Water Babies - North East London in London

Babies have a real affinity with water, and because they’ve spent 9 months floating in the womb, being in warm water feels much more familiar to them than being on dry land. However, this early confidence usually diminishes with time, and can even turn to fear. That’s one of the main reasons why we believe in starting them young. But we never swim a baby against their wishes, and we always incorporate lots of bonding, fun and socialising, so you can be sure that a Water Baby is a happy baby.

As well as being really good fun and energetic, structured lessons are a wonderfully sociable activity, and classmates often become friends and a real source of support.

The Water Babies course teaches using voice commands and learning to respond to these is excellent for your baby’s mental development. Despite looking gentle, the lessons provide your baby with a complete physical workout. Studies have shown that participating babies have improved sleeping and eating patterns – a definite bonus!

Start as soon as you like …

You can begin your Water Babies journey at the start of any term — and the earlier, the better! Our youngest-ever Water Baby was just 2 days old (aaah!). In their first year, a baby’s brain grows more rapidly than at any other time, so it makes sense to start early and maximise their exposure to learning experiences in a variety of environments. And what’s more, NHS guidelines say babies don’t need to have had their vaccinations before they can swim.

…and just carry on

Our Water Babies progress seamlessly through our programme, having great fun while all the time building their confidence and independence in the water. Most of our toddlers can swim short distances by around the age of 2, and have mastered vital skills including how to turn around and hold on and, where possible, how to clamber out. All of this is a great source of pride for you and them (and us!), and offers fantastic safety skills should they ever fall into water. However, children lack the strength and co-ordination to swim properly until they’re 3 or 4: their little bodies just aren’t proportioned for swimming on the surface — so they won’t be learning front crawl just yet.

‘Finally, we’re the only swimming company to have won six national awards in the last five years. Reflecting the fact that we’re really good at what we do.’