Parent & Me Swim Class Card

In a parent-and-child swim class the instructor teaches you, and you teach your baby. Most of what happens in the water happens in your arms. If you know the holds, use the same cue every time and can read your baby’s signals, the first few classes go much better for both of you. This card covers getting in and out, three holds, the cue routine, when to stop, and an eight-class log so you can see the progress.

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👜 Before Class

Feed well before class, not just before. A baby who is hungry won’t settle. A baby with a very full tummy may bring it back up when bobbing. Try to finish a feed a while before you leave, and bring a bottle or snack for afterwards.
Use a swim diaper, and follow your pool’s rules for it. Many pools ask for a reusable swim diaper over a disposable one. The CDC says swim diapers are not leak-proof. Check them about every hour and change them away from the poolside. Babies with diarrhea stay out of the water.
Put your own quick change on top of the bag. Pack the baby’s hooded towel, a clean diaper and warm clothes, plus something you can pull on one-handed. Your baby gets dressed first. You get dressed second.
Take off jewellery and tie your hair back. Small fingers grab earrings, necklaces and loose hair. It’s also one less thing to worry about in the water.
Arrive calm, not rushed. Your baby picks up on how you feel. Ten quiet minutes to change and walk onto the deck beats running in late.

🪜 Getting In and Out Safely

Never hand a baby down from the deck to someone in the water. Get in first using the steps or ladder while another adult or the instructor holds your baby, then take your baby in the water. If the pool has a sloped, zero-entry end, walk in together.
One hand on the rail, one arm around your baby. Use the steps one at a time and hold your baby against your chest. Stop partway down to let your baby get used to the temperature.
Walk the deck, never hurry. Wet tile plus a wriggly baby plus a hurry is how falls happen. Hand your baby to someone before you climb out. Put the hooded towel on straight away.

🤲 The Three Holds

Hold	How	Good for	Watch for
Face-to-face	Baby facing you, hands under the armpits, thumbs on the front of the chest, shoulders in the water.	Getting comfortable, eye contact, songs, bobbing, the cue routine.	Hold close enough that you can read their face. Don’t lift them in and out of the water quickly.
Back float support	Baby on their back, the back of the head resting on your shoulder or in your hand, your other hand under the lower back. Ears at the water line.	Relaxing on the back, the float position.	Needs steady head control. If your baby arches or panics, bring them upright into a cuddle and try again later.
Tummy (swimming) support	Baby face-down, one hand under the chest, the other under the hips. Walk slowly backwards so they move towards you. Keep the face clear of the water unless the instructor is doing a cued activity.	Kicking, reaching, moving through the water.	Keep the chin up and your walk slow. Watch for tiring: legs stop, head drops.

Your instructor’s version wins. Programs teach holds a little differently. Follow what you’re shown, and ask them to check your hands in the first class.

🗣️ The Cue Routine: No Surprise Water

Pick one cue and use it every time. For example, your baby’s name, then “Ready… go”, then the water. Use the cue your instructor teaches, and use it the same way every time. A predictable cue lets your baby know what’s coming.
Work from the back of the head towards the face. Start by pouring a little water over the back of the head, then the crown, and only later the face. Some babies take several weeks to get to the face, and that’s fine.
Only put your baby underwater when the instructor leads it. Never force it, and never do it with a baby who is upset. If your baby coughs or splutters, lift them up, hold them upright against you and give them time before you try again.
Keep the cue at bath time. Use the same cue before pouring water over your baby’s head in the bath. That keeps the routine familiar between classes. Stay within arm’s reach the whole time.

👀 Reading Your Baby

Going well: relaxed body, looking around, kicking, reaching for toys or you, smiling or babbling.
Too much right now: turning away, stiff body, clinging, whimpering. Hold them close in a face-to-face cuddle and move away from the splashing. Talk quietly, and skip the next activity if you need to. Some crying in the first few classes is common, and it usually means it’s all new rather than that your baby is afraid.
Take a break at the side: crying that doesn’t settle after a couple of minutes of calm cuddling. A short break is not the same as quitting. If your baby settles, go back in.

Get out and warm up now if your baby is shivering, has blue-tinged lips, seems unusually floppy or quiet, or coughs a lot after swallowing water. Call your pediatrician or get urgent care if breathing seems hard, fast or noisy, or if your baby is unusually sleepy after class. Call 911 for any baby who stops breathing or needed rescue breaths. Skip class for a fever, diarrhea or vomiting, an ear infection, or a contagious rash.

🛡️ What a Baby Class Does and Doesn’t Do

It builds comfort and teaches you. Parent-and-child classes help babies get used to the water, give you safe ways to hold and handle a baby in a pool, and show you what to practise at home.
It does not make a baby water-safe. The American Academy of Pediatrics says there is no evidence that swim lessons for babies under one year old reduce drowning. The AAP recommends starting swim lessons after the first birthday. Until then, touch supervision is the protection: an adult who can swim, within arm’s reach, every time a baby is in or near water.
The home rules stay the same. Empty the bath, buckets and paddling pools straight after use. Keep bathroom doors shut and pool gates latched. Never leave a baby with an older child in charge in the bath.

📋 Our 8-Class Log

Class	Mood going in (🙂 / 😐 / 🙁)	Favourite activity	Hard moment	Instructor’s tip	Try at bath time
Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Class 4
Class 5
Class 6
Class 7
Class 8

How to read it. Look at the trend across the weeks, not any one class. Babies have off days: teething, a bad night, a noisy pool. If the faces going in are slowly getting happier and the “hard moment” column is getting shorter, your baby is getting used to the water. If the same moment keeps coming up, ask the instructor about it.

🗓️ Our Class Plan

Class day and time

Instructor’s name

Last feed by (time)

Our cue words

Hold my baby likes best

Hold we’re working on

Pool’s swim diaper rule

Pediatrician phone number

First birthday: date to look at lessons

Next class level to ask about

Next step. Around the first birthday, ask your program what comes next. Many offer toddler classes where the parent is still in the water, and then classes where children start to swim on their own with the instructor. The AAP recommends starting swim lessons after age one, and those lessons count as a layer of protection against drowning.

Created by WaterWiseKids.com — Free water safety education for families

This card is a family guide, not medical advice. Always follow your instructor and your swim program’s rules, and talk to your pediatrician about any health concern. Swim lesson and supervision guidance: American Academy of Pediatrics. Swim diaper guidance: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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