Swimming pool for babies. The benefits of baby swimming
Many children almost from birth to master the bath or pool. Babies still remember how recently they “swam” in my mother's tummy. But there are those nehochuhi who do not like this activity. Why are some individual tots scared, heart-rending screaming when trying to lower them into the water? What mistakes did parents make on their first dive? How are babies swimming lessons in the bath? Why it is impossible to lose vigilance when using an inflatable circle for swimming? This is what we'll talk about.
A baby swimming with a happy smile is a terrific sight. Normal express swimming is not in trend. In favor of such an event as swimming for newborns, minuses and advantages of visiting the pool, the rules for organizing training, we figured out the article. Why, then, do not all young swimmers master the water element with pleasure, and for what reason can attempts to achieve it end in a fiasco?
The main mistakes of adults in teaching swimming babies
For parents, the main thing is to understand: swimming - necessary, useful, irreplaceable occupation. If the baby whimpers, try to distract him with a toy, a song, a light bulb on the lamp, etc., do not rush to remove the baby from the water. If a tantrum has begun, then, on the contrary, do not hesitate and transfer the lesson to a better day, otherwise the unpleasant association with the procedure will persist for a long time.It is impossible
- Conduct classes with a tired, sleepy, hungry baby.
- To force events - to force the crumb to overcome new stages, for which he is not ready.
- Nervous - kids can easily recognize the anxious mood, the excitement of their parents.
- Quickly give up if a mini-swimmer expressed dissatisfaction at the first lesson.
Methods of teaching swimming babies
First stage takes about 60 days. At this time, the ward learns to dive, not to be afraid, gets used to long bathing. Do not rush to sign up in the communal pool. For karapuzov up to three months, an ordinary bath filled with water with a temperature of 36 ° C (for full children 34-35 ° C) is quite suitable. Every week, lower the temperature by 0.5 ° C, bringing it to 28 ° C.
It is important not to be late with the debut occupation. In infants, the effect of breath-holding persists until one month of age. A little longer remain innate reflexes swimming, walking and crawling.
Initially, do not be afraid to inculcate diving skills. The presence of the breath holding reflex in children up to a month is easy to check. Imitation of immersion is as follows. When lying on your tummy, hold the crumb under your chest and your chin with your right hand. Left under a clear command “Attention! Dive! ”Scoop up a handful of water and pour it on the forehead of the ward. As soon as you make sure that the baby is holding its breath, hearing the command, lower its head for a moment under water. Keep your free hand on the back of your head.
Do not hurry! Before diving the baby’s head into the water, conduct a sufficient number of diving imitations (on average, 10–15 bathings are enough). The baby must learn to consciously hold their breath. Then the new exercise will not be a shock for him. It is because of the impatience of the parents that the crumb can get scared and scream during the next classes.
1. Walking along the bottom. An adult drops the toddler into the water in a column. The right palm holds the chest, and fingers - the lower jaw. The left hand is located on the upper back, fingers on the back of the head. Such insurance should be as free as possible, but reliable. The kid rearranges the legs under the water, as if walking, which stimulates the step reflex well. If he does not do this, then the instructor (parent) urges him to walk, gently turning the whole body from side to side, as if imitating walking. Destination - the opposite end of the bath, the return path is overcome on the back. Adult hand position does not change. Exercise is repeated five times.
To irritate the feet of the baby, stimulate the walking reflex, reinforce a special suction pad at the bottom of the bathroom. The accessory will provide not only a massage of the lower limbs, but also a better grip to facilitate the process of walking. You can use such a rug and on the "land", engaging in gymnastics with a child, exercise.
2. Swimming eights. The instructor supports the child in a supine position, holding it only under the head, and with the thumbs under the chin (support with a shuttle). Slow, accurate movements lead the baby, writing out his figure eight with his little body. After five eights, the same exercise is repeated in a position on the abdomen. Completed complex imitation diving or real dive.
If the ward's breathing becomes more frequent after a set of exercises, then let him rest for a while.
3. Repulsion. Training is conducted alternately on the back and tummy. Carefully lower your baby face down. Hold it under the breast and behind the back. Place your hands along the body of the baby. Use the fingers of the hand below to support the chin so that the liquid does not get into the mouth. Hold the back of your head slightly. Slow gliding movements of the baby from one edge to another, then back. When approaching the opposite wall, encourage the swimmer to push the legs off the edge independently. To do this, bring it close, press the foot to the surface and sharply hold forward so that it floats. On the next lap, the baby will repeat what is shown.
Turn the baby upside down, put one hand underneath, supporting the head at the same time, place the other on the chest. Do five repetitions of the same exercise, also stimulating the child to push off the legs from the wall. Complete diving approaches.
Debut lesson should not exceed 5-10 minutes. Increase the time of the following trainings gradually to 30–45 minutes, trying not to give an excessive load.
Second phase. The next 30 days, the instructor teaches the child self-swimming. If a baby holds its breath well for a few seconds, dives with pleasure, performs exercises in the bathroom, then it is time to move on to the second stage.
So, during the next dive, commanding “Attention! We dive! ”, Release the toddler. After three seconds (no more !!!) pick it up, lifting it to the surface. After completing a series of exercises in the bathroom, repeat the diving.
Three weeks after the start of independent diving, the baby is able to swim up to 30 cm under water. The duration of one dive in the future is no more than four seconds!
Infants are able to swim only under water. Skills on the surface are developed after 1-2 years. The distance they overcome depends on the proportions of the body, the size of the head.
Useful accessories: swimming circle for babies
One of the most popular accessories today was rubber ring for swimming, which is mounted on the neck of the baby and replaced the swimming cap. He undoubtedly facilitates swimming lessons, but at the same time fraught with danger if used improperly.
Benefits
- removes the load from the back of the mother (father) - they do not need to bend over the floating child;
- gives full freedom to a small athlete - he swims with pleasure, is repelled from the sides, works with arms and legs, spins around his axis, changes body position in water;
- allows the baby to choose their own time for rest.
disadvantages
- impossible to learn to dive;
- some pediatricians do not recommend using for children younger than three months, because they see it as a threat to the cervical vertebrae;
- inconvenient to wear - during the outfit two adults are needed, one is holding the child, and the other is wearing the circle (experienced mothers cope on their own).
Contraindications
- increased intracranial pressure;
- viral infection, hypertensive-hydrocephalic syndrome;
- recovery period after, for example, a clavicle fracture;
- congenital epidermolysis bullosa.
The biggest disadvantage is the apparent safety of the circle. Parents, remember! Never leave a floating baby in the bathroom unattended, even for a couple of seconds. This time is enough for him to go under water. There are cases of unexpected descent of air in a circle. Especially often this happens when it is tightly pumped.
Be carefull! Good luck to you in the first family achievements!
Many parents, thinking about teaching their baby to swim, immediately wonder if this activity would be too tedious for such a baby? Is it too early? My children swam from birth, when there were still green navels, for about 7-9 days the first dive, and the bath of manganese was yellow, cleaned only with liquid whiteness ...
Doctors recommend the optimal age for learning to swim - 2-4 weeks, but by 3 months all swimming reflexes of the baby already disappear, and the child can be taught to swim only after 3-4 years, when he is already well grown and will understand the explanations of adults.
During swimming, the baby gets into the familiar environment, muscles and skin receive a natural massage and relax well during this procedure. While swimming, the child also strengthens its cardiovascular system.
Before starting to teach a child swimming, it is necessary and necessary to consult a doctor, because there are a number of diseases for which there are contraindications: pneumonia, heart defects and a number of different infections. Therefore, the beginning of swimming with the baby should be approached very carefully and prudently. Now we describe the first steps, how to teach babies to swim in the bathroom.
The first experience of immersion in water must necessarily take place at home in the bathroom, in a familiar environment for the child. It is necessary to choose the right time for the procedure: the child must be fully fed, calm, in good. Best of all, the first experience to get with my mother. Feeling the family, gentle hands of the crumbs will feel much calmer. It is necessary to immerse the baby in water vertically, with careful movements so as not to frighten or disturb him. In no case can not do this by force.
