We have previously spoken with one of the international baby swimming expert about the benefits of baby swimming and importance of having a qualified swim teacher to teach young teachers.

I’m really excited to once again, work with another two colleagues and baby swimming experts, Anitra Boszotta and Marion Falzeder from Austrian Baby swimming Association (ABA). They are learn-to-swim experts and baby and toddler specialists and help us to put this blog together. This blog is full of great insights and answers the most frequently baby and swimming questions for parents.

You Can Also Read this Blog in German

1) Why are swimming lessons important?

To be able to swim, it’s vital to learn this life skill.  The earlier someone learns to swim, the more confident and safe they will be in the water.  As a sport, swimming has many benefits for your health and wellbeing, and it is also a great form of exercise for people with restricted mobility.

2) Why are baby swimming lessons important?

Baby swimming (if taught by properly trained instructors), continues the natural life of the baby in water, and promotes the infant’s innate ability to move in water.  If taught by professionals, baby swimming builds the foundation for a child’s ability to swim at an early stage of their life, as well as developing safe behaviour in water.  The risk of drowning for children is greatly reduced for children who can float on their own by the age of 2 or 3.  Currently, toddlers between the age of 2 and 5 years of age are the most at risk of drowning worldwide.  The only sure way of preventing these deaths is to take babies swimming from a very early age.

Apart from this, baby swimming allows children to start learning swimming technique early on, because the basics, such as maintaining a good position in the water has already been established.  As a consequence, it helps babies develop both physically and mentally, and they can start to learn other sports successfully at an early age.

3) What’s the best age to start learning to swim?

As soon as a child has learned to float independently, and can cope with covering longer distances, you can start to teach them the “correct and professional” swimming techniques, the foundations of which will have already been established during their baby swimming lessons.

To be able to carry out instructions, children require a certain level of maturity and this is usually only possible from the age of four. However, before then children can still learn many elements of swimming through play.

4) When is the best time to start baby swimming lessons and why?

That depends on the water temperature and how sensitive the baby is to temperature changes.  You can introduce some initial baby swimming exercises in a warm bath with newborn babies. Professionally taught lessons can be useful from the age of 2.5 – 3 months.  After that point, for most infants, a water temperature of 32 degrees is sufficient.  In any case, it is best to start baby swimming before they are 6 or 7 months old.

5) How should children start to learn to swim?

If parents can spend time in the water with their babies or children, and can give them proper instructions (floating on their backs, going underwater and self-survival skills) then it’s possible for parents to take their children swimming.   However, that’s not usually the case in reality.  With competent guidance, and in the company of other like-minded people it is usually easier within a class environment.

6) What should be taught in baby and toddler swimming classes and why?

Lessons should be well-structured with the objective of developing a child’s independence and safety in the water.  To achieve this, a good instructor needs to be well trained.  The main objective is to feel at ease in the water, and this is true for everyone – for parents, babies, young children and teachers.  If this does not happen, then every lesson is pointless.  Babies feel most comfortable when their parents are happy.

The most difficult phase is right at the beginning, and it is sometimes impossible for children to relax in the water.  However, lots of games, songs and good instruction can encourage young children.

7) What do you think about dunking babies to teach water submersion?

Going underwater is part of swimming and should be taught early on, as long as babies and parents feel comfortable with this.

“Shock submersions” should be avoided in any case.

When a child can go underwater on its own, then their progress should be positively encouraged.  However, it is always important to respect the fact that some children do not enjoy going underwater.  In my experience, there are hardly any children who started baby swimming and who do not go under the water by the age of 4 at the latest – even if they didn’t want to do this for a long time.  This should be respected, and floating on their back should be employed as an alternative way of building confidence in the water.

8) Do you think anyone could teach baby and toddler swimming lessons? Why?

When starting swimming lessons, when babies are still very small, first and foremost you have to educate the parents.  Your competence and skills (both in the water and in building a rapport with babies and parents) will win the parents’ trust and from there, they will be able to guide and support their babies.  Therefore it is essential to have an understanding of how children develop.  You should be clear about what you want to accomplish in the water, and give the parents all of the information they need.

Establishing a good relationship with ‘new’ parents is especially important, so that both babies and parents feel at ease.  The older the children, the more important it is to build a relationship with each child themselves, in order to gain their trust.

A pre-requisite for a good baby and toddler swimming teacher is that they make the parents and children feel safe, and that they take parents’ worries and fears seriously, so that everyone feels comfortable in the water.

Of course, it is essential to know all about swimming techniques and everything this entails, because the fundamentals of technique can be learned in childhood.  However, a good baby/toddler swimming instructor does not have to be a professional swimmer!

