Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why start my baby swimming at 5 months of age?

Babies are extremely happy and comfortable in the water at a young age. After all, they spent 9 months in the womb surrounded by water. Starting your baby at 5 months gives you, as parents, the skills and confidence in handling your baby in an aquatic environment, including your home bath. Having such skills means you are able to have positive water based experiences together.
At 5 months babies have generally developed good head and neck control which is necessary for when you hold the baby in a front float position in the water.
Also, their “swimming reflex” has become inhibited by this stage, so when submerged babies have control over breath holding. Prior to this stage, the reflex naturally kicks in and thus it is not a learned response.

2. Is it simply water confidence for my baby or does she learn other skills?

No, your baby learns a huge range of skills right from 5 months through our babies programme.  Physical skills include learning about balance and buoyancy in water through flotation activities, increased tummy time which is necessary for crawling, spatial awareness, vestibular stimulation through song based activities and gross motor skill development which hugely assists with movement on land.  Emotional development is also a strong part of our programme with bonding between parent and baby an enormous factor.  Socially babies are interacting with others, learning to take turns and participate in group activities.

3. Does swimming cause ear infections?

In absolutely no way does swimming cause ear infections.  Some children are prone to getting ear infections due to underdeveloped tubes in their inner ear.  This is frustrating for parents as doctors often wisely advise such children to not swim.  The reason for this, is that water can get trapped deep in the tube and can irritate an already developed ear infection.  Please be assured that by bringing your young child swimming it will not cause your child to get ear infections.

4. Does your pool have chlorine in it? Will chlorine harm my baby or cause skin problems?

Yes our pool does meet the Health and Safety regulations for levels of chlorine that is required within a public swimming pool.  As our pool is restricted to lessons only, we know how many swimmers we expect in the pool on a daily basis.  With this knowledge we are able to effectively set our chlorine levels to meet Health and Safety regulations without overdosing chlorine levels.
Chlorine will not harm your baby or cause skin problems in any way.  For some children with excema, chlorine may irritate this but we advise a shower with soap which is provided afterwards to assist with this.

5. Do you offer extra lessons for sickness or clash of activities?

No we do not offer catch up lessons.  However, if your child misses consecutive lessons due to a serious illness then we will credit lessons over into a following terms enrolment or refund.  A medical certificate will be required.

6. When is the best time to bring my baby swimming?

It is best to work around your babies sleep routines and we try to offer variable days and times to suit differing routines.  Babies tend to eat and sleep very well after swimming as they use a lot of energy, so booking a time that conflicts with your babies sleep is unadvisable.  
We also recommend that you do not feed your baby a large meal up to 1 hour before your lesson.

7. I have 2 children of differing ages and abilities. Can they both get a lesson at the same time?

As we only run 1 group lesson at a time, then we cannot accommodate 2 children of differing age and ability at the same time.  Many parents attempt to book their 2 children into back to back lessons so they only make 1 swimming trip a week.
Alternatively, you can choose a private lesson option, in which your 2 children would be the only children within the water.  We regularly cater for children of differing ages or abilities in a private lesson and our teachers are skilled in delivering such lessons.

8. Do you offer discounts?

Yes, we offer a 10% discount for those families who have 3 or more children enrolled in group lessons.

9. What is the size of your pool?

Our pool is 7mtrs long by 4mtrs wide.  It is 1.2 – 1.35mtrs deep.  It is an intimate environment where children feel very safe and secure.

10. My child is a 5 year old beginner. Will learning in a deep pool be frightening for him?

We address the issue of having a deep pool for beginners by retaining parents in the water with children until they are confident and capable to swim unaided.  There is a step that children stand on so that they are independent whilst taking instructions from the teacher.  The great factor about learning in a deep pool is that we can incorporate realistic safety activities into every lesson.  Children quickly learn how to efficiently get themselves to a “safe” place within the pool and are constantly using safety skills throughout every lesson.  Once children are ready to learn freestyle and backstroke, it is fantastic to be in deep water as they cannot simply stand up whenever they feel like it.  Children constantly swim the 7 metres time and time again without stopping.  Hence they practice their skills.

11. I am pregnant with my 2nd child. Is it in any way harmful to my unborn child or myself to be in the water?

No.  Many of our teachers have taught right up until 35 weeks of pregnancy in which they have been in the water for 3hrs + at a time.  For you, being in the water for 30  minutes will in no way harm you or your baby.  In fact, it is wonderful to be submerged in water as you become weightless and what a relief that is when you are heavily pregnant!

12. How do I rebook if I wish to continue on?

As we highly value our current clients we prioritise you to keep your same day and time by automatically rebooking you into the upcoming term.  We simply ask those who wish to cancel their booking to contact the office.  We action change requests and moving up levels from Week 3 - Week 7 of the current term before we open up remaining spaces to returning swimmers, siblings and new families.

Once you have a space in our Bumble Bees programme you are our #1 priority for continued swimming.  We have a 90%+ retention rate from term to term here.  

13. I am a new client who is interested in booking in. How do I do this?

We have an open day every term and encourage new clients to come along, have a look at our facility and chat to one of our dedicated teachers about our programme.  You can book in from that day onwards.  Alternatively, if you are unable to come in you can ring us.  Spaces are limited and do tend to fill very quickly, so it is advisable to contact us on our open day early.  To get further information on when our open days are then please contact us via email or phone.  We will send you a full information pack.

14. Will I get a refund if I cancel my lessons?

We do not refund any lessons cancelled after the beginning of term. We are happy to hold credits in our system for future lessons if cancellations made after the beginning of term are for medical reasons, such as broken bones, grommets, or other serious medical issues which means the swimmer will miss a significant amount of lessons during the term. A medical certificate may be required. Under no other circumstances will we be crediting or refunding lessons cancelled after the beginning of term. Please be aware of this policy when making bookings.