After the child has mastered swimming and will receive the first skills, you can proceed to learning to dive. It is necessary to train the preparatory exercises for the training of breath holding. More details you will be introduced to them by an instructor whom you can easily invite to the first lesson in swimming.
The first diving experience should be made from the position of the child on the stomach, carefully lowering it into the water for only two or three seconds. Diving is the main point in learning to swim, because a diving-toddler will not choke on chance while playing in the water.
During diving, water enters the maxillary sinuses, clearing them, which is an excellent prevention of rhinitis. It also trains the lungs well.
Another advantage in swimming - a child in the future will not be water. And after active swimming lessons, the baby’s sleep will be very long, calm and sweet, and mom will have the opportunity to work on their business for a couple of hours.
So that the child remembers all his innate reflexes, do exercises with him, they are described in the article as to make the baby swim!
Swim and grow healthy!
VIDEO LESSON:
With the birth of a child, parents try to protect the baby, because he is just beginning to get acquainted with the new world. A newborn baby cannot develop without the help of parents. And today many variants of physical exercises, developmental occupations that will suit children from the first months of life are popular. One of these activities is baby swimming. This method of unity of the baby with water is not only popular, but also has many opponents. Parents who practice exercises in water with a baby are convinced that if you do not start swimming with your baby as early as possible, he will quickly forget how to hold his breath under water. And then it will be very difficult to train him again. Those who are against baby swims, argue that the first year of life is too early to practice in the water. Which side is true? What is the use of infant swimming? Let's understand in more detail.
What is baby swimming
Swimming is very good for health, especially for the physical development of the child. But when exactly to start the exercises in the water? Many parents ask this question. Supporters of baby swimming are sure that it is necessary to begin as soon as the baby is two or three weeks old. Experts in early swimming say that you can wait up to a month and a half, but do not delay the start of classes, because the innate reflex to swim gradually fades away from the moment of birth, and is completely forgotten already at three months of age.
It is necessary to begin classes with children before the age of three months, preferably earlier: about a month. It is at this time that the baby still remembers how to hold your breath under water.
Many parents believe that early swimming is necessary in order to teach the baby to swim. This is not so: the basis of water exercises for babies is a general strengthening of the body. The baby spent nine months in his mother's stomach and was there in the water. He is familiar with this environment, consciousness still remembers how it is to be in water. Specialists in infant swimming are confident that with the help of water activities, the baby adapts better in an unfamiliar world for him. The child learns to stay on the surface of the water, to hold his breath when diving. These skills are familiar to him, you just need to not let the body forget them, but simply push the baby to their development.
No matter how parents may be supporters of infant swimming, it is not recommended to decide on the possibility of practicing with a newborn in water. If parents decide to start such exercises, you should consult with a number of specialists. In this list, a pediatrician, a neurologist and an orthopedist are required. And only after a positive response from all three doctors can the child be introduced to the water.
Baby's first lesson in the water - video
The benefits of early swimming for newborns
The fact that water is good for everyone, especially regular swimming, everyone knows. The question is, how old is swimming. Parents and baby swimmers have a lot of reasons that reveal the positive aspects of an early start with the baby in the water:
- a newborn baby cannot perform many actions, for the time being it simply lies in the crib or on the mother’s arms, it can move his arms and legs. Plunging into the water, the child becomes easier by 7 times, so the baby can make active movements. It is much easier for him to control his body in the process of swimming. Such exercises help to strengthen the muscles of the child without additional load on the still loose spine;
- prevention of flatfoot and scoliosis;
- light hydromassage has a beneficial effect on the general condition of the baby, has a relaxing effect on the muscles. This is especially useful for children with hypertonus;
- contributes to the normalization of intracranial pressure;
- it has a positive effect on the development of the respiratory system: water pushes against the chest, so it is more difficult to inhale the baby, but it is much easier to exhale. This is a kind of simulator, through which all respiratory muscles are actively working: the blood supply to the lungs is improved, their ventilation is increased and the capacity of the lungs is increased. Doctors often recommend early swimming to children who have been diagnosed with depressed respiration. Such a situation is possible after delivery by Caesarean section, or entanglement with the baby's umbilical cord;
- training and improving the work of the cardiovascular system: the water temperature during swimming is about 31–32 degrees, the vessels constrict, from which more blood flows to the heart, and this requires more active work of the heart muscle. As a result of these actions, the blood supply to all organs and systems of the baby is improved. However, it should be remembered that swimming begins with the water temperature not lower than 36–37 degrees, gradually reducing it to 31 degrees;
- a positive effect on the nervous system due to the relaxing effect of water;
- immunity is strengthened, because bathing in cool water tones up the whole body;
- hydromassage affects not only the muscles, but also the gastrointestinal tract: the digestion is improved, and the prevention of constipation. Parents note that children who engage in early swimming practically do not experience infant colic;
- the kid learns not to be afraid of water, and as he grows up he will feel more confident in the reservoirs or at sea;
- it has a positive effect on the baby’s sleep, because after active swimming the baby’s body needs a good rest.
Many doctors note the great benefits to the health of an infant who has been swimming since the first months of life. In some cases, neurologists and orthopedists recommend infant swimming as one of the ways to solve congenital problems in a child.
Is there any harm?
Undoubtedly, like every medal, there is also a downside. And the negative points of the early lessons in the water of course are:
- many doctors explain the innate reflex breath-holding reflex in water by the body's defensive reaction, not by skill. Those. In the pool or bath, the parents themselves create a situation where the child must hold his breath in order not to inhale water into the lungs. And this is a big stress for the body. Many newborn babies are afraid of water and do not want to swim. In this case, it is recommended not to force the child, but to abandon such activities. After all, constant fear and hysteria negatively affect the weak nervous system of the child;
- the muscles of the child and the skeletal system may not be ready for such a load. Some orthopedists insist that swimming is not part of a gradual plan for the development of an infant: first, the child must learn to sit and crawl, strengthen the spine, and only then can it be taught to swim;
- the development of infectious and inflammatory diseases of the upper respiratory tract, such as otitis media, rhinin, throat diseases, and inflammation of the mucous membranes of the eyes;
- there are cases when diving can be dangerous to the life of the baby, because swallowing water in the lungs during diving is very dangerous;
- indigestion disorder, which is also possible after swallowing water during swimming.
Whether swimming from birth or not, the choice is not only parents but also doctors. If the doctor has forbidden for any reason your child to study in the pool or bath, you should listen to the recommendations of a specialist. Not all children can benefit from this type of swimming. Therefore, in order not to harm the small child, you need to carefully weigh all the pros and cons.
If the child does not want to swim: screams, cries, experts recommend not to force the baby and postpone classes for a later time. After all, the fear experienced in infancy may in the future cause a fear of water
In 2010, the College of European Pediatricians conducted a study that covered countries such as Germany, France and Belgium. The study included children under the age of two years who had been swimming since birth. Doctors found out that these children had a fourfold increased risk of developing respiratory diseases, compared with their peers who did not visit the pool or swam in it extremely rarely. Pediatricians have identified the cause: chlorine is very harmful for the immature respiratory system of newborns and infants. And water in any case gets into the ears, the nasal cavity, sometimes the baby can drink some water while swimming.
Classes at home in the bath and in the pool: what to choose and whether to combine
Parents who have decided to teach the child to swim early, are faced with a very important question: where to start classes, in the bathroom at home or in the pool? Opinions of experts on this subject differ. Some recommend babies up to a month or two to swim at home, because in a special baby bath the child is easier to get used to the water, he is not so scared, and mom feels more confident. Others say that from three weeks you can begin to go to the pool so that the child gets used to a lot of water and space.
