Now that Evie is 7 weeks old, she has started to kick and splash in the bath showing her pleasure and excitement. I was very excited to get this footage. I really felt that it was during this week that Evie made some great progress with her swimming.
Unfortunately this lesson did not demonstrate what I had hoped. I do however feel, that this video is very useful to demonstrate to parents that bath time swimming lessons do not always run smoothly.
Important things to remember
- Don’t force the baby when they are showing signs of discomfort
- React calmly and reassure your baby that all is well
- Change the baby’s body position to help them relax Place feet at the bottom of the bath or support them on their tummy.
- Critique your conditioning If you pour the water too slowly the baby is more likely to drink the water. Try to aim for the top of the forehead so the water runs smoothly over the face,
Parents don’t be disheartened if you have an unsuccessful bath time swimming lesson. If you’re not comfortable performing conditioning then don’t worry. Concentrate on floating activities and simply maintaining your baby’s affinity with the water. Once you are comfortable interacting with your baby then work towards conditioning.