baby and me swim classes.. worth it?

[LiLStar]

I was looking at swim classes for my 3 year old and at the exact same time as the one I'd sign her up for, there's a baby and me class. The price is reasonable, $29 for 8 classes.. but I wonder.. is there any point to baby and me swim classes? ds will be about a year old. Has anyone ever done it? Did you like it? What on earth do you do in a baby "Swim class"? It does seem a bit more appealing to be in the water with my little guy rather than having him squirm and fuss on the pool deck with nothing to do while we watch/wait!

[j_p_i]

I haven't personally done it, but my mom did it with me when I was about 6 months old and still talks about how much she loved it, and said the babies seemed to really enjoy it. I think it was a lot of just floating the babies through the water and playing, but that was nearly 30 years ago so things might be a little different now. If I could find a class around here I would do it for sure!

[hotharmony]

I am currently doing my second round of baby and me swim classes at our local YMCA the first time we did it when my LO was about 6 months old and it was that good. He just wasn't that into it and we just played games in the water. This time he is 14 months old and he really likes and I like it a lot better too.

I would call where ever your thinking about taking classes and talk to them to find out what happens during class. I know that there is a class around here that really focuses on teaching even really small babies to swim they go under water they go down slides and they throw them in the water. But the class we have taken is just playing in the water for half an hour.

[tzs]

i do it with my 6 month old. just for something to do and yeah, it was cheap.
it's pretty funny. the older kids (a year or so) really get into it and the babes sort of chill, maybe splash a little. i think the instructor pretends or maybe she really thinks she is teaching them to swim...we do little floating and kicking exercises. but for us it's just entertainment on a tuesday night and a reason to get out.

i'd for sure go for it esp if you're already there!

[BirthKathy]

We took my son at 6 months, and he loved it. The class was songs and playing, all geared toward being comfortable in the water and learning early swim skills. Very worth it.

[Niblett]

Baby swim classes are great! Help them to be not scared of the water from a young age but mostly just a lot of fun. Singing, playing, splashing, a bit of dunking depending on the class. My ds is 8 months old and totally loves it. He can even hang on to the side of the pool by himself and loves splashing and getting his face wet etc...

Totally worth it

Niblett

[MsVyky]

I'm doing parent & Tot lessons with my 4 1/2 month old, and we love it. We sing songs, play with floating objects, explore buoyancy and try different floats and movement throughout the water. She really enjoys them, and it's wonderful time spent as a family (My husband comes too)

[reader18]

Originally Posted by LiLStar

It does seem a bit more appealing to be in the water with my little guy rather than having him squirm and fuss on the pool deck with nothing to do while we watch/wait!

I think this is the reason you should definitely do it! I had my kids in swimming lessons last summer. For one two week session, my just turned one year old took a class and the others we sat on the side and watched. It was much better to have something for us to be engaged in, she was much happier and I was much happier and it was fun too. In our class it was mostly games/songs and getting comfortable in the water. They encouraged you only to do as much as your babe was comfortable with in terms of dunking/floating.


So I say go for it! Especially at that price.

[verarae]

We love them-my DD is a natural in the water! When I swam when I was pregnant she'd kick and move so much and now at 8 months, she kicks and paddles and just seems to love it. Plus she takes a great nap afterward! We take them at the Y, too. It's mostly play but I did learn some water play ideas: we count to 3 before getting them in the water so they have some fair warning and today dunk them based on their cues. She also floated on a little board and liked that. My only problem, and it is not a big deal, is that they combined ages because of low enrollment so we have 7 months up to 2 years and the instructor is not great about multi-tasking so we spend a fair amount of time doing our own thing. But it is still a lot of fun!

[LiLStar]

Yay! Glad to hear good reviews. I'm pretty sure this is more of a "30 minutes of playing in the water" not learning actual skills beyond being comfortable in the water. I think I'll go for it

[Super~Single~Mama]

SO MUCH FUN!!! I haven't done it with my ds, but I taught some of these classes when I was lifeguarding and I loved it!! So did the baby/parent pairs!

[starling&diesel]

We loved it! I took DD at five months, and am taking her again next month when she will be 14 months. She's super confident in the water, and can go under, and loves the pool ... which is awesome for me, because I'm a total fish! And she's shaping up to be one too, which would be fantastic.

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

I always did this with DD while DS (3 1/2 years old) had his swim lesson. It was much less "teach baby how to swim" (which I don't think is possible, really) and much more "lets have fun and play in the water while waiting for big brother". Had it been OK to get in the water with her without a class at that point in the day I probably would have done that, but this was really the only option beyond trying to hold a sqirming baby on the pool deck, which wasn't fun for anyone. As long as you go into it as a fun activity with no other goal and are willing to quit if your child doesn't like it or is uncomfortable then it should be fine/fun. Think of it as playing in a big bathtub rather than "swim lessons".

[Aufilia]

Wow, that's a great price! I was just looking at our local pools and they're all around $50 for 6 classes. We did parent/tot swimming with DD several times. She enjoyed it alot.

[marsupial-mom]

I don't know if they're "worth it" but I've been looking forward to baby swim classes my whole life! My mom took me swimming as a baby and I grew to love the water. I think early swim classes are about making babies feel safe and comfortable in the pool so that when they're older they can focus on swimming instead of worrying.

[breezyleigh]

They are definitely worth it and that is an excellent rate. Our mom and baby classes only go up to 2. So far, with my 9 mo old daughter, they have been excellent at getting her socialized with other adults and children (my ex isolated us, so I am trying to make up for this), help to work on fine and gross motor skills (water makes doing them easier but harder at the same time), and language development, as they usually do little songs, dances, etc. Honestly, my lil monster absolutely loves them.

[trauerweidchen]

I was wondering about this too--you've all convinced me! I'll be searching out a class to take my 9 month old to in the next few months. I loved swimming lessons all through childhood, and I miss being in the water more; it'll be great for both of us.

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

I guess I'm going to be the lone voice of dissent. I think paying for a baby swim class is a waste of money. Playing with baby in the water is wonderful, but why does it need to be directed by a teacher? I've been taking DD into the water (usually bathtub with me) since 6 weeks old, and she can float on her belly and back (obviously with assistance), kick, make herself sink, splash around, and occasionally puts her face in. The kid loves water and has from the beginning. No need to pay someone money to teach her that.

[tzs]

we do it through our county's rec department. it's only 20-some bucks and since we don't have access to a pool (or air conditioning in the summer) it's well worth it just to float for a half hour a week.

[cheryllynn]

I am also looking into this. I am so glad you posted this. I will keep looking because all I've found in my neighborhood so far is 12 lessons for $220! I'm assuming you get all your lessons for $29 or $20, not $20 each?

Do you need to be a member of the Y for baby swim classes?

I would enjoy the time with baby for something new to do. I also think it would be good to get her used to (or remembering!) what it's like to be in water besides the tub.