Infant swimming coaches insist that the child must first adapt to the bathroom: get used to the water, not be afraid to dive and dive. After all, at the first immersions in water, only a small number of newborns begin to work with their hands and feet. For the rest of the children, the trainer or mother forms these skills. Only after getting used to the water in a small bath is better to start classes in the pool.
There are individual and group lessons in which the instructor helps parents and children adapt to the water.
Experts explain that you can combine swimming at home and in the pool. But it is always better to start with a coach or an instructor who will show how to properly immerse the child in water, what exercises you can do, and most importantly, tell you the safety rules so that the baby does not swallow water and is not scared.
Comparative characteristics of infant swimming at home and in the pool - table
In the bathroom | In the pool | |
Comfort for the child | A newborn baby is still getting used to the new environment, so children under one month are recommended to practice in a special baby bath with their mother nearby. So the child will feel the presence of the mother nearby, and a small space will not cause fear. | Very often, newborn babies get scared of big water, extraneous sounds, noise. Indeed, in the pool are engaged not only they, but also other children. That is why it is recommended to bring children into the pool at the age of two or three months. |
Trainings | Doctors recommend starting early swimming exercises only in the presence of a specialist. When mom gets a little comfortable, you can do it yourself. But often at home to call a coach is problematic and expensive. | In the pool, you can choose an individual schedule, choose your favorite instructor and be completely sure that the classes will be held correctly and with benefit. |
Security | Very often, mothers who try to do babies swimming on their own do not know the principles and methods of practice. Water can get into the lungs of an infant, and this is life threatening. | In the pool classes are held only under the supervision of experienced professionals, so the child and mother are completely safe. |
Exercises in groups | Very often, kids do not want to swim on their own: they are scared, uninteresting, etc. At home there is no opportunity to conduct exercises with several children. | In the group, the child pays attention to his peers. When a baby sees that others are swimming with pleasure, he is not so scared to try new tasks and exercises himself. |
Conditions | In this regard, the home bath comes out on top. Mom can prepare boiled water without chlorine, wash the bath well or a large bath well, and can be sure that no infections are dangerous for her baby. | Often, chlorine, which disinfects water, causes allergic reactions, problems with respiratory organs and digestion, when swallowed water from the pool. There is a risk of catching some kind of infection. |
Baby swimming in the pool - video
Basic principles of infant swimming
The main principle of early swimming is proper preparation. After all, the success of infants swimming depends on how, in what situation and with the help of what exercises the baby will get acquainted with water.
- Time to start. You can swim when the umbilical wound healed. This happens at two to three weeks of age. This is the time instructors consider the best to start classes. Experts are sure that the later you start working with the baby, the harder it will be for him to get used to the water. Moreover, after three months, the instinct to hold your breath under water in a child is lost.
- Clean - the guarantee of health. With this phrase we are familiar from childhood, and in this case it is very appropriate. After all, the infant's body only gets acquainted with the microorganisms surrounding it. Therefore, the bath or pool must be clean. If parents chose to swim at home, then before each bath they should wash the bath with baby soap and rinse thoroughly. If adults go with the baby to the pool, they must be sure that all hygiene standards are observed.
- Water quality At home it is better to use boiled water or purified. But do not add potassium permanganate or decoctions of medicinal herbs. After all, the baby can take a sip of this water and it will fall into the digestive tract. In the pool should learn how to clean the water. Most pools use chlorine, but some have switched to ultraviolet water purification. This method is preferable, because chlorine has a negative effect on the respiratory system of the child.
- Water temperature. The optimal temperature for baby swimming is 31–32 degrees. But you can not start the first classes in such cool water. Experts recommend starting with warm water 36037 degrees and within a month to reduce the temperature to the required. But it should be remembered that if you put the baby in the water and he cries for several minutes in a row, and before that he was swimming with pleasure, it means he is cold and should not lower the temperature yet. If the baby, on the contrary, is too relaxed, with no signs of obvious activity, then the water is hot and you need to reduce the temperature.
- The optimal time. Doctors do not recommend practicing with the baby in the water immediately after feeding or on an empty stomach. The best time is forty to sixty minutes after meals.
Before you start exercising in water, you should properly prepare your child so that he will not be hungry and feel comfortable
Popular early navigation techniques
Classes can be conducted by specially developed methods. Some of them are radically different from each other, but all are aimed at achieving the same goal - training with newborns and children up to a year.
Methodology Zahariya Firsova
It was developed back in 1978. The main goal of the lessons is to teach the child to stay on the water for a long time, at least 20–30 minutes, to dive to a shallow depth just for a toy, jump from a low side to the pool and not panic. Classes according to this method take place gradually: first, the child is explained that now he will swim, supporting him, and immersed in water. After the stage of adaptation to water, the baby is transferred to a horizontal position in the water, supporting him under his back or stomach. And gradually the child learn to swim and dive.
Igor Charkovsky technique
Very different from gradual learning to swim. First of all, it was designed for premature babies who have a weakened body. Its principle is that the child is quickly and abruptly immersed in water with his head for a few seconds, then taken out of the water and immediately immersed again. The kid at this time manages to breathe air and holds his breath under water.
The author of the methodology states that at the time when the air is not entering the body, the brain is fed in a strengthened mode. The result is that such exercises lead to faster mental and physical development of children. The duration of one lesson is at least 30-40 minutes.
Teaching a kid according to Igor Chartkovsky's technique
One of the most popular methods, which includes four stages:
- the first stage is designed for children up to three months. Classes begin with a massage, then gymnastics with an imitation of swimming outside the pool or bath, then the baby is immersed in the pool and gymnastics takes place in the water;
- the second stage is designed for children from three to six months. Children explain how to swim, support and show the exercises. Everything is designed to talk with the child;
- from six to nine months begins the third stage, during which the kids already swim independently and even dive;
- and at the fourth stage there is a consolidation of skills. Children from nine months can already swim along the bath or children's pool. Parents put toys into the water, and the child dives after them.
The technique of Vladimir Guterman is one of the most popular, because designed for gradual training of the child to the water and swimming
Rules for carrying baby swimming at home
Before you start classes you need to make sure that the child is in a good mood. Experts insist that tears, crying, hysteria or fear - a reason to refuse to swim and to transfer classes to another time or day. You can do with a well-fed baby, because a hungry child will be capricious and ask to eat. An hour after feeding, the food is already absorbed in the digestive tract, and the children still do not feel hunger. This is the best time to conduct classes.
The first classes are recommended to be carried out together with an instructor who will show parents how to do the exercises correctly. Another important point - each exercise is accompanied by a voice. For example, before dipping a child into the water, you need to tell him that we will dive now. So the child will subconsciously memorize words and be ready for a certain action.
Swimming in the bathroom is a completely boring exercise, as it may seem at first glance. Today, there are many devices that will help the baby adapt to the water:
- mat in the bathroom: special mats are required so that the baby does not slide. They are sold as bright animals or other images. These colors attract the baby and he will be happy to swim in the bath;
- circle: inflatable circles are put on the baby’s neck and do not allow the head to sink under water. Over time, when the child will feel comfortable and confident in the water, the circle can be removed and practice diving with the baby;
- a hat on her head: she puts on the baby and also holds the baby’s head above the water;
- special panties: you can buy diaper pants or just pants with elastic bands tight to the body of the child. Such panties are more suitable for training in the pool, because unpleasant surprises there are unacceptable. At home, the baby can swim without clothes.
Early Swimming Devices - Photo Gallery
The cap does not allow the child to dive under water. The circle is designed to keep the baby's head above the water. A bath mat will not let the baby slip
Circle and baby bathing cap - video
Exercises for swimming at home
Before starting the dive, make sure that the water temperature is suitable so that the baby is not too hot or cold. Before immersing in water, you must first wet the hands of the baby, let him touch the water. Then slowly lower the feet of the child and gradually the whole body. There are two ways to support the baby during baby swimming: under the chin and under the head. Positions may vary depending on the exercise being performed.
While swimming, the baby needs to be supported under the chin so that he does not swallow water.
