Look who's swimming... a baby pool!

Look who's swimming...in the baby pool! Toddlers in their (wet) element

To make a long dive in the baby pool, you need a good breath and two hugs: from the teacher and from mom or dad. However, 12-month-old Konstantina seems to be doing just fine on her own!

BABYBLOOM

Swimmers from six months to three and a half years old wear impressive swimsuit diapers, coaches give commands like "boat" and "dolphins", and enthusiastic parents come and go in and out of the baby pool! They are all the protagonists of "baby swimming", which is now being taught to hundreds of babies in our country.

By Eleni Xenaki

Photos: Les Meyers

Article from BIMAGAZINO

Baby Swimming is a joy not only for babies and toddlers but also for parents, who also find an opportunity for psychological and physical relaxation and socialization. Moms are in the pool, while dads watch from the glass.

Konstantina dives and gives the camera an “underwater” smile. Her grandmother is proud, the nanny is waiting for her with a towel in her hand, her mother will dive with her next time… Konstantina is only 12 months old! She learned to swim before she could even walk. She had her first lesson when she was eight months old, last winter, in her mother’s arms. Now she willingly lets go of the hugs and does the “long dive” that takes the breath away for the uninitiated, staying under the water for a second or two. And immediately after that, she emerges and the laughter that echoes! Her grandmother rewards her. “I wasn’t afraid for a moment for my granddaughter,” she says proudly.

In the same pool, Thodoris and Giannis, each about a year old, 19-month-old Giorgos and two-year-old Pavlos – the “oldest” of the group – make underwater passages from their mothers’ arms to that of their teacher. Melina, nine months old, is diving today with her dad. Her mother waves “hi” to her. “Her father and I work all day. We wanted to find an activity that we could all do together. Baby swimming is ideal because it also involves physical contact between parent and child.” The swimming pool becomes the “purgatory” of working and busy parents. After a day of baby swimming, a mother can say not only that “today I did something useful for my child,” but also that “today I did something useful with my child.”

"Water, a familiar environment for infants, activates the senses and provides them with a great opportunity to discover that they can largely manage their movements. In the water, they perform spontaneous and autonomous movements, something that would be impossible in any other case," says swimming champion Margarita Kontzia.

Baby swimming became fashionable. And as is the case with most trends, it also started in the United States. It was in the 1960s that Americans "threw" their babies into swimming pools and began to write hundreds of studies about their behavior in the water. In fact, the books of the "guru" of baby swimming, Virginia Hunt Newman, still sell tens of thousands of copies today. Not by chance, as learning to swim at such ages has everything a parent wants from an "out-of-home" activity. Recreation - a safe environment, social contact, physical exercise and familiarity with the liquid element.

It is noteworthy that in Greece, swimming education is disproportionately small in relation to… its coastline. In fact, a sailor takes his two-year-old son to the swimming pool for this very reason. As he emphasizes, "a toddler familiar with water has a lower chance of drowning." However, under no circumstances should a child swim without the supervision of his parents, pediatricians add.

What other reasons does anyone have?

to send or, better yet, to go with his child to baby swimming lessons, in addition to the fact that "he sleeps and eats better" in the words of an observant mother. These programs help the general development of children and have a positive effect on their motor, muscular and neuropsychic development, while children who are involved in learning to swim from a very young age acquire adaptability to stimuli, courage and a high degree of self-confidence and independence. Also, the way of learning, initially with parents and always with other children in the pool, strengthens their personality - some even complement their intelligence - and stimulates their sociability. "We suggest to parents whose children have social difficulties or are only children or who experience the absence of a parent due to divorce or death, that they include them in some activities," says child psychiatrist Popi Detoraki.

Yes, but is the pool clean?

And if he gets a fungus? Will he get sick more easily? And most importantly: what if he drowns? These are the most common concerns of mothers. Drowning is what an adult fears the most. Infants at the age of six months perform reflex swimming movements and instinctive breath holding. Due to the reflex movement of the epiglottis, they can hold their breath underwater without swallowing. These instinctive movements, through appropriate stimuli and proper guidance, can lead to learning to swim independently from the age of 16 months. Of course, it is never too late for children to start, gaining significant benefits.

But what should a parent pay attention to?

so that he only receives the benefits of the activity? The purity of the water, which must be certified by frequent laboratory tests. Ozone cleaning is considered friendlier to children. Also pay attention to the safety conditions in the pool (lifesaving equipment, etc.), the scientific specialization of the teaching staff and the existence of safety personnel (doctors, lifeguards). And of course, follow the now clichéd instruction for swimmers of all ages. At least three hours have passed since lunch.

We take a final look at the junior swimmers. Through breaststroke and crawl samples, they satisfy their own need for joy and many of their parents' dreams.

“Are you saying my child has a talent for swimming?” I find myself thinking as I fill out an application. And although the American Academy of Pediatrics is very clear when it says that “infant aquatic physical education programs provide recreation but are not intended to teach children how to become accomplished swimmers,” I know in my heart that champions are born: with a little talent and a lot of (parental) willpower.

*According to research in Finland – the Scandinavian countries are considered pioneers in baby swimming – babies who take swimming lessons are slower to crawl, but walk earlier than other babies*

*Since there is no inherent fear of water, toddlers who do baby swimming maintain in their subconscious the equation: water = joy. The sense of security is guaranteed by the presence of the mother and the teacher.*

*The socialization between toddler swimmers is one of the benefits of baby swimming. *

*Through its mother's embrace, this baby becomes completely familiar with the water element.*