The ABA qualification is specifically tailored for baby and toddler swimming, up to the age of 4 years old.  In Austria, there are other qualifications which cover teaching children over the age of 4, and an individual’s skills are more important for these.

The ABA training comprises, 75 practice hours in the water in 6 days of training which covers theory and practice.  Here basic skills, such as the holds for different levels, submersion, swimming aids are taught alongside a video analysis of the trainees.  We place a lot of value on teaching the right way to interact with parents, as well as an in-depth knowledge of how babies and children develop in the water.

9) Tell us about the history of ABA

24 years ago I (Anitra) started baby swimming with my son.  I used to spend every summer by a lake and it was extremely important to me that my son could learn to swim and be safe in the water.  I did our first lessons with a Polish baby swim teacher.  After that, I taught my son myself and at the age of 3 he was swimming independently in the lake.  As a PE teacher I regularly spent time in the pool at Eisenstadt and in October 1995 I held my first baby swimming course there.

In the years that followed, I developed a technique for using arm bands (Delphin swimming aids ), which meant that children between the ages of 24 – 36 months old, could swim on their own.  Due to the success of this, demand for classes grew.

10) When did baby swimming teachers start course and how is it now?

The first course for Austrian baby swimming instructors was led by Dr Ludmilla Rosengren from Sweden, here in Eisenstadt.  In 1999 I co-founded, the Austrian Baby Swimming Association. The goal was to roll out baby swimming across the whole of Austria, and to offer a higher-level qualification for baby swimming  teachers.  In 2000, we held the first training course.  Since then, our qualification has been regularly updated, and it is now available to all interested parties in Austria and in other countries.

The ABA now has almost 130 members and even more clubs that offer baby and toddler swimming throughout Austria.  At the end of March 2017, we will be holding our third baby and toddler swimming training and development conference. In 2011, Marion Falzeder replaced me as chair of the ABA.

11) What advice do you have for any parent about baby swimming?

Swimming is an essential life skill. Unfortunately still too great a number of children drown every year. Swimming can be also the first sporting activity that a baby or toddler can take part in.  Water activities build the foundation for swimming and other sports. Therefore, swimming is excellent for the health and well-being of children.

Plus, if children don’t love being in the water, must learn how to be comfortable in it. Also, it is safety! Deep water and where children can’t stand up for non-swimmers is a real hazard.  Parents must be mindful that they can teach their children themselves if only they are not anxious in water themselves.

In swimming lessons, children should have fun and learn through play alongside other similar age children.

12) What are the important skills for a baby swimming teacher?

We have already answered some of this question already.  The most important skill for any teacher is build a rapport with students and understand the development process.

If parents are present, they should also receive the correct guidance, in order to gain their trust.  The ‘psychology’ of the parents comes into play during lessons, which must be taught through play.  Swimming teachers who work with older children and adults must be able to give clear instructions in their classes. So no matter how good technically they are,  they must be able to communicate well with parents too.

See How Swimming Lessons Run in Austria by ABA Teachers.

With a big ‘Thank You’ to Anitra and Marion for sharing their expertise and wisdom with us. If you wish to learn more about Marjan Moosavi’s key takeaways 2015 ABA international baby swimming conference held in 2015- not to be missed by swimming teachers.

Book baby swimming & toddler swim lessons with Blue Wave.

Anitra Boszotta’s Bio:

Anitra completed her degree in PE & Sport Science from the University of Vienna in 1984 and she taught PE for 15 years. In 1992, Anitra received her baby swimming training from one of the gurus of baby swimming, Dr Ludmilla Rosengren (Sweden). Anitra then set up the Austrian Baby Swimming Association (ABA) in 1999 and has been teaching babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers ever since. Anitra runs the Eisenstaedter Babyswim Association (EBA) which offers swimming lessons to children aged 0-6 years old in Eisenstadt in Austria. Anitra has trained almost 200 new baby swimming teachers who teach countries like Austria, Germany, Hungry, Sweden, Israel and France.

Marion Falzeder’s Bio:

Marion has been teaching swimming for 20 years. Her swim school, Nessie – Waterfun Society, in Linz (Austria) has been offering swimming lessons for babies, toddlers, children and adults for 16 years. She has an MA in sociology and she is a qualified cranio-sacral-practitioner. Marion has completed her training in Somatic experiencing to use psychobiological method to resolve trauma symptoms. Anxious swimmers work with her to relieve stress. She has presented at baby swimming conferences in Austria and Germany.