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Baby swimming is a program for learning basic swimming skills, in the form of a game.

The program involves infants aged 6 months to 3.5 years with their parents, under the guidance of a specialized instructor, in a specially designed pool with warm water, at a temperature of around 32 ºC and with a shallow water depth.

Swimming in warm water is reminiscent of the natural environment of the womb and is familiar to young infants.

Swimming pleasantly motivates the child and helps him develop motor skills, which are more difficult to master on land.

Balance exercises or grasping small objects will accelerate the development of gross and fine motor skills. Infant swimming also helps premature babies to reach developmental milestones faster, while of course therapeutic swimming is used for children with diagnosed motor and neurological difficulties.

Exercising in warm water creates a feeling of relaxation in the infant, which in turn contributes to the faster onset and improvement of sleep. Swimming helps parents spend quality time with their baby and strengthens their relationship with the infant.

But what should parents pay attention to?

• The cleanliness of the swimming pool and the disinfection of the pool. The chlorine used to clean the pool water, combined with poor ventilation and nitrate products from the urine of swimmers, creates chlorine byproducts (chloramines), harmful to the airways of the lungs in children under two years of age. Therefore, ozone should be used additionally to reduce the amount of chlorine needed (ozone alone is not enough).
• There should be enough water games
• The coach-student ratio should not exceed 1:6
• Infants should wear a special waterproof diaper during swimming.
• The duration of swimming should not be too long.
• If they have symptoms of infection, they should not participate in the program.
• If they experience wheezing, an exacerbation of atopic dermatitis or recurrent ear infections, their participation in the program should be reconsidered.
• They should be adequately supervised to avoid excessive water ingestion. If the infant swallows a large amount of water, contact your pediatrician, as this can cause water intoxication, hyponatremia, and convulsions.

Enjoy the lesson, but always keep in mind that the infant needs constant monitoring and you must be vigilant.