Baby & You

NEWS! Recent updates from the NHS. It is safe to take your baby swimming from birth!

View the article here

Our Baby and You classes are available for babies from birth up to 2 1/2 yrs.

The art of learning to swim can be one of the most precious bonding events you and your baby will experience.

Building the unique element of complete trust in a potentially life threatening environment,  you are given the chance not only to install confidence in your child but also teach them how to safely enjoy the benefits of all water based activities.

You are opening a whole new world of possibilities to your child, not to mention stimulating their motor skills together with establishing their physical strength, social and emotional development.

Here at First Strokes our teachers are able to re assure parents and train them to develop safe practises and life skills to their babies.

We are unique in that we cover all aspects of water safety in and around the water including basic first aid within our Baby and You classes.

Babies are born with a natural ability to hold their breath in the water and they are more at home in a water environment then on land (not really a surprise as they have been floating around in water for 9 months).

We work with the ‘Ready Go’ System, which is a type of progressive pre warned submersion. This works by repetition of water to the face in four stages enabling babies to control their breathing in the case of submersion and also assisting them in turning to return to safety.

The class also covers correct body alinement and the feeling of buoyancy with and without aids.  This in turn ensures that a baby can feel confident in the water whilst being held or as they progress in buoyancy aids encouraging them to be independent as soon as possible.