Parent & Tot (Infant) Swim Lessons: A Complete Guide

Overview

Parents and children participate in the class together. It is appropriate for all children at least 6 months old and up to 3 years old. The Parent and Tot class is designed to introduce parents and infants to swimming in a fun, loving, and caring environment. We stress play, repetition, and teaching parents how to hold their baby or toddler to get the most out of their time in the water.

Lessons are taught in shallow water where parents can stand comfortably while supporting and holding their child.

Play games, sing songs, and do independent activities to build familiarity, set expectations to allay fear, and build rapport with other families and instructors.

Quick Test Criteria

Age: Are the swimmers between 6 months and 3 years old?

Testable Skills

1. Water comfort
2. Supported front glides
3. Supported back glides
4. Scooping
5. Games, songs, splashing

Why These Skills in Parent & Tot?

The main goal of the parent-taught class is to introduce the water to both infant and parent. We know that most time parents spend in the water with their children is at public pools during open swim. Providing opportunities for instruction and guided play is a wonderful way to help teach parents how to make the most of their time in the water outside of lessons. This way, parents and children can be prepared for the more advanced swimming in Guppies and Level 1.

One of the major goals for this class is to provide water comfort to the infant. We do that by setting expectations with consistent structure. Generally, we follow the same progression of skills using a repeatable lesson plan so that infants and younger swimmers are not overwhelmed by new and different experiences every time they encounter the pool.

We also begin introducing supported front and back glides, with an emphasis on teaching parents how to hold their child correctly. We provide multiple opportunities through different games and activities for parents to practice this with their child. It is important to note that we are not looking for excellent form or precise control. Instead, we look for general body motion, exposure to being held horizontally in the water, and suggesting that the child put their face in.

Scooping means bringing a child underwater so they become familiar with the feeling and begin to understand the concept of holding their breath. We do this in a progressive, slow, and loving manner, without fear or excessive dunking. If a child is wailing and screaming, we are doing something wrong. There can be brief bursts of fear, but over time those should lessen significantly if we follow the appropriate scooping progression.

Finally, the majority of our time in this class is spent on games, songs, and interacting with the water so that swimmers intuitively understand that pushing against the water has a reaction. Songs are played on a speaker or projected along with videos so that infants and parents can follow along, sing, and do activities in the water that promote excitement, joy, and learning.

Main Activities

1. Games! Songs! Play!
2. Putting your face in the water
3. Throw a toy and get it
4. Jumps
5. Playing with floating toys
6. Pouring water toys like buckets and moving water wheels
7. Floating mats
8. Group activities (songs)
9. Back glides
10. Front glides
11. Kissing the water
12. Movement
13. Water comfort: spending time in the water while having fun with a loved one