At 9 weeks it is Daddy’s turn to take Evie for her bath time swimming lesson. It is natural that one parent will be more nervous than the other when taking the baby in the bath. In our family Evie’s Daddy is more tentative so I am there to talk him through it.
When encouraging your partner it’s important to talk them calmly and constructively. Try not to be too critical or negative with your feedback as they need to feel good about their participation.
To help relax the more nervous parent, I think it’s important for them to observe the bath time routine before becoming hands on. Then once they are comfortable and with support from their partner they should be encouraged to conduct the lesson.
In our house we try to make bath time a real family affair so Mark has been observing the swimming lessons since birth. Even so, physically handling baby in the bath can be really tricky especially when it’s not practiced regularly.
Furthermore each person will differ in the way that they will feel comfortable handling the child. So be flexible and try a number of different ways.
Conditioning may make some parents quite nervous. If so don’t hurry into it just wait until you are confident. Simply focus on relaxing and floating with your baby. The most important thing to remember is that bath time should be a fun and positive experience for both parent and child.