Community› The Bump Message Boards› Babies: 9 - 12 Months
Babies: 9 - 12 Months
New Discussion

10 month old swimming?

Snow1010Snow1010 member
in Babies: 9 - 12 Months

Our LO has always loved baths and we took her to the pool for the first time this weekend.  She LOVED it!  All smiles and splashing.  The first day she loved looking around at everyone and was very content.

Day 2 at the pool, she wanted out of our arms!  She's always on the move and hates to be contained so she kept trying to crawl out of our arms. 

I know many people do swim lessons and that is an option.  But what can we do with her on our own?  Reading online, the info is all over the place.   Some recommend dunking your baby and putting on water wings so they can move on their own.  Other's say the complete opposite.

Any recommendations for a baby that loves the pool but doesn't want to be constantly held?

Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
Report Reply to Post

Re: 10 month old swimming?

  • dannie2011dannie2011 member

    We got something like this https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Spring-Float-Activity-Center/dp/B003BGXLUQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1338255441&sr=8-3 for Alexis, she loves it. I am still trying to figure the swimming on her own bit myself, so this works well for her cause she can kick and play in the water.


    Baby Birthday Ticker Tickerimage

      


    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • stephdruskinisstephdruskinis

    As a former lifeguard and college swimmer...DO NOT use water wings on your child!!  I cannot tell you how many saves I had where parents put those orange wings on their kids, the kid swims around for awhile, then suddenly the wings slip down to elbows or wrists, and the rest of the child is left dangling underwater.  They're one of the leading causes of drowning (or used to be, when I worked at the pool in the early 2000s) in young children, because the parents start to trust them too much.  The best floatation for an infant is the styrofoam belt that straps around their shoulders and tummy because there isn't a way it can slip off.  As they get stronger, you can teach them to use the barbell, kickboard, etc.- but not until a bit older than our LOs are now.

    I used to teach parent/tot lessons, too.  The best thing for your baby to start learning now is to blow bubbles in water, and to stay near the edge of the pool.  Always keep the styrofoam belt on.  Teach LO how to hang on to the gutter, and if really brave and good at blowing bubbles, put face in while hanging on.  Once they get the hang of that, you can start with the barbell.  We used to sing songs, and at certain points in the song (like "POP goes the weasel), dip baby backwards into the water so the backs of their heads got wet, but not face first or underwater.  

    Report Reply
  • AmandaP678AmandaP678 member
    imagestephdruskinis:

    As a former lifeguard and college swimmer...DO NOT use water wings on your child!!  I cannot tell you how many saves I had where parents put those orange wings on their kids, the kid swims around for awhile, then suddenly the wings slip down to elbows or wrists, and the rest of the child is left dangling underwater.  They're one of the leading causes of drowning (or used to be, when I worked at the pool in the early 2000s) in young children, because the parents start to trust them too much.  The best floatation for an infant is the styrofoam belt that straps around their shoulders and tummy because there isn't a way it can slip off.  As they get stronger, you can teach them to use the barbell, kickboard, etc.- but not until a bit older than our LOs are now.

    I used to teach parent/tot lessons, too.  The best thing for your baby to start learning now is to blow bubbles in water, and to stay near the edge of the pool.  Always keep the styrofoam belt on.  Teach LO how to hang on to the gutter, and if really brave and good at blowing bubbles, put face in while hanging on.  Once they get the hang of that, you can start with the barbell.  We used to sing songs, and at certain points in the song (like "POP goes the weasel), dip baby backwards into the water so the backs of their heads got wet, but not face first or underwater.  

    Im not a life guard but an avid swimmer and agree with all that.

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • ladylisaltladylisalt member
    This is great info. Glad I read this post. Curious, do 11 mos. old' s typically grasp the concept of holding on? You also mention blowing bubbles and this might sound dumb, but how does that go over when they are in a chlorine filled pool ?
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker

    <a href="http://www.thebump.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Parenting Advice"><img src="http://global.thebump.com/tickers/tt1b80a2.aspx" alt=" Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker" border="0"  /></a>
    Report Reply
  • desdemona39desdemona39
    We use this vest on occasion, but usually just hold her. It can't slip off, and as she gets more experienced, we can remove some of the buoyancy pads.
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Image and video hosting by TinyPic Picture114b Image and video hosting by TinyPic
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"