The baby's first contact with water

The baby's first contact with water must be special for him and his parents. They are the only ones who can give you the security and confidence you need to adapt to a new environment that, on the other hand, is familiar to you. Cruz Lobo Sanz, monitor of Children's Aquatic Education and Activity of

Baby's first contact with water

How should the baby's first contact with water occur?
The first contact with water must be through play because the babies do not yet understand what we are going to do. We can not tell a baby to go to work because everything in his life is play. With the intervention of the father or the mother, teaching them is easier. It is very important that parents mess with them in the pool, because babies do not know you at first and you have to have the support of parents. In addition, parents should be taught so that when they go to the beach or the pool they can continue practicing dives, jumps ... and avoid, often, sudden movements that are not recommended for children of these ages. In the water, everything must be smooth and calm, with a lot of relaxation, tranquility, patience and safety in the parents.

What is the best way to put the child in the water, wetting it little by little or plunging it all at once?
When we begin, we take them, we embrace them gently, with their mother next to them and we introduce them little by little by pouring water on them. If the child does not cry, we put the material directly to him, and if he cries that day we act differently, we do not give him material, we will play and he will familiarize himself, without hurry. The risk we run is that the child starts to fear the water on the first day. Therefore, contact with water should be made little by little, with pampering, sweet words and games.
Do babies older than one year have any advantages when it comes to becoming familiar with water?
We give them the same material, although their progress is faster because they are older because they know how to walk and move their arms. A baby with 5 months, apart from the fact that it acquires the fetal position always with the little legs in the chest, it will cost more to stretch. On the other hand, those of 17 months already know how to walk and their progress is faster. However, it always depends a lot on the child and the parents.

What do we have to do to earn the trust of babies?
For parents to trust you, it is important to see that you are prepared. The main thing is that the child is calm. It is normal that, at the beginning, they cry because everything is new, the material, the water, the monitor, even, sometimes, there is a lot of noise. Little by little, we are putting the baby in the water, while we play with him. Afterwards, the father leaves it to you so that he knows you and has confidence in you. At first, you do the exercises and then you teach the parents how to do them.
What should we keep in mind when doing the dives to the baby?
The first dives should be done by us. Then, we can teach them to parents. There are times when they swallow a little water, it is normal, but the more dives are done, not always on the same day, the more they learn. Normally there are three or four dives a day, depending also a little on the child, and only one, if you have swallowed water and you begin to complain, because we do not want to take mania to dives. The technique we use to prevent them from diving is to blow them a little in the face first. So they prepare instinctively. Dives are very important for survival in the water. If the baby is ready for a dive, he will close the glottis alone and will not swallow water.
Marisol New