- Splashing in water: submerge the baby in the water on the belly. Gently hold it under your chin while your baby is actively working with your hands and feet.
- Walk along the bottom: baby should be kept upright armpits so that the legs reach the bottom of the bathroom. Move the child, and he at this time will try to step over or jump in the water.
- Shocks: This exercise can be done on the back and abdomen. Slowly bring the child to the walls of the bathroom. As soon as the baby feels the support, it will start to reflex from it and will try to swim.
- Motivation: support the child under the chin, he lies on his stomach in the water. At some distance from the baby, lower the toy into the water. Explain to the child that he tried to reach the toy. The baby will try to swim, actively moving his arms and legs.
- Eight: This exercise can also be performed on the back and abdomen. The main rule - the child should not be afraid of water, because it is quite an active exercise. Supporting the head of the baby, lead him across the water, as if drawing a figure eight. First, slowly and smoothly, then the pace can be increased.
- Diving: This is the most difficult exercise. The first few times it is best carried out with an instructor. Before you dip the baby under the water with your head, you need to prepare the child. The first 10 days, say the word "dive" and just blow the baby in the face. He will hold his breath. Then we proceed to the second stage: after the cherished word we blow in the face and splash water. Gradually, the child will get used to it and as soon as he hears this word, he will reflexively hold his breath even before he is immersed in water. And only then proceed to the full immersion: quickly lower the baby into the water with his head and reach. This exercise can be carried out several times in a row.
Exercises must be performed regularly, only then will the kid master swimming and by the year will dive on his own
How to teach your baby to swim at home - video
Features lessons in the pool
In the pool classes are held both individually and in groups. It all depends on the wishes of the parents and the mood of the baby. Each child has a personal instructor who is specially trained and parents can be calm about the safety of their child. Some parents do not want to be in the pool with the child. If the kid normally perceives the trainer, the mother can watch the lessons from the side, and the kid with the instructor will swim himself. First of all, you need to collect the baby in the pool, for this you need to take with you:
- special pants for the baby;
- diapers a few pieces;
- warm towel;
- a hat for the child to wear after swimming;
- baby bathing soap or soap: after swimming in the pool, the baby should be bathed in order to wash off the chlorinated water;
- swimming circle, just in case;
- several baby toys that he especially likes and are allowed in the pool.
In the pool you need to go prepared, take the toys so that you can distract the kid in case he rassies a little
One lesson in the pool lasts about one and a half hours. First, the child will be massaged to stretch the muscles and prepare the body for swimming. This massage lasts about 20-25 minutes. After that you can immerse the baby in water. The first lesson lasts no more than 10 minutes, gradually during the month, the time increases to an hour. Exercises in the pool do not differ from classes in the bathroom, so the principle is the same.
After swimming in the pool, some parents temper the baby. For this, instructors pour cold water on the baby. But children do not like this procedure, so many parents refuse this type of hardening. It is enough that after swimming the baby dries on his own and only then to wear it. It also hardens the body of the child.
Baby swimming in the group - video
When parents are fully accustomed to a new type of occupation, the services of an instructor can be waived. But for the safety of the child, if the parents are unsure of their abilities, it is better to leave the experienced trainer with the kid.
Experts note that immediately after the child’s swimming it’s impossible to feed the child. It is better to wait an hour and then satisfy the hunger of the baby.
At the first stage of physical education of the baby, the use of massage is effective. Depending on the methods used, it acts on superficial or more deeply located tissues and organs. It causes a cheerful mood, encourages the child to activity, contributes to its full development.
Gymnastics for babies is a specially selected movements performed with the help of an adult. Its main task is the development of right movements in young children. A set of exercises should be designed in such a way that different muscle groups and at least two joints can participate in the work.
An important means of improving the health of children is hardening. Its main goal is to increase the body's resistance to the harmful effects of the environment. Babies are encouraged to harden from the first weeks of their lives. Means of hardening are air and sun baths, water procedures.
Pediatricians began to prescribe water hygiene procedures for infants aged 10–16 days without fail at the end of the 19th century. The hygienic baths for babies were then exclusively passive in nature and were carried out at a constant bath water temperature of 35-37 °
The first school of swimming and hardening of babies in full baths was organized in Australia in 1966 by coaches and spouses Timmermans, who began by testing the technique of swimming on their daughter. In 1966-1976 infant swimming is booming in Russia, Germany, USA and Japan.
In the former Soviet Union, the swimming of infants was first organized in 1976 in Moscow. A great contribution to the development and promotion of swimming and hardening of babies was made by the President of the International Committee of FINA 3. P. Firsov. Active research in the field of the physiology of swimming in infants was conducted by Professor I. A. Arshavsky.
The use of swimming and other water treatments is based on the natural inclinations of infants. Being in the womb, the child was swimming all the time! Within 9 months it developed in a liquid medium under anti-gravity conditions. A small "alien" is born with ready-made swimming reflexes, which fade away at the age of 3-3.5 months if not fixed. Especially important are the respiratory and jog reflexes. The first is that the child even before birth has the ability to instinctively hold his breath when his nose and mouth are immersed in water. This allows for teaching a child to use diving without fear that the child will choke.
The jerk reflex is that when the legs are forced to flex, the child reacts with their immediate extension. This reflex entails some methodological recommendations: when learning to swim, it is first necessary to improve leg movements, developing first of all those forms of foot movement (bending at the knee and hip joints) that manifest in this reflex.
Physically helpless and unable to coordinate on land due to the abrupt transition from relative weightlessness in the period of embryonic development to the effects of gravity after birth, the child feels amazingly comfortable in a full bath. Here he calms down, begins to smile and roar. Due to the large amount of lecithin fats, the infant's specific weight is less than the weight of an adult. Therefore, the baby has positive buoyancy and is easy to float. An important and specific importance is the breath holding reflex when a child is immersed in water, which is successfully used in teaching infants to swim and dive.
Daily systematic swimming allows you to teach an infant to swim earlier than walking - by the end of 1 year of life. Skills acquired in infancy remain for life, if you continue classes at 2 and 3 years of age.
Under the influence of regular swimming lessons, the child’s motor activity becomes much more extensive and improves much faster.
Experience shows that if you start classes in the bath without delay (that is, 2-3 weeks after the birth of the child, when the umbilical cord heals) and continue them regularly, then the child already in the fourth month will receive conscious active movements with his hands and feet. This can be achieved by special exercises that encourage him to independent active movements. The mechanism of their occurrence is explained as follows. During the swimming lessons, the cortex is affected by a complex of signals and stimuli caused by: the touch of water and its mechanical action; visual and auditory perception of the whole situation of the lesson in the bath; deep breathing and breath holding; the state of semi-weight; repeated repetition of the same type of movements. Under the influence of such a wide stream of systematic, day-to-day repetitive signals, in the cortex of the brain, the neuroconductive pathways and connections are eliminated, activating not only the motor centers, but also other centers that interact with them and regulate the coherence of the functions of the whole organism. .
It is this wide range of irritations received by the child in swimming lessons that accelerates not only physical development (the child begins to stand and walk 2-3 months earlier), but also his general development, conscious attitude to the knowledge of the surrounding world.
The child’s being in the water during systematic swimming exercises facilitates and accelerates adaptation - the body's adaptation to gravity.
Of equal importance is the tempering, hygienic, mechanical and physical effects of water.
The mechanical effect of water on the body of the child is that, moving on the surface of the water, it receives a light, pleasant and useful massage. This water massage has a positive effect on the peripheral nervous system and strengthens the skin of the body. Influencing the numerous blood vessels lying in the skin, the pressure of water facilitates the peripheral blood circulation and, therefore, the activity of the heart.
The pressure on the thorax created by water increases the depth of exhalation, which is usually followed by a deeper breath. And deep breathing is a powerful preventive measure that prevents respiratory tract diseases.
