Waterbabies - Unique and Amazing (Waterbabies Swimming Lessons)

Member Name: Mrs-LT

Product:	Waterbabies Swimming Lessons
Date:	01/02/09 (410 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic experience

Disadvantages: Costly, automated re-booking system, not all teachers consistently good, no certificates

Before my son was born I had heard of Waterbabies only in passing at my NCT antenatal classes, and took no notice as I have heard of lots of baby swimming classes called variations of the same name - Aquatots, Aquababies, Waterbabes...the list is endless!

However when he was born I read something online about Waterbabies and that it was supposed to be a national company (which with swimming lessons is unusual in itself), so I searched on Google and found it has a (very impressive) website.

I got the number of the local office and called straight away to ask about lessons, as the idea that we could start classes as young as we liked really appealed to me. It took 3 days to be called back but the lady was lovely and very friendly. The courses run in blocks of ten lessons and it was week 2 when we spoke, but as I was so keen and willing to travel anywhere within a 20 mile + radius to wherever we could be fitted in, she agreed that we could start in week 3 when my son would be 2.5 weeks old, at a school pool roughly 15 miles from where we live. I had to make a debit card telephone payment immediately for the remaining 8 weeks of the course, which was not cheap as the classes are £10.50 each (for a 30 minute lesson), but I was happy to do this as I was desperate to secure our place.

As a former competitive swimmer I am not nervous in the water at all and am really keen for my son to be a confident swimmer at the earliest possible age. The idea of a group activity also appealed to me, as did the idea of being shown how a baby could 'swim' underwater without swallowing water or spluttering as I knew this to be a fact but had never actually witnessed it for myself. I was not happy to just take my newborn child swimming myself and drop him under the water as despite my aquatic confidence I felt this would be utterly irresponsible, therefore I decided the Waterbabies classes would be ideal.

The confirmation of booking came through the post very quickly after I paid for our place - I believe it had been sent out the same day. Everything is printed very professionally and in colour and looks polished and organised - what you would expect for the amount I had paid I suppose.

Instructions are included about when to feed baby (1-2 hours before class) and what baby should wear (a disposable swim nappy covered by a Splashabout Happy Nappy). I used to feed my son in the changing rooms immediately prior to the class as at this stage he was feeding every half hour a lot of the time and could not have waited even 1.5 hours (if I had fed an hour before the class, plus the the duration of the class). I did this primarily because I know he is never sick and this is what the 1-2 hours guideline is hoping to avoid. Despite this he WAS never sick and also did not disrupt classes due to hunger, so it was a good decision all round.

He was by far the youngest in his class (and still is) but he participated just the same. It just meant that while older babies would kick their legs in the water he didn't until he was in the second class (called Improver 1) as he was that little bit older by then).

The Waterbabies Terms and Conditions that you sign at enrolment state no refunds are given if a class is missed but I have always managed to have credits issued against a future course issued or been able to change to a different day if necessary, as have all of the other mums in our class. This is a definate bonus but one that you cannot take for granted as it is done more as a goodwill gesture.

The core Waterbabies programme runs for 1 year, split into 4 ten-week blocks (Beginner, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2 and Advanced) and after that you have the option to move on to toddler classes. All classes cost £10.50 per lesson for 30 minutes, which is a lot when you compare to local leisure centres where they can be as little as £2.50 a lesson (which is what ours cost, but babies cannot start until they are six months old).

I think the lessons are worth it though as I have tried the local pool ones too (we now do both) and they do not compare at all. Waterbabies are interactive all of the time, and the lesson flies past. I easily enjoy it as much as LO does. With the leisure centre I would say it is OK...definately a case of getting what you pay for in this case though.

Th instructor gets in the water with you which helps are she can do demonstrations of the different 'swims' the babies do.

Babies have to be under a year old when they start their first Waterbabies course and throughout the year-long programme learn skills such as submerging, holding onto the side if they fall in and other safety skills. My son has been able to slide in, turn around underwater and reach out for the rail on the side of the pool since he was 6 months old which is fantastic when you think about it - it is not something I would have thought possible. Stimulants and toys are used to engage babies' interest and you sing lots of fun songs in the classes. From the end of the Beginner course you put goggles on and go underwater with baby which is amazing as you see them glide alongside or towards you.

The pool we go to is attached to a school and is about 36 degrees as it is a hydrotherapy pool which is lovely and warm. The changing room facilities are rubbish considering the cost of the lessons but they will do - you have a communal room and have to bring a padded mat to change baby on the floor. Definately not ideal but you can live with it.

However a lot of people misunderstand and think that babies are taught to swim in the classes. A child is not physically able to swim until 2 or 3 years old. The Waterbabies 'swims' use the current of you walking alongside baby to make them glide, although often they kick their legs too. It is promoted as 'teaching you to teach your baby to swim when they are old enough'.

What I dislike is the fact that they use automated rebooking systems. This is promoted as making life easier but basically gives them the authority to charge your card for the next course whenever. In course 1 I asked when the money for the next course would be taken and was told it comes out the week before the course starts. In course 2 they took it four weeks into that course (so 6 weeks before the next course started!). If I did not have a good float of money in my account I could have ended up with a bank charge for that. Because of this I always feel like I am handing money over to them and it is £105 every 10 weeks which is a pretty hefty chunk.

The other thing I hate is despite the cost, this is the only swimming class I have ever heard of where babies get no certificate at the end of the course - he even gets one ever ten weeks at the cheap leisure centre classes. I think this is extremely stingy I do not like it at all. Instead you get the 'unique opportunity' to attend an underwater photo shoot. Great idea, but just to go it costs £50, and then the prints are very costly on top of that. They don't even guarantee you will get a good shot.

Also, I think it depends on luck of the draw for what your teacher is like. Ours is great but when I changed venues to somewhere closer to home the lesson was rubbish - the teacher there did not interact at all with the babies and the pool was freezing and the changing facilities were in full view of the pool! A complete joke considering that class was the same price and supposedly the same standard as the old one! We changed back to the old one immediately after one lesson.

I am going to end this review here as I could write about the classes all day. I rate them 5* as a unique experience - I am very glad I did them and would do them again with number 2.

Summary: I would recommend this to anyone even if you only do the first block of lessons!