With the summer holidays coming to an end, we hope you have enjoyed lots of watery fun with your little ones and are inspired to take the next step and enrol into professional baby and toddler swimming lessons this Autumn. This is when choosing the right baby and toddler swimming lessons is super-important.

For us, getting young children into aquatic activities from an early age and helping them develop this lifelong activity is a key priority.  And, an important part of this, is that we want to make sure our little Turtles are confident and safe in and around the water.

Plus, there are so many physical, emotional, mental, psychological, and cognitive benefits to taking your baby swimming. All the things we teach your baby in the water are structured to align with their key development milestones.  Its fun too, and provides a great bonding experience.

So, with thoughts turning to the new swimming term in September, what should you look for when deciding on baby and pre-school lessons?

Highest teaching standards

First and foremost, when choosing a swim school, it is important that babies are taught by professionally trained instructors. They should be emphatic, dedicated and supportive to both babies, toddlers and their parent or carer.

We are proud to say that our teachers are trained to the highest standards possible in baby swimming with the Swimming Teachers’ Association or Swim England. All hold a lifesaving and rescue qualification.  In addition, they have all completed our rigorous Turtle Tots training, and all passionate about teaching swimming – and fitness to expectant to mums through our aqua natal lessons.

Safety

Safety is our priority, and every member of the Turtle Tots team holds a current DBS check and has completed a Safeguarding Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults course.  Each Turtle Tots business is also doubly insured because each teacher holds personal liability insurance and the Turtle Tots business has public liability insurance.

Specialist teaching programmes

Our award-winning lessons are truly child-centred and are structured to help them to develop physically, emotionally, intellectually and socially, while equipping them with key safety and safe holds skills in the water.

At every step, our little turtles are nurtured and in order to create positive experiences, activities are adapted to meet their individual needs. Plus, they are rewarded at every stage with our cute range of awards.

Importantly, by the time your little one has confidently reached the end of our proven awards programme, they will have been taught all the separate techniques and practices necessary for independent swimming.

Other things to check:

• Check the water temperature at your pool. The water and air temperature will need to be higher for babies than for general swimming – at least 30°C (or 32°C for babies 3 months or younger) with air temperature being 1°C above the temperature of the water.
• Check the depth of the water. It is important that the water is shallow enough that you are able to stand comfortably to support your baby effectively.
• Check that there are baby changing facilities, and make sure they are suitable for both you and your baby. You will also need somewhere safe to place baby while you get changed.
• Check the times of lessons to make sure they suit you and your baby’s routine.
• Check what other parents say – you can see some of our reviews here.

If your chosen swim school ticks all the aforementioned points (which all Turtles Tots lessons do!), it’s time to get ready for the new term this September, and on a previous blog post we put a list together of all the baby swimming essentials you’ll need.

To find your local Turtle Tots baby and toddler swimming lessons, please use our ‘find a lesson’ search facility which is featured on the home page https://www.turtletots.com/  Here you will find our venues, days and times of lessons and contact details.

Once you have chosen the right baby and toddler swimming lessons, make sure you all have fun, and enjoy the experience with your baby.