Water lessons are usually complemented by special massages and gymnastic exercises on the changing table, which teach the child to active movements that strengthen the muscles, joints and ligaments, a positive effect on the functional activity of the body, increasing the overall endurance of the body.
After several months of classes in the bathroom, the child gradually begins to perform active movements with his feet or hands, independently swim in various positions, dive under the water and dive, play with various toys. And here, to the hygienic effect of water, the influence of active movements is added. And when these two health factors unite and act systematically, every day and for a long time, the degree of their impact on the growing organism increases many times over. The fact that the child will receive excellent hardening already in the first year of life will leave a mark in all subsequent life, the value of which is invaluable. Floating children are 3 times less likely to suffer from acute respiratory infections, they are more easily tolerated, and they have almost no skin or gastrointestinal diseases.
Properly conducted lesson, among other things, causes positive emotions. Children become more calm, cheerful, they have a good appetite and sound sleep.
So, do you want your child to be healthy, cheerful, grow well, fully develop and get excellent hardening for life? Learn the technique and start swimming with it from the very first month of life!
Teaching swimming babies. Where to begin
Indications for swimming
Healthy children can be admitted to swimming and hardening, as well as some babies with minor deviations in health status, but with the permission of the pediatrician.
Contraindications to swimming
Diseases in the acute stage, contagious skin diseases, congenital malformations, malnutrition II-III degree. Swimming procedures are terminated if the child expresses displeasure with crying or crying, as well as with the appearance of "goose bumps" or trembling.
It is necessary to limit the load in the presence of such adverse signs as lagging in weight, frequent colds, etc. First you need to try to reduce their duration, reduce the number of repetitions, stop reducing the water temperature. If the negative effects do not disappear even after that, reduce the number of classes in the bath to 2-3. Gradual increase of the load can be continued only after the complete disappearance of negative phenomena.
Pediatrician Medical Supervision
If the parents bring the child to classes in a special hall of water procedures, the doctor controls the dynamics of their health and analysis of individual development with the help of generally accepted tests. While working at home, parents must receive monthly consultations from a pediatrician, nurse, swimming practitioner.
Bathtub preparation for swimming
At home, swimming and hardening are held in a normal home bath. Before swimming, the bath is thoroughly cleaned with detergent and rinsed with hot water.
On the floor of the bathroom you need to lay a rubber mat. It is also necessary to place a low chair there, on which the main bather will sit. In addition, it is desirable to have a shelf to put on it a watch that will help you navigate the duration of swimming. Special attention should be paid to the door, but not in the sense that it is tightly closed. The situation here is somewhat different. For the human body unnaturally sharp change in humidity. When you take your child from the steam-filled bathroom to the dry air of a living room, you may experience some problems (for example, with ears). Therefore, it is very important during bathing not to close the door to the bathroom. To do this, it should be properly prepared so that it does not close spontaneously. This is not such a big problem: if you cannot adjust the hinges, substitute a high chair or tie a handle to something in the corridor.
The bathroom itself should be thoroughly cleaned. The best and safest remedy for this is regular baking soda. After cleaning, thoroughly rinse the bathroom. For the first time it does not hurt to pour a couple of buckets of boiling water. Subsequently, it is enough to actively clean the bath once a week, and if during the day it was not used by any of the adults for washing or washing, it is enough to rinse it with running water from the shower.
There is no need to boil water. And there is no trouble if during bathing the child sips several times!
It makes little sense to add potassium permanganate (manganese) to water. It almost does not give a real disinfecting effect, and if it gets into the eyes, chemical burns are possible.
The best option - infusion series. The required amount of this herb is quite easy to calculate. Firstly, we emphasize that when a child reaches two months of age, nothing needs to be added to the water at all. The series, in principle, can not prevent, but why do something without which you can do? Although once a week is quite reasonable. Secondly, for one bath per day you need a glass of grass.
The sequence is brewed as follows: a glass of grass is poured into a regular liter jar and filled with boiling water. The can is closed with a lid and after 3-4 hours the product is ready. But it is best to do this in the morning, 10-12 hours before the evening swim. After the bath is filled, pour the infusion through cheesecloth; you can pour water into the jar a couple more times, rinse and empty it again.
Frequency and dosage of swimming
Swimming with infants should be practiced 4-5 times a week. It is best to swim two hours before feeding or nightly sleep.
The initial dose of the swimming procedure 6-10-12 minutes depends on the weight of the child at birth: 2.5-3-4 kg, respectively. They increase daily by 4-6 minutes, reaching 40-45 minutes by the end of the year.
Water temperature
The optimum temperature for starting classes is usually 36-37 °, that is, the temperature is close to the microclimate of the mother's womb. Every month it is recommended to reduce it by 1 ° so that by the end of the first year it would be 28-29 °. But there is another opinion expressed, for example, by E. O. Komarovsky in his book “The Beginning of the Life of Your Child.” He believes that a temperature of 34-35 ° will be optimal for starting classes. The author points out that the regulation of the child's body temperature is different from that of an adult, so it’s necessary to be guided not by your own feelings, but by the reactions of the baby: if your hands are cold, this does not mean that the child is also cold. It is most convenient to measure the water temperature with an alcohol thermometer placed in a protective plastic case. Such a thermometer can be in the bath during the entire bathing time, allowing you to constantly monitor the temperature of the water.
So, how is the optimal bath temperature determined? Firstly, it should be carried by the child without damage to his health, but at the same time the water should not allow the child to relax too much. A cold effect on the skin dramatically increases blood flow in the muscles, increases their tone, activates the heart. Biologically active substances that stimulate metabolism and increase resistance to infections are released into the blood.
In water with a temperature above 35 °, the child has no incentive to show activity, although the procedure itself does not cause him any unpleasant sensations, rather, on the contrary: in water, he demonstrates bliss with his whole appearance. But swimming in warm water does little in terms of hardening. At the same time, when immersed in water with a temperature below 30 °, a child may experience negative emotions. It’s not because it freezes, it’s just to move your arms and legs to keep warm, you don’t feel like it, and therefore it starts to resent. Therefore, you need to start with a temperature above 30 °, so that the baby loves the bathing procedure itself. But it is still not recommended to linger for a long time in such a temperature regime.
Massage and gymnastics before swimming
Massage and swimming gymnastics are among the preparatory activities. I must say that without them we can not do. It is clear that swimming is a load on the body. Therefore, it is not bad to do a little warm-up before that. Complete the course of massage therapists for this is not necessary. Understand the principles and everything will be fine. And if you mix something up, it doesn't matter: not a very good massage is better than the absence of a very good massage.
By the time massage and gymnastics last for about 20-30 minutes (10-15 minutes for each procedure). Strict consistency is required: first massage, then gymnastics and after that - immersion in the bath.
The place of treatment is the usual changing table. Put the naked baby in the back and start the massage. It consists of two stages - stroking and kneading. First, we iron, that is, we simply run our hand over the skin of the child without much pressure. We observe the following sequence: legs (foot, shin, thigh), hands (hand, forearm, shoulder); turn on the stomach, then the buttocks, back; again turn the belly up, massage the abdomen, chest, neck, head. After the stroking is completed, in the same sequence we repeat the kneading of the muscles.
Particularly noteworthy is the abdominal massage. Most likely, we will need it not only before swimming and bathing, since there are no babies who never suffer from abdominal pain, and massage in this case brings relief very quickly. The base of the hand should be placed on the pubis of the child, after which the stomach is massaged by circular movements of four fingers of the right hand (except for the large) in a clockwise direction, that is, along the large intestine.
After the massage, gymnastic exercises are performed, the so-called “dry swimming”. It will help the child to learn the stroke movements.
1st exercise. Starting position - lying on his back, legs extended. An adult embraces the area of the ankle joints of a child from behind and below and alternately raises and lowers his legs (movements of the legs, as if swimming in a crawl). The number of repetitions 10-12 times.
2nd exercise. Starting position - lying on your back. Imitation of leg movements when swimming with a bras, or "frog". At the same time, bend both legs of the child in the knee and hip joints, then open the knees and quickly straighten the legs, returning to the starting position. The number of repetitions 8-10 times.
