How to Teach a Child to Swim with Konfidence

I started swimming with Grace when she was very small and then, for various reasons, we had to stop. If it hadn’t of been for Konfidence asking us to be baby swimologist ambassadors, I don’t think I would’ve ever started with Rex. It is no secret that I am not a big swimming pool lover (yuck, those foot baths!) so, if they hadn’t have given me a push and our first term of lessons then I certainly wouldn’t have gone.

How to Teach a Child to Swim with Water Babies

The week before last saw us completing a full term of swimming lessons with Water Babies, courtesy of Konfidence.
Rex is the eldest and least experienced in the class. It has been tricky starting behind but we have persevered and, despite continuous colds and coughs and Rex’s reluctance to still go under water, we aren’t giving up and have booked another term.

It has helped me to remember just how important learning swimming skills early on is. Water Babies teach small children important skills in a fun way. We regularly sing the songs from class to help him remember. He loves the ‘monkey, monkey, monkey’ to help him to remember to hold onto the edge amongst other things.

That last Thursday was probably the trickiest lesson to date. I had to wake Rex up from a sleep in the car to go in and, whilst at first he was OK, once we were in the pool he kept crying. Thankfully, Jessie, our instructor, handed him a fish to play with and try and take his mind off things. We decided not to take him under on this occasion though. I also cancelled the underwater photography session we had planned.

How to teach a child to swim in other locations

I have taken him swimming a couple of times outside class and I realise how important it is to keep that up. Thankfully we had 5 days at Center Parcs last week. A place where the rest of the family all love the swimming pool. This certainly gave Rex the chance to get lots of regular practice in a short space of time and help see how much fun the water is. He was much keener by the end of our holiday.

The next term begins this week but, prior to that, going to our local pool will give us something to do during the day and will help maintain the skills Rex has already learned. I have also found that swimming has brought us much closer together and given us a bond we wouldn’t have had otherwise. For that, I am more than prepared to put my feelings about swimming aside!

I know that this is only the start of Rex’s swimming journey and I’m looking forward to seeing how he progresses. Thanks to Konfidence.

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