I'm curious if anyone has done swim classes with their kids as babies, and what your experiences were. My local pool offers classes for 6 months and up, its really the kid and parent in a group splashing around in the water, singing and playing games, getting your child used to water.<br><br>Obviously from posting this it is something my wife and I are considering enrolling in, was curious to see if anyone had some first hand knowledge of something like this.

Ironically, this is a subject I'm I am familiar with since we just started new classes with our son a few weeks ago.<br>We started taking our son by ourselves (no classes) to the YMCA when he was 8-9 months old. He did great & loved the pool.<br><br>Now that's he's 20 months old, he all of a sudden decided he hated being in the water (go figure) & we decided it was time to take some classes. For the past few Saturdays we have taken a class at a local gym targeted at toddlers. He was really miserable the first class, but in the last 10 mins started actually warming up to it & having some fun. We even got him to dunk himself under water.<br><br>This past Saturday, he went in with no complaints & did fantastic. He actually learned to crawl out of the pool (hanging on to the bar on the side) & then WAITED (huge deal) for mommy & daddy to come back before he was allowed to get back into the pool. (The instructor had us turn our backs while she watched him). It was so amazing to know that this was a 1st step in re-assuring us that he might learn how to be safer around the pool. I can't wait until this Saturday.<br><br>Here is what we have learned from him & others:<br>1. Start them young! The earlier they get used to the water, the earlier you can teach them about safety.<br>2. Find an instructor that has a real class Itinerary. The 1st girl who taught the class was terrible. She basically stood there while we all just played in the pool for 1/2 an hour. The 2nd instructor actually showed us some really great ideas & taught the kids some new things.<br>3. You may want to start in a warm indoor pool so that the cold water isn't such a shock to the baby.<br>4. Bring rubber duckies, boats, etc. for him to play with. I think once Tyler saw the toys, he forgot all about being scared.<br>5. Don't do anything you are not comfortable with, no matter what the instructor says. It's your child & you will always know best. But, don't be afraid of trying something new. Kids will amaze you at what they're capable of at such a young age!<br><br>Good luck & have a great time. We really enjoy our time in the water with him.

Great information thank you very much!

My husband and I did this with our second and third child. We didn't do it with our first and regretted it. At two, with our first, we decided to get him interested in swimming and he was terrified.<br><br>Splashing around may seem a little silly, but it does get them used to the water and they can at least learn a little about holding their breath if they get their face in it. The classes are a fun way to spend time with the kiddo one-on-one, too.<br><br>A word of advice: skip the disposable swim diapers and go for a reusable. They are MUCH better at holding on to waste. Go for one that fits snuggly on the upper thigh and around the waist. You will appreciate it AND other community pool swimmers will, too

My daughter squeals with delight and kicks her legs like a rabbit as soon as she realizes that our car is turning in to the pool parking lot (she is 1.5). We are thrilled whenever we find an activity that makes our daughter squeal with delight. So, yeah, it's definitely worth a try!<br><br>The other athletic activity that we've tried is the indoor gym. There is a place called Kids In Motion near our house. It's basically a giant warehouse full of really cool playground equipment, giant inflatable slides, bouncy castles, trains, etc... She goes absolutely nuts whenever we pull in to that parking lot as well. I can heartily recommend that athletic activity also.

My wife taught one of these classes for 2 years. Most kids loved it and it was a great bonding time for parents and helped them get adapted to the water.<br>She also said that you either need two parents there (one in water and one out) or leave the other kids at home, for safety reasons. It also ups the chances of early on ear infections (or so Im told).

This is great, really looking forward to this now. We'll be signing up for the classes that start in a month from now.<br><br>Unfortunately my wife gets off work after the class starts, but that will make it a father son bonding time activity. My wife was slightly disappointed in that, but is still excited about the idea.