3rd exercise. Starting position - lying on your back, arms to the side. Holding the child by the hand, produce simultaneous stroking movements to the sides. Then the hands lift up, returning to the starting position (imitation of the second half of the movement of the arms while swimming with the brace on the back). The number of repetitions - 8-10 times.
The same movements with arms and legs are performed from the initial position lying on the stomach.
Teaching swimming babies. Swimming procedure
With purposeful swimming lessons, the main task is to rebuild the innate ineffective instinctive movements with your hands and feet on conscious, active and more effective.
The main goal of the classes is primarily to improve the health of the child and to teach him the vital skill - the ability to independently hold on the surface of the water. Therefore, you do not need to teach him the classic crawl or brace or other sports swimming methods. They can be started in about 2-3 years. In the meantime, the “free infant” style will suit you, which the student will tell you. The ultimate goal of classes during the first year is to teach the child the most accessible swimming skills.
It will take an average of 200-250 classes, which will take 10-11 months.
At the heart of babies swimming is swimming on the back and chest with manual or autonomous supports, and, finally, independent swimming.
In all cases, the nature of swimming is interval - a short rest is surely followed by swimming. Begin exercise should be with swimming on his back and then alternate it with swimming on his chest. Passive backstroke reaction can be used for passive relaxation.
Activation of movements of the child during swimming usually occurs in the 8-9th minute as a result of a specific motor attitude and improvement of the hemodynamics of the muscles.
The increase in the dose of swimming in each session should be in the range of 10-15 seconds, and the decrease in water temperature at the end of each month should be 0.5 °.
Thus, the activation of motor functions is achieved by stimulating movement and increasing their number, while hardening is achieved by a steady decrease in the temperature of full baths.
The swimming cycle includes the performance of different elements, the transfer of the child from one position to another with the help of precise manual supports. It should be remembered that you can not intercept the baby and transfer it from one position to another without a fixed stop.
If classes are interrupted due to illness or other reasons, they should be resumed as if they were held from the very beginning, with strict observance of the rules of gradualness. After illness, swimming lessons are resumed only with the knowledge of the attending physician.
The optimal age for the start of classes should be considered 5-14 days of age. The latest term is 3-3.5 months. Since at three months of age swimming reflexes begin to fade, the start of classes at this age will make them more laborious.
Manual support
The most severe sinking part of the body of the child is the head. Therefore, all manual support is carried out under the head and at the same time the neck and upper back.
Manual support can be varied. But all of them are divided into two groups - support when an adult is together in a bathroom with a child and when an adult is outside a bathroom.
1st group
An adult is sitting in the bathroom, leaning his back against its head wall, stretching and spreading his legs. Child support is performed at its four basic positions in the water: on the back, on the chest, sitting and standing. From class to class, it gradually changes: at first, the adult supports the child under the hips, then under the pelvis, under the back, and finally - under the head.
Soldier support it is used when the child is on the back in a position transverse to the length of the bath. The left palm supports the head, and the right palm supports the body in the hip joint, grabbing it in such a way that the thumb fits to the abdomen, and the rest to the buttocks.
Underwater pillow with the child on his back in a longitudinal position relative to the length of the bath. The fingers of an adult form a kind of pillow (palms are tightly connected with the little fingers inside, with thumbs outwards, all fingers are straight). The back of the head of the child rests on the supporting chest.
"Double lock" can be performed both in the position on the back and on the chest. In position on the back of the head of the child rests on the area of the wrist joints and the lower part of the forearm supporting, whose hands are under the back of the child. The thumbs enclose with the area of the shoulder joints on top or upper arm. In position on the chest, the supporting arms are under the baby’s breast, and the thumbs grip the upper part of the back from above. Chin relies on wrist joints.
Support in "Standing position" as follows. The supporter, while sitting in the bath, holds the child face-to-face (the thumbs are above the baby's nipples, the rest hold the upper back and the back of the head).
Supported by "In a sitting position" the adult bends the arm at the elbow to a 90 ° angle; palm and forearm extended forward. The child sits on the forearm of an adult, his body and head resting on the area of his chest and shoulder. With the help of the free right hand, you can support the child’s head.
2nd group
If the child feels comfortable in the bath, after 2-3 lessons you can switch to support “outside the bath”. You can use all the methods described, except for the last two, as well as some others.
The best of them are "Double hand support" when swimming on the back (with four fingers under the back, neck and head, two thumbs lie on the chest) can gradually become more complex: together with the whole palm, they begin to perform with their fingers apart, and later with their tips.
One-handed support "Dipper" - the thumb and forefinger cover the child’s neck, the hand is on the side of the nape and slightly on the side, without disturbing the baby to row. One-handed support and “dipper” allows you to stimulate strokes with your free hand.
Support "Arc" it is performed with two hands: the palm of one hand forms an “arc” (four fingers are tightly connected and straightened, the big one is set aside), the other hand holds the child’s belly.
As soon as the child learns to properly row, the nature of support changes. In the supine position, double support is provided by three, then two, and finally one finger to the back of the head of the child.
When swimming on the chest, the support with the two hands of the head behind the cheeks and slightly under the chin is most convenient. One-handed support on the chest is carried out with a “ladle”, as well as with the back of a thumb under the chin of a child, the other four are supported under the chest - the second hand slightly supports the back of the head with two fingers (support with the “grip” - with the index and thumb). Support under the chin helps to "lock" the mouth so that the baby does not drink water.
With any method of support, it is important that the child’s body is always submerged in water, with the exception of the face. We must strive to help the child find the optimal position to maintain balance. The head of the child should not lean excessively forward or back, and the legs should not bend at the joints or sink. If this occurs, gently stroke and massage joints and muscles in water. Then the child himself will straighten them. When performing support, you should strive to make the minimum effort so that the child learns how to independently navigate the water as soon as possible.
Suspension Support
They are made of a large piece of dense, preferably waterproof material, from which the belt is cut for one of the four body parts of the child: for the back - a belt width of 8-10 cm, for the abdomen - 10-12 cm, for the back of the head - in the form of a small skullcap cap and Chin - in the form of a cone-shaped bed. Ribbons of dense material are stitched on both sides of the belt, ending in loops for the teacher's hands. You can use for the manufacture of pendants usual wide scarf or linen mufflers.
You can come up with many different ways to support using pendants. Their main advantage is that they reduce the load on the spine supporting and contribute to the earliest training of the child to self-swimming.
Applying this method, the supporter must constantly feel the weight of the child, monitor the position of his head and torso, periodically loosening the tension.
Standalone support
It is advisable to apply in the initial stages of training or in cases where the child is difficult to master the active swimming movements of the legs.
Autonomous support is carried out with the help of various devices made from various unsinkable materials. They can be bought or made by yourself using a narrow rubber cavity, foam tape, cork products or other difficult-to-heat materials.
Self-swimming on the back, for example, is easiest to train from 2.5-3 months of age with a special bonnet, which, among other positive effects, will help make the bathing procedure more pleasant for parents. Obviously, to sit or stand half bent for 30-40 minutes is very difficult. And you can not make a child healthy due to the appearance of sciatica from his father, mother or grandmother. To make such a cap, you need to have the following: a regular thin cotton hat (cap), a piece of thin fabric the size of half a diaper, and 2 small foam blocks, the optimal size of which corresponds to the size of an ordinary pack of cigarettes.
First, the foam is sheathed with a cloth, and then fixed on the cap. At the same time, the upper edge of the cubes should rise above the head of the child. During the week, gradually removing the child’s supporting hand, you will teach him to float.
A month of bathing in a hat is quite enough to take it off: the child has already learned how to hold the head correctly, he can quite swim himself.
Self swimming
The transition to independent swimming on the back is relatively simple. It consists in a gradual decrease in manual and autonomous support, when the strength of the infant’s strokes and its ability to hold the head on the surface become quite sufficient.
