10 Top Tips for your First Swim

Swimming for the first time with your baby or child? Read on to hear your questions answered, top tips and more.

“Help! I’ve never done this before!”

So, you’ve booked your first swimming term with Swim Works. Now what.

There is a lot to navigate when it comes to your first ever swim together, isn’t there? “Where do we go? What do I bring? What swim clothes does my baby wear? Do we bring floatation aids with us, like armbands?” And so on.

It’s completely normal to have a million and one questions and to not know where to even start preparing, especially if you’re a first-time swimmer. Doing something new might sometimes feel overwhelming but rest assured, we’ve got you covered!

There are lots of things you can do before you even think about getting your toes wet – and ticking these off your list might help you feel that little bit more relaxed and prepared.

We’ve created handy ‘what to bring’ checklists over on our information page for all of our swimmers (attending both Baby and Preschool and Swim Academy).

Things to include: towels; goggles and hats (for over 3s); favourite shampoos and shower-gels; indoor shoes exclusively for poolside; hair brushes and clips; bags for wet clothes; clothes / onesies / underwear for afterwards (especially if you are arriving ‘swim ready’).

For children, don’t forget your swimmers (swimming costume / trunks / wetsuit / splash shorts / swimsuits) and for babies, they wear two layers: a swim nappy (disposable or reusable / washable) and a happy nappy for the top layer (we recommend Splash About and shopping locally with our friends at Naturally Baby, Leamington Spa). Splash About happy nappies come in a variety of designs and styles – you can opt for just the shorts, or if you’d like to cover arms and chest they make wetsuit / costume / all-in-one versions of the happy nappy, too.

Try any swim clothing on before you arrive to ensure the right fit, plus this gives your little ones a chance to familiarise themselves and get comfortable with what they are wearing in advance.

Those with babies – don’t forget spare nappies (some additional swim nappies plus your ‘dry’ nappies for after swimming). A little baby-safe toy for the changing room is also a good swim bag addition, plus a changing mat, so you can put your baby down on it when you arrive.

Depending on their age, you can really do a lot to involve your child in their first swim. Letting them be part of the process and decision-making will help grow their confidence.

Talk about swimming at home, let them pack their own bag and also choose which bubbles, towel and swimwear to take.

After your swim, give them lots of “well done”s and talk about how they felt their time in the pool went. Your child will love your words of encouragement and praise. At Swim Works we have lots of ‘freebies’ like stickers, reward charts and milestone cards for them to get excited about and take home after each lesson. And every term we have a ‘Distance Week’ to celebrate swim successes too!

Our addresses are:

Swim Works, Rugby

High Street, Hillmorton, Rugby, CV21 4EE

Swim Works, Leamington Spa

Queensway, Leamington Spa, CV31 3LU

We have free parking at both of our centres. There’s no need for change, for parking or for lockers – you can keep valuables in our secure changing rooms or take them poolside with you.

If grown ups are going in the water too, some of our parents find it useful to dress with comfy, baggy clothes that are easy to take on and off: joggers, jumpers, slip-on shoes – all make for easy, quick changing pre and post-swim.

For children attending Swim Academy after school, many jump into their PJs and onesies after their lessons.

The most important thing that you can consider when getting ready for your first ever swim, or any regular swim, is time. Children and babies develop a sense of confidence and trust when they don’t feel hurried.

Arrive 15 minutes before your lesson and take time getting ready – you will feel much more relaxed getting into the pool if you haven’t rushed.

Those new to Swim Works are welcome to view our facilities in advance, chat to their teacher in person or meet with us over Zoom. Just get in touch to find out more.

When you make your booking with us, you’ll be asked to disclose any medical conditions or any diagnoses that may affect learning to swim. If you want to discuss these with us in person, or have any other needs or requirements, just let us know in advance of your visit.

You might hear this phrase a lot in the swimming world – ‘swim ready’ means arriving at the pool centre with your swimwear already on underneath your clothes. This makes for an easier getting-ready process as you don’t need to get changed into anything when you arrive.

Whilst adults and children often love coming ‘swim ready’, most of our families with babies (and children not yet potty trained) do actually get changed before each lesson. This is because swim nappies don’t absorb water like normal nappies do (as they are designed to be used in the water, of course). That means that any accidents that happen in a swim nappy outside of the water, won’t be absorbed by the nappy – potentially messy car journeys!

The main support that babies need in the water is their grown up. Our lessons focus on parents and caregivers learning lots of lovely, supportive ways to hold their babies. On occasions when we use woggles, noodles, floats or toys, these will always be provided by us.

For older swimmers, Swim Works, again, provides all flotation devices. We use AquaPlanes (rocket packs) for those starting off and noodles / woggles too. There’s nothing at all floatation-wise that you need to bring with you!

Swim skills and water confidence don’t start and end with your lesson. Make bathtime the highlight of your child’s day – lots of bath play makes for happy swimmers.

On our closed Facebook group for swimmers, we love seeing our Swim Academy children practicing their breastroke legs in paddling pools and front crawl arms on the edge of their bed, plus our baby swimmers enjoying sensory bathtimes at home. Keep those videos coming, they make our day!

We always say that “we are here for you every splash of the way”, and we are! Connect with us on our Leamington Spa or Rugby Facebook pages and existing swimmers can join our private group and be part of our swim family community.

Let us know if we can help further. Is there anything we have missed or anything else you’d like to ask? Browse our blogs, check out our information page or get in touch.