Baby swimming on the belly
The child is turned from the armpit grip over the side onto the stomach. The child's upper body lies on the forearm and the free hand is used to support the head. The child is leaned slightly forward through the forearm. From this position, slowly turn around in circles a few times.
As a result of this exercise, the child gets used to the prone position in water.
Prerequisite exercises:
Please read the Safety notes before you start.
Preparatory exercises
armpit grip with interrupted eye contact
Hold your child in an armpit grip and convey the joy of water through light grimaces and speech. In a second step, another person should hold a swimming board or something similar between you and your child so that eye contact is interrupted for a short time. At the beginning, the interruption should only last a second or two. The duration of the interruption is then increased. The interruptions do not take place immediately one after the other, but over and over again over several visits to the swimming pool.
In the core exercise “carousel”, eye contact between parent and child cannot be maintained and although there is always physical contact, the child does not see the mother or father for a certain period of time. Since children at this age are still very focused on their parents, this can be a negative experience for the child. Through the preparatory exercise mentioned here, the child can slowly get used to not seeing the mother or father for a short period of time.
Easy tilting
The child is held in the armpit grip and tilted slightly on its side. First on one side, then on the other. There is also an increase here. Over several attempts, the child should be tilted more and more to degrees.
During the core exercise, the child leaves the vertical position in the water. This is new and should therefore be prepared accordingly. This exercise allows the baby to slowly get used to the slanted position.
water basket
From the armpit grip, the child is tilted at a slight angle onto the side of your weak hand. The strong hand is then released and placed under the child's chest as in the left picture. Then hold the child with your strong hand so that it stays balanced so that you can also place the weak hand under your chest. Hold the child in this grip for a while and run 3-5 meters backwards. Eye contact is always maintained.
In this exercise, the prone position is also assumed. However, eye contact can always be maintained, making the child feel more comfortable. This exercise tends to be more suitable for infants under one year of age.
Distraction through toys
Use a toy to distract the child's stomach when turning. As already said, the child does not see the mother or father for a certain period of time. Through this exercise, the focus can be transferred from the parents to the toy, so the child is not afraid even if they do not see the parent for a few seconds. However, toys should only be used at the beginning. At a certain point, you should be able to turn the child on its stomach without distraction.