Swimming on the back, as a rule, is not associated with diving and holding your breath, and therefore more accessible to mastering.
Swimming on the chest is associated with diving and holding your breath. Therefore, the baby is first taught to hold the breath and self-immersion, and only then apply self-sliding, exercises like "torpedo".
Organization of classes
1. Having finished massage and gymnastics, we take the child from the table in position on the chest in a double hand grip under his arms with his back to himself and transfer him to the water. Slow entry into the water with legs and standing. Speech: "We stand." The interval is 15 seconds. Feet rest on the bottom of the bath, the child is in an upright position. Make sure his chin is above the surface of the water.
2. Speech: "Let's go!". We pass the length of the bath. It should be ensured that the baby first leaned on each foot and then stepped over.
3. Again, we give a speech signal: "We stand!". Rest interval - 15 sec. Rest in a standing position warns motor overwork, so do not rush to go swimming on your back.
4. Go to the position on the back. Transfer from standing to the back is done without intercepting the brushes. Thumbs and palms go to the cheeks, index and middle - under the neck, ringless and little finger - under the back of the head (double hand support). The ears and chest of the child should be under water.
5. Perform a push with the feet from the end of the bathroom and slow wiring - swimming on the back to the other end of the bath - “shuttle”. The number of postings 6-8 from end to end. Double manual support should be done gently and freely, giving the child the opportunity to show the instinct of self-preservation, which is the basis of swimming reflexes. As soon as the baby begins to row, the nature of the support changes (see above). One-handed support allows the free hand to stimulate strokes.
6. We transfer the child from the position on the back to the standing position. Another speech signal: "We stand!". The child is no longer standing in a double hand grip under his arms, as in the beginning, but in the grip of his left hand behind the neck from behind (palm looks to the back of the head). Right hand on the chest, thumb under the chin.
7. Walking again - the child goes from the end to the end of the bath and back. After walking - standing for 15 seconds.
8. The transition to the position on the chest: interception of the right hand "bucket" under the chin. Two fingers behind the chin reach the ear (deep grip), the thumb looks away. The child’s chin should be above water under eye control along the entire swim path.
9. Speech signal: “We are sailing!”. In double support, with a “scoop” under the chin with the right hand, with the left hand, with a grip behind the neck, we swim to the right near corner of the bath, turn to the right far corner. Thus, we make the "eight". Repeat it again. When swimming on the chest, care should be taken to ensure that the child’s chin and the supporting hand are above the surface of the water. We make 6-8 "eights" and again we stand and rest for 15 seconds.
10. We again walk - twice from end to end. Do not forget about the speech signals: "We stand!", "We walk!"
11. Getting to the exercise swimming "cross". Double hand support when swimming on the back, slow wiring along the length of the bath (“shuttle”) to the near corner of the bath and turning the legs to the far corner (diagonally bath), wiring with turning, ears in the water. Repeat 6-8 times. Speech signal: “We are standing!”, Rest in a position for 15 seconds, walking 2 times from end to end.
Thus, the cycle of swimming includes the implementation of three exercises: swimming on the back with a “shuttle”, swimming on the chest with a “figure eight” and swimming on the back with a “cross”. After each swimming movement, standing, walking, standing again. It should be remembered that the rest should be about half of the entire procedure. Particular attention should be paid to speech. For example, standing should correspond to the word “stop!”, Walking - “go!”, Swimming - “swim!”, Diving - “dive!”. Accurate terminology helps to strengthen motor skills.
The total amount of the swimming path in one cycle is 50-60 m, walking - 5-6 m. The cycle duration is 3-4 minutes.
The first lesson consists of 1-2 cycles. A child swims as much as 7–140 m and passes 10–12 m. In each subsequent month, the lesson increases by 3–4 minutes, respectively, for a full cycle. Two months of classes correspond to 4 full cycles, three - 5 cycles, etc. One cycle can be limited only when the child is naughty on this day and does not want to swim.
Teaching swimming babies. Dives and diving
In so many books on bathing and swimming children, described in detail the procedure of diving. However, many parents do not always see it as mandatory. And since they cannot overcome their own fear, they prefer to do without this useful exercise. In fact, there is nothing terrible about diving - the newborn has a very strong reflex that prevents water from entering the respiratory tract. If you do not dive within two to three months, this reflex dies away. But, fortunately, even an ordinary procedure of bathing in a large bath cannot do without a child at some point not slipping from his supporting hand and not completely submerged, even when you didn’t plan it at all. Do not be afraid! It is even good - pick up the baby, put him in, let him shout, cough, and sneeze. At the same time coughs and vychikhaet all the dust that has accumulated over the day in the upper respiratory tract. When the child calms down - continue the procedure.
However, a situation where parents consciously organize diving is, of course, preferable in many respects. This should be done in the position of the child on the stomach. Say the word “dive” loudly and guide the child to a secant underwater. He will very quickly develop a conditioned reflex, and only the word “dive” will be enough for the baby to hold the breath on its own.
It is strictly forbidden to forcefully immerse your head by throwing the baby into the water or pressing it to the bottom with your hand: children often get into the water while inhaling and may choke or get very scared, which is very undesirable, as it can permanently turn them away from water procedures.
In the first month of classes it is advisable to conduct a simulated immersion. Its purpose is to test breathing on the speech signal: “Dive!” And watering your forehead and face with water. At the same time immersion under water is not carried out. Water does not enter the airways, allowing you to make sure that this exercise is safe.
(mosimage) When swimming on the figure-eight chest, it is necessary to learn how to support the baby’s head in a one-handed bucket with the right hand brush. It is important to perform a deep grip with the index and middle fingers at the ear of the child. Simulated immersion is carried out once every three "eight". During irrigation, the breath lasts 2-3 seconds, while water flows from the face.
Errors when performing watering - incomplete water intake in a handful, watering on the back of the head instead of the forehead and a sharp splashing of water under the nose of the child. It is necessary to work out the water intake from under the chin and the exact watering with a full handful of forehead and face.
In the second month of classes (not to be confused with age) after the command: “We dive!” At the time of a 2-3-second breath hold after watering, diving with the head under water no further than 20-30 cm in manual support is held.
In the third month of practice, diving is done by releasing the hands after pushing the child forward 20-30 cm. At the age of 6-7 months, diving under water reaches 40-50 cm, and reaches 1 m per year.
After diving and going out of the head to the surface, you should rest in a standing position - 5-10 seconds, then the voyage in the "eight" continues.
At the age of 5-6 months, the child begins, after diving, to go to the surface of the water, turning over on his back for swimming-drift with free breathing: the so-called rescue reflex works. If the child still does not know how to turn, help him make a turn. This is the so-called "torpedo with a turn."
Children love to jump in the water. Starting from two months, you can carry out vertical jumps into the water in hand supports, at first slowly and calmly. From 4 months you can go to vertical diving by the command “Dive!”
In 6-8 months with confident diving, you can go to diving with a jump in the "torpedo". Diving is carried out without irrigation at the signal: "Dive!". "Torpedo" from a jump is possible only in manual support.
Cold spot hardening
At the end of each lesson, be sure to perform a tempering procedure - take the child to a “cold spot” formed by a stream of cold water. In the first month, make 4-6 transactions, monthly increase them by one, reaching 16-18 by the year. In the "cold spot" for one posting, 2 back-chest rotations are performed (but not in the jet itself). Introduction under a stream of arms or legs is possible, but only after 2-3 months of study. Children really like cool contrasting hardening. The cold water faucet opens from the very first lesson.
Experience shows that some parents, at first hotly embarking on the kid’s learning to swim, gradually cool down to classes. In addition, after six months, the child has many new motor skills: he crawls, sits, stands, crouches, starts walking. Parents watch with interest on his successes on the “land” and skip classes in the bath, and this significantly reduces the hardening effect, interferes with the consolidation of acquired skills. Meanwhile, a child older than six months is already more enduring and can be engaged more successfully than before. That is why do not weaken, but, on the contrary, increase attention to swimming, use the child’s readiness to imitate more widely, inventing different games in the water.
