Swimmers… from the cradle, infants and toddlers learn to swim
playing with the help of their parents under the guidance of specialists
coaches. Baby swimming has started to gain ground in the
Greece. It is becoming fashionable steadily and gradually. The benefits for children are
important: they relax, calm down, get stronger, socialize,
they are entertained, become more independent, smarter and bond
more with their parents.
It is Wednesday afternoon, November 22. The indoor swimming pool in
The Olympic Stadium is bustling with activity. Children young and old fill the
swimming pools, adults, men and women, coming and going on the sides.
Some sit in the stands, others accompany the children and others
are getting ready to go diving, swimming or playing polo. The
rays bring images from the Olympic Games to life and contradict
the image of desolation and abandonment that dominates the exterior of the
vast but always impressive facilities of the OAKA. An image
contrary to what unfolds inside a glass dome, which
This is also located in the indoor swimming pool in a corner behind the
There, a line of Lilliputian swimmers “splash” with
with the help of her parents and under the orders of specialization
coach, in an extremely small pool.
All of them participate in the swimming program for infants and toddlers aged six months.
up to three and a half years old. It is a program that had begun to be
increasingly popular in Greece and requires children and parents to
They swim together, at least for those under two and a half years old.
There, in the small pool, swimming is combined with play. They testify to this
Scattered in every corner are balls in the shapes of Mickey, Winnie,
and Spiderman, but also the naughty sounds from the happy kindergartens
voices. Suddenly interrupted by loud cheers. “Bravo, bravo,
"Bravo!" shout the five adults and the coach, who are standing
at that time in the pool. Little Danae, the recipient of the cheers,
Souravla, one of the five Lilliputian athletes in the baby class
swimming that is taking place at that time. Danae is only eighteen
months and successfully performed a dive. She herself seems to have no
understands exactly what is happening and comes out of the water blinking
her eyes are constantly rolling. She is constantly rolling her eyes. She is constantly rolling
startled and immediately hooks onto the neck of the adult who is holding her
accompanies her to the pool. In this case, it is her uncle
Harry Filis. After a few seconds, the tiny swimmer
clings to him and starts smiling. "Danae started swimming
six months old. She likes it, she reacts with joy every time we get ready to
"Let's come to class," says her uncle, who is accompanying her this time.
time as her mother is pregnant. “Here she relaxes. It’s a
activity that contributes to the physical and psychological development of
children”, says Mr. Filis. Similar enthusiasm is shown by the
their grandmother and grandfather, who come together twice a day
week to help mainly with dressing before and after the half-hour
lesson. “It’s the best thing for young children. To learn swimming from
early. We struggled to teach our children how to swim,” says the
Danae's grandmother.
An important motivation for participating in baby swimming programs is
relaxation and the calmness that the little ones feel, especially after the lesson.
This is what happens with little Lydia, who “relaxes and calms down during
"during the half-hour lesson," Siouros' father tells us
Harakakos. “Every time we come she feels very happy, especially after
lesson". It started in October, as her parents want "her daughter to learn
short swim for safety reasons in the sea, but also to
"She's getting used to the water." But her father is also better after the
his daughter's lesson, despite the pressure he feels to catch up.
"I just have time to get her dressed and leave the house for class."
But in the end I relax and exercise myself,” she says. Lydia,
who is two and a half years old, has singled out her favorite exercise. “Pass
"She wraps the "pasta" around her chest and kicks her legs," she says with
pride of her military father. She and the “little horse” are
two of the favorite exercises of most toddlers, but also two
of the basic movements that lead them to the acquisition of knowledge
swimming. Participation in the program causes pleasant feelings in the
Maria Panagiotou, mother of Giannakis, who is twenty-one months old and
has been swimming since she was ten months old. “We both feel beautiful in the
water”, says Ms. Panayiotou, referring to one of its benefits
program.
"Learning to swim in infants and toddlers supports the overall
their development and has a positive effect on motor, muscular and neuropsychic
their development”, observes Margarita Kontzia, Physical Education teacher
with a major in swimming and a master's degree in
Baby Swimming. “Infants who have attended physical activity programs
in the water, they have developed a greater variety of movements and positive
emotional behavior".
What is baby swimming?
What exactly is baby swimming or swimming for infants and toddlers?
Hellenistic? It is a program for learning and developing basic
swimming skills in the form of a game. In the program
parents with their infants, aged six months to
three and a half years, under the supervision of a qualified instructor and in special
a shaped pool with warm water at a low height. Baby swimming programs are designed to help infants become familiar with the water and develop confidence in it through their participation in safe and enjoyable activities in the pool.
As Ms. Kontzia, who is responsible for the baby program, says
swimming run by the sports club “HYDRIA” at OAKA,
“Scientific research has shown that through play,
exploration and encouragement these activities can
lead to learning basic swimming movements and skills,
as infants, when under water, perform
reflex swimming movements and reflex holding of
breathing from the first months of their life”. If the reflexes
These movements that infants perform at six months are cultivated
correct, voluntary swimming movements can be made from the eleventh
month and lead, through the appropriate stimuli and the correct
guidance, in learning to swim independently from the age of
sixteen months. Baby swimming programs have started since
1960s in America, while in Europe they began to spread
later, in the 1970s and 1980s. They are particularly popular in
Germany and Finland. They made their appearance in Greece just before
for a few years and only in the last two years have they begun to acquire
fans. “Especially this year the increase is leaps and bounds,” observes the professor
Physical Education Theodoros Vasilatos, who “runs” baby programs
swimming as a freelancer in three municipal swimming pools of
Attica. “I estimate that in five years all swimming pools will include
in their swimming programs for infants and toddlers”.
