When to start baby swimming classes

If someone had told me a year ago that Baby Girl would become obsessed with swimming and love playing in water, I wouldn’t have believed them. At that time, she was regularly crying in the pool and I was dreading the times I had to take her to swimming lessons when Daddy T was away.

But now it’s a different story. Swimming seems to be her very favourite activity, so this weekend we’ve taken 20-month old Baby Girl to the swimming pool in family club Purple Dragon (see picture of the pool above) several times. I’ve been ready with the camera on the side, and Daddy T has been in the water to catch her when she’s jumped in on her own!

The crying at the very beginning was worth it considering everything she’s learnt about safety in the water and how much fun she’s had in the process. She started weekly lessons when she was four and a half months old, and we’ve never stopped–apart from during school holidays. Looking back, I would potentially have waited a little bit longer because I was worried and it probably rubbed off on her.

Still, it didn’t take us many months before Baby Girl started loving going to swimming classes with Daddy T–I stopped sitting on the side shouting instructions! And I’m sure the two of them will continue until she’s turned three and can go without a parent.

Go Baby Girl!

Swimming Rocks runs swimming classes at Purple Dragon in Chelsea for members, and they also have classes in other locations in London.

Read more about introducing baby to swimming and water on the New Baby Company blog HERE.