Babies

For students between the age of 3 months and 3 years, we offer group lessons or what we call, Tadpole Groups. These are activity based lessons that run to a CD of familiar songs and nursery rhymes. Skills worked on include blowing bubbles, submerging and back floating.

Course details

All tadpole courses are run at our St. George's location in Ferry Reach Each group consists of up to 10 Moms/Dads and babies. Morning, afternoon and evening courses are available.

Schedule for 2009

Swimming is now finished for 2008. If you are a new client and haven't previously sent your details to Swimming Instinct, please also include the information requested on the home page.

Benefits of swimming

There are many reasons to enroll your baby into swimming lessons. These are the main ones:

• To provide a safe and positive environment for a child’s first water based experiences
• To develop motor-skills linked to swimming
• To develop skills that might help them in a survival situation

Baby swimming lessons will not make your child safe around the water. Often the child will gain confidence and develop a love of the water which can make him more of a danger to himself around the water. Parents must be even more cautious when your child is around water.

There are other non-water related benefits as well. Swimming can also help to:

• Stimulate appetite
• Encourage good-quality naps and sleep
• Improve balance and co-ordination
• Develop neck and back muscles used during tummy-time
• Introduce rolling

Click here to view a 3-minute video clip of a tadpole lesson. All of the students in this video are between two and three years old. These babies are all in their second or third year of swimming lessons.

Private groups

There are pre-allotted courses available to arrange a private group for yourself and up to nine friends. Time allotments are limited for private groups, so book early to avoid disappointment. For more details, please click here.

Newborns

After leaving the womb, babies quickly forget the sensation of being in liquid, but with a few lessons, you, the parent, can learn how to help your child retain that memory and continue to feel safe and comfortable in the water. The minimum requirements for swimming lessons are that your baby’s umbilical chord has completely healed and that you have had approval from his/her pediatrician. For more details, please click here.

Top: An 8-month old tadpole comfortably submerges under the water. Bottom: A tadpole group enjoys the Hokey Pokey. To see more pictures of what goes on in a Tadpole lesson, click here.