We run baby and toddler class from aged 6 months to 3 years. All of these classes require a parent or caregiver in the water. There are many proven benefits of starting swimming in the early years including bonding with mum/dad, develop movement and strength due to being able to move more freely in the water, improved motor skills, develops learning skills and teaches water safety. The classes are 30mins long and the focus is on learning the fundamental swimming skills through fun activities and nursery rhyme songs, creating maximum enjoyment for the children. Whilst wanting to extend the children and help create 'safer' swimmers we also want to create a positive association with the water at this early developmental stage. We group our classes according to age so that the children are generally at similar developmental levels and able to physically participate in the activities during class.

The skills we work on with the children are detailed below:
 

Parent & Child 6-12 Months   Self rescue with parent support Submersions using physical & verbal cues Back floating with parent support Parent assisted kicking Parent assisted monkey walking Parent assisted paddling
Parent & Child 12-24 Months   Self rescue with minimal parent support Submersions without verbal cue with intro to pop up breathing Backfloating with only head support Equipment assisted kicking Blowing bubbles Independent monkey walking
Parent & Child 24-36 Months   Self rescue unassisted Submerge and release with pop up breathing Independent backfloating Equipment assisted kicking Development of child readiness for preschool classes Independent monkey walking with turn and push off