Hello fellow parents!
It’s exciting having just signed your baby up for swimming lessons for the first time. It’s a great way to bond with your baby and to best prepare them to be comfortable in the in the new premises of water.
As the number one question I get asked is “What do we need for the lesson?”, I've put this guide together and teamed up with the good people at Baby Central - the number one online shopping destination for parents in Hong Kong - to get your swim gear! You will get 10% off selected items by using the code "ALISONTAMSWIMMING" at check out.
Here is my guide to help you prepare for the occasion
Before that, please note that I do advise infants to have had their
4 month immunisations (as per the Hong Kong Government schedule). As much as we don’t want to think about it, all pools have germs!
What to bring?
For babies:
Swim Diaper - diapers should fit well around the waist and legs to prevent any leakages. Any faeces leakage into the pool means that the whole pool will have to shut for cleaning so please be considerate to other fellow swimmers!
Whilst disposable diapers are always handy, for many reasons we do prefer reusable ones.
Aside from being more gentle on the environment, reusable diapers keep their shape better by hugging baby in all the right places - namely, legs and waist - to prevent leaking. No one wants leakage! Baby Central has a great range of cute reusable swim diapers by eco friendly brand Charlie Banana.
Swim Wear - wear on top of your swim diaper. Choose from a range of cute swim. In the summer it will act as UV protection against your infant's delicate skin.
Keeping Warm!
Your infant will feel the cooler weather much sooner than you!
The first step in keeping them warm is a BabyWrap - this is made of neoprene and is mainly to keep the essential core of the child warm.
As the weather gets cooler you may opt for a Baby Wetsuit or WarmInOne. This is a fleece lined long sleeved and legged outfit to keep your baby warm and snug all over. These materials retain heat and are NOT the same as rash guards or your usual swimsuit material!
As it gets cooler, you can double up with the BabyWrap under the WarmInOne.
The public pools in Hong Kong are heated during winter months (usually mid-October till Easter), but not very much. The smaller training pool where our baby lessons are conducted is heated to 28C - this is not warm at all for your baby. In summer, the indoor pool is not heated at all so water can be very cool and young children will feel cold. So please wrap your child up!
Warm swimmers are happy swimmers.
For Adults:
Flip Flops - more of a personal one - I really don’t like walking barefoot around
the pool area and changing rooms, lots of people, lots of germs. Some people don’t mind though. If you do bring flip flops please make sure these are for pool use only to preserve everyone’s hygiene.
$5 Coin - for the lockers! There is nothing more annoying than getting all the way to the changing rooms to find that you don’t have a $5 coin for the locker. The coin is refunded when you open the locker.
Thermal Jacket - for indoor or winter swimming. To make it is more pleasant for you during the lesson.
Additional things to note:
This is an adult accompanied class meaning one adult must bring one child into the water to participate. If two or more caregivers take the child to the lesson, I advise that the non participating adults stay out of sight as the child can get fussy.
Do not get in the pool before you have met your teacher or before the lesson starts - young children get cold and/or tired very easily.If your baby starts to shiver or lips turn blue then immediately get him/her out of the pool and take a warm shower.
Do not take your baby swimming if your baby is running a fever or has any contagious condition.
Remember all our classes are done on a drop in basis - meaning you have to sign up each week. It is easiest to become a member of the website so you don't have to re-enter your details each time and if you need to reschedule you can do so yourself by logging in.Book in online here: https://www.alisontamswimming.com/babytoddler
Hope this helps! If you have any questions or recommendations for us please leave us a message in the comments below!
In case you want to watch a video instead, here it is :)