We get out "on land"
So, your baby splashed in the bathroom, performed various tasks and exercises, now you need to adequately complete this useful event. Take the child out of the water under the arms and throw a diaper over his head. It should be big enough to wrap it whole. And in this form, not “wiping it in the bathroom, go to the changing table. The baby is not hot at all, because it is wet and in a cool room! And this is very good - another tempering procedure. without wiping it. The last remark is fundamentally.
Should not especially rush and nervous about the fact that the baby will freeze. Wet soaked? Now we will do "post-production procedures." First we take vegetable oil - the best is special baby (olive), but boiled in a water bath. Sunflower is also suitable. Soak cotton wool and wipe all the skin folds that a child has, of course, if there is no damage there. In the presence of diaper rash - use powder. Pay special attention to the treatment of the genitals. Boys do not forget to smear the skin fold under the scrotum, and girls wipe with a cotton wool moistened with water (preferably boiled) with a sex gap. The direction of movement - from the pubis to the pope - and not otherwise! If it's time, cut your nails.
And now you can swaddle the baby or wear a vest and sliders. Head left. The main thing after a stay in the water, of course, is the ears. For this you need to make a turunda. The technology is as follows: we take a match, tightly wrap a cotton wool on its end, after which we remove it from the match. Thin end of the resulting turunda shoved in the ear of the baby.
Absorbent cotton absorb the remaining water. Remove the fleece is not necessary until the baby’s head is completely dry. To prevent the cotton from falling out, put on a thin hat that will not harm the baby after the bath. If during bathing the baby dived at least a few times and then sneezed, there is nothing special to do with the nose.
Now imagine yourself in the place of a child: bathing in cold water, tired, and then a little more chilled in the cool air of the room after the procedure. But on the other hand, you are wiped dry, warmly dressed ... What is there to think: if you want to eat now and to the side ... So it will happen. But before eating, it is advisable to wear the baby for 15–20 minutes in an upright position in order to quickly release the stomach from the water that he took in the bathroom. Now feed him boldly and put him to bed.
There are, however, such active "athletes" that after the bath they have no strength even for food - they would rather close their eyes and fall asleep. Let him fall asleep, nothing terrible: in this case, the child, as a rule, in 1.5-2 hours will wake up with a brutal appetite, after satisfying which he will fall asleep soundly and for a long time. It is clear that with such a child it is advisable to engage in hours at 9-10 pm. In this case, just in time for midnight, you and your whole family will enter the mode of a good night’s sleep.
Pediatricians are advised to engage in diving with infants no later than 3 weeks of age, immediately after the umbilical wound heals. From the very birth, babies already know how to hold their breath under water, try to stay afloat, instinctively sort out with their hands and feet. This is explained by the fact that in the womb of the mother the baby was in a liquid medium. The baby will be pleased to be back in the familiar world and feel the familiar feelings and emotions. Therefore, to begin to engage with the baby should be on time. Otherwise, if you hold out to 3-4 months, these instincts will weaken, and it will take much longer to teach the child.
Naturally, the mother of the child will be pleased if he learns to float well at water at an early age. However, exercises with baby should be carried out not for learning to swim, but primarily to gain benefits for the baby. The easiest and most effective method - classes with children in the home bathroom. Subsequently, when the child starts to stand on his own feet, you can enroll in the pool and continue classes there. This usually occurs after reaching 6 months of age. If you can not visit the pool, do not worry - it is proved that the exercises in the bathroom bring to the tots the irreplaceable effect:
- The effectiveness of swimming in hypertonus in infants. Thanks to regular workouts, the baby’s muscles are strengthened, the fingers gradually relax, the legs and arms are straightened.
- Water treatments are very useful for hardening the body of the baby. Splashing in cool water strengthens the immune system, increases resistance to colds.
- Systematic training in the bathroom and pool have a beneficial effect on the formation of the child’s posture, strengthens the spine.
- Home classes are helpful in maintaining an optimal level of hemoglobin in the blood. This is due to increased production of red blood cells during respiratory depression.
- Classes in water improve the rhythm of the heart of the crumbs, normalize blood pressure, strengthen the circulatory system and lungs.
- Diving, due to the flow of water into the nose of the little one, helps to flush out bacteria and dust from the mucous membrane, clears the airways, reduces the likelihood of a runny nose. In addition, diving exercises with babies are conducive to the development of the brain of the toddler.
- It is known that young swimmers begin to walk, sit, crawl much earlier than their peers.
- Those kids who were taught to swim in the infancy period, in the future do not experience the fear of water and continue to enjoy the pool.
There is one more detail, significant for parents.
All children, after splashing in water, get tired and fall asleep easily, and then sleep peacefully all night. Probably every mother dreams about it!
Swimming rules in the home bathroom
To teach a toddler to dive at home is a snap. Nevertheless, you need to use some important recommendations:
- You must start swimming not later than a certain age. As you know, the first time is 3-4 weeks old. During this time, the baby adapts to the environment, get stronger, gain weight.
- An important stage is the preparation of the bathroom. Before bathing the baby, the bath should be washed with soap and soda, rinse with boiling water. It is necessary to carefully use various herbs, additives, potassium permanganate. Before using them, it is advisable to consult a doctor. By the way, the famous pediatrician Yevgeny Komarovsky advises the use of water without additives. For many, this will seem surprising, since for many years babies were bathed in water with the addition of potassium permanganate. The pediatrician explains this by the fact that to ensure disinfection requires a dangerous concentration of this substance that can harm the skin and eyes of the baby. A few crystals, he said, are not able to perform their antiseptic function. From this we can conclude that potassium permanganate is useless when bathing children.
- But what about the temperature of water and air? Here another national rule was refuted by Komarovsky, a doctor. It turns out that there is no need to boil water and warm the room. The pediatrician breaks all the stereotypes, claiming that water can be cooler than the well-known 37 degrees, the air in the bathroom is at normal room temperature, and the baby bath is not a necessity. Hence it is time to conclude that bathing a child is not such a difficult task. However, each mother is recommended to compare all the pros and cons, listen to your pediatrician and come to the right decision on your own.
Necessary fixtures
No child bathing will not do without the necessary and useful things. The most important and necessary subject is a circle for babies. This is an indispensable assistant to the mother when bathing her offspring. There are a large number of circles of different price and age categories. They differ from ordinary ones by the presence of the chin rest of the baby and are put on directly on the neck.
You can get a slide for swimming, bath, seat, mattress. But these things, unlike the circle, are not essentials. And in order to make bathing more interesting and fun, you can get bath toys.
Attention, we dive!
An interesting exercise - diving in the bathroom. Many moms are afraid that their beloved child may choke or choke. But in fact, this procedure carries no risk for the child. How diving infants in the bathroom? You need to come up with some word that will be a kind of diving team, for example, “Forward!”. Before lowering the child under the water, you need to blow him in the face, forcing him to close his eyes, say “Forward!” And dip the baby’s head under the water for a few seconds.
Of course, the first few times the baby will swallow water and act up, cry. But over time, he will get used to such actions and change the attitude to water in a positive way. It is worth noting that first you need to take a little swimmer with other exercises, and then move on to diving. It is desirable that the child was in a good and playful mood.
Contraindications to swimming
Despite the many advantages of diving with kids at home, there are contraindications to classes. Some of them are relative, so it is important to get a consultation from a local pediatrician. But knowing the limitations will not prevent every mommy:
- Conducting water procedures is strictly prohibited during respiratory and viral diseases in a child.
- Also, you can not swim if there are congenital problems with the cardiovascular system.
- Diseases of the musculoskeletal system, requiring fixation of the legs or arms, can also be contraindicated.
- Nervous disorders and convulsions require the permission of the attending physician.
- Dermatitis and other skin diseases.