Why should I throw the baby into the water?
What are the benefits of bathing infants and toddlers? According to
experts, the programs primarily benefit the physical health of the
children. “Their cardiorespiratory system improves, their muscles become stronger
their muscles, the immune system is strengthened and prevention is achieved
posture problems, such as scoliosis,” observes Mr. Vasilatos.
Furthermore, according to Ms. Kontzia, “their sleep becomes more
pleasant and calm, since water regulates their muscle tone and
creates a sense of relaxation”. In favor of bathing infants and
infants, the assistant professor of Pediatric Pulmonology at the
University of Crete and director of the Athens Hospital “Elpis”, Mr.
Haris Katsardis: “Children learn to swim from a young age”
they exercise, they socialize. Swimming is a very good sport, as long as
be done by the right hands". In fact, Mr. Katsardis supports that the
Swimming is the most recommended sport even for asthmatics
children. Swimming also benefits the mental health of infants and toddlers. “With
swimming helps children become more adaptable to stimuli,
courage and a higher degree of self-confidence and independence”
says Ms. Kontzia. “Water is magical,” she argues from the side
Mr. Vasilatos said. “Children are entertained, they acquire social skills
relationships, their personality is stimulated and they learn to love
swimming”. Little Vagia Eleni confirms the opinions of the experts.
Even though she is only two years old, she enters the pool alone, without the
her parents, but always under the protection of her coach.
It even demonstrates exceptional comfort in all exercises and
toys in the water. He seems to fully understand the commands
of the coach and responds immediately. She is possibly affected
from her brother Yiannis, who, having done the baby program
swimming, has switched to another, more appropriate for his age.
In fact, little Vagia feels so good in the water that
refuses to get out of the pool at the end of the half-hour lesson. “I will
"You have to go out so we can come back," her grandmother Maria Eleni reminds her.
The benefits of baby swimming are even greater. "The participation of
parents strengthens the godfather-child relationship, while through contact with
other infants develop the child's personality, sociability
but also his intelligence”, says Ms. Kontzia. Her opinion
confirms from experience the mother of twenty-two-month-old Ariadne, who
prefers to remain anonymous. “Although I am tired after the
work, it relaxes me that the child is happy. Her swimming
It is good for her motor and nervous system. It makes her more
social, happier,” says her mother, who knows firsthand
the benefits of swimming since she herself swims systematically. “Every time
when we leave the house and I tell her we're going to go "plitz-platz",
starts laughing". The people themselves also benefit immensely
parents. “Toddler swimming is a great school for parents,”
supports Mr. Vasilatos. “The parent, through joint activity,
discovers his child. At the same time, he follows the correct educational
a process that requires no pressure. Swimming requires patience and
persistence. Because that's the only way children of this age can learn
swimming. We don't push them. We wait". That's why he himself
We organize special seminars for parents, which are held
“co-coaches” of their children, and they need to know what
what they should do and what to avoid during training.
In most cases, young athletes are accompanied in the water
from their mother. But some parents share the experience. This
What happens with the twenty-eight-month-old Zoe, who just started in September,
as “last year we couldn’t find a place,” observes her mother Viki Alafaki. “The
"Contact with water is carefree and relaxing," says her mother.
The waiting list for the baby swimming program held at OAKA,
but also the lack of such programs in a large number of swimming pools
are one of the problems that parents face. The mother,
for example, little Ariadne had applied last year
December to finally start just a month and a half ago. "My
They said I have to wait and for the child to be accepted, to tell them
I harass you by phone constantly and systematically. I have been doing this since the beginning of
summer,” says her mother, “until I get a positive answer.” The
The existence of a waiting list at OAKA shows that more is needed
programs in more pools to meet demand”,
supports Haris Filis, uncle of little Danae. The parents
also refer to the lack of adequate facilities, which
increases the fatigue of the whole process, as her mother states
Danais Delavaya, who turns one these days. But the mother
Areti Georgiou's overlooks fatigue, as "exercise makes her
good”, he says. Besides, Danae's cousin, one-year-old Marios-
Konstantinos Delavogias, participates in the same program.
Both Ms. Kontzia and Mr. Vasilatos argue that there is no
no risk in baby swimming programs. The pools comply with all
safety standards and learning takes place with the participation of
parents. At the same time as learning to swim, learning also takes place
some lifesaving skills for both children and parents
for accident prevention.
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In recent years, infant and toddler swimming lessons, or baby swimming, have conquered young and old, each for their own reasons. And if you want to know the origins of this activity, we will tell you that baby swimming began in Germany in 1970 and is based on the philosophy that swimming in warm water is familiar to young children, as it resembles the state experienced by the fetus in the "aquatic environment" of the mother's womb.
Therefore, holding their breath to take long dives in the water is a reaction that occurs instinctively, at least until the 6th month. In fact, we were told that there are children who learned to swim before they could even walk. Then, the entire learning process takes place in a playful atmosphere, with the mother or father actively participating, since they are with the baby in the pool, and in essence, he is the one who carries out the teacher's instructions, directing the baby as well.
However, experts emphasize to parents that they should not attribute a competitive nature to swimming lessons for babies. They should not compare their children's performance with that of other children who attend the same program. Each child has their own learning pace and should not be oppressed. What is needed here is for parents to have patience, enthusiasm and interest in this activity and to continue it (after all, it depends on them). The results that each little one will soon produce will certainly make parents proud.
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