baby’s body language, you can provide a high quality and positive swimming experience. This will produce a good learning environment with happy and positive swimmers and parents.
Swim Schools should encourage parents to:
- Choose an appropriate time to swim, e.g. not during nap time or feeding time
- Arrive early, before the lesson starts, to ensure that there is a calm and relaxed setting. A rushed parent can become a stressed parent
- Try to relax, because babies read their parent’s body language, therefore, if the parent is nervous, or stressed, the baby will be too
- Hold the baby softly, and let them feel buoyancy. Once baby experiences floating they become more relaxed in the water
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