Look for a safe, clean environment, warm water, smiling qualified instructors and small class sizes that promote positive educational experiences by providing a range of professionally presented activities and skills for children and parents. Choose the best program you can afford to invest in because a student only learns to swim once! High quality programs may cost more but small classes in warm water with caring teachers offer more value and are well worth a higher price!

Babies come from an aqueous environment in the womb so water should be part of their life from the day they are born. The bath (and shower) is a perfect place to begin a child’s aquatic journey and our classes help develop progressions for your home activities. Our very warm water temperature allows us to start classes for babies from 6 weeks of age and both parents are welcome to attend class. Baby’s umbilical cord must be healed before any pool sessions begin. There are many benefits to starting aquatics classes early – babies relax and sleep very well after exercising in the water and their aquatic skills naturally develop whilst parents can extend their knowledge and practical experience plus meet some new friends!

Definitely yes…but parents must have proper instruction before submerging a baby. The WABC recommends that when first learning breath control, submersions must be brief (one to three seconds) and few in number (less than six per class). Once the child can consistently initiate the submersions and can demonstrate competent breath control, submersions can become longer and more frequent. Children should never be forced underwater – we follow their cues and always respect them! We recognize parents are the ‘experts’ of their children and are a wonderful resource in helping us teach children to love and respect water and enjoy their aquatic experience!

Water conducts heat 25 times faster than air meaning a submerged body can absorb or lose heat quickly. The smaller the body, the greater the heat loss. Also, a baby’s thermoregulatory system is underdeveloped so pool temperature is critical for baby’s comfort, safety and for maximizing learning progress. After class, babies should be washed and dressed as quickly as possible. Parents can keep well hydrated and restore Ph levels quickly by showering in cooler water and drinking cold-temperature water after their time in the pool.

Always come to class 10 minutes early to allow children time to settle in before class starts. Everyone must shower before entering the pool and older children should go to the toilet prior to their class. Children under three years must wear ‘swimming’ nappies to minimize the spread of body wastes into the water and help carefully maintain water purity. Swimwear (tops and bottoms) should be worn over swim nappies. Children over three years should have anti-fog goggles and wear a swim cap. Parents should wear a t-shirt or sun shirt over their swimming togs - choose what feels comfortable because you will be constantly moving!

Children have a short attention span - the World Aquatic Babies and Children Network (WABC) recommends a maximum time length of 30 minutes for beginning/young students, especially when submersions occur. Small class numbers mean the children (and parents) work at a more intense pace and complete more activities at a faster rate and therefore swimming times will sometimes be shorter than the 30 minutes (depending on your class and child’s age). The start of class is particularly important for teaching new skills and revising previously learnt skills. Children will feel tired after class so try to schedule some down-time or a sleep after swimming. Children will often need to drink or eat more after class.