Baby Exercise - Suggestion 1: Swimming Lesson 1

Although some of the posts on this site focus on how you can exercise with your baby, this post is targeted towards your baby exercising with you.

During the summer months, there are a lot of classes offered for children. One in particular that I have just started is swim class. My son is 8 months old and loves water. So, this is a great opportunity to see how much he loves it.

For the first class / lesson, here are some exercises + tips - but definitely consult a local swim instructor and have them accompany you when conducting these activities to ensure the safety of your baby:

1) "Wheels on the Bus": In a 3 foot pool, you can kneel / squat down and place your baby on your knee(s) so that their head is sticking out of the water. Hold on to both of your baby's hands, separately, and:

• Wheels - Round and Round - Move the hands in a circular / forward / freestyle stroke motion.
• Wipers - Swish, Swish, Swish - Move the hands side to side, as if you were waving goodbye to someone with both hands.
• Parents - Shh, Shh, Shh - Move the hands, one at a time, towards the face in the 'shh' motion.
• Horn - Beep, Beep, Beep - Splash the hands in the water.

2) "Back Stroke": Place your baby's head on your left shoulder. Place your left hand on their forehead to keep the head on your shoulder. Use your right hand to lift the back and bottom. Walk backwards and ask your baby to kick their legs.


3) "Superman": Grab your baby's hands and place them on the wall so that your baby is 'hanging on' to the wall. Lift your baby's body so that it is parallel to the water and then pull them away from the wall so that they appear to be 'Superman' flying backward. 


4) "Jump": Throw some pool water onto the walkway in front of you so that you cool the area off. Lift your baby up so that they sit or stand on the edge of the pool. Hold your baby's hands and ask your baby to jump into the pool. Depending upon your baby's comfort level, for the first day, you can catch them so that they do not go above their shoulders when they land in the pool. 


5) "Freestyle" - Using a squishy / squirting bath toy, you can have your baby play around with it and then throw it away from them. While supporting their body with one hand, you can attempt assist one arm to do the freestyle motion OR one leg to do the kicking motion as your child moves toward the bath toy. 


6) "Hang On" - Place both hands along the side of the pool wall. Move them one at a time towards the right for 5 feet and then back to the left for 5 feet to help your baby realize that they can move along the side of the pool if they get too deep or scared. 


Let's see how my son does on day 2...I'll try to provide more tips in the comments section...