FAQs

Your baby can start swimming with us straight from birth. But if your little one is premature, always check with your doctor before starting your lessons. As long as your baby is deemed medically fit, it should be absolutely fine for them to attend lessons once they are past their due date.

Babies love familiarity, so getting them used to the water beforehand will help them prepare for the lesson. 

Having a bath or shower together is the perfect place to start. Laugh, play, splash and natter with your baby to reassure them that being in the water is a fun, safe place to be. 

If you can, pop down to your local pool. You don’t have to be there long, but getting them used to the atmosphere of the pool will mean they’re more relaxed for their first lesson. 

All you need is comfortable swimwear and a towel. Bring goggles if you’d like to go underwater too (make sure they have clear lenses). But don’t worry, if you’re not a confident swimmer you won’t be forced to go underwater. 

Based on HSE health guidelines, your baby doesn’t need to wait to have their vaccinations before starting their Water Babies journey. 

If your baby is premature, please check with your health practitioner first. As soon as they’re ready, we’re ready. 

• Happy Nappy – Every water baby must wear our double nappy system at their lessons, which means a paper or reusable swim nappy with an approved neoprene Happy Nappy over the top. You don’t want to be the party pooper of your lesson (literally). 
• Changing mat – A small roll-up one so you can safely change your little one on the floor.
• Towel – To keep your baby toasty after their lesson.
• Wetsuit – To help keep your baby warm if they are sensitive to the cold.
• Warm hat – Little heads get cold easily after swimming. A hat helps keep them cosy on the way home.

We’ve had many babies swim with us with eczema, so recommend smoothing prescribed barrier cream over the affected parts before popping them into a sun suit. If you’re ever unsure, do speak to a health professional for advice on your baby’s skin. 

If it’s just the sniffles, then it’s fine to attend your lesson. But if either of you have a temperature, then best to give it a miss. If you or your baby have any significant illnesses, including ear infections, chicken pox, vomiting or diarrhoea, then please stay at home. 

We also ask that any sickness or diarrhoea symptoms have completely cleared for at least 72 hours before your lesson. When it comes to any medical condition, we always ask that you check with your doctor or health practitioner before coming along to your lessons. 

Every pool provides changing room facilities which are suitable for you and your baby. Bringing your changing mat also means that no matter where your lesson is, you can easily change your baby comfortably and safely. 

We only swim in pools which have been heated to at least 29 C. If your baby is under 12 weeks or 12lbs, any pool you swim in must be a minimum temperature of 32 C. Older babies can swim in 30 C pools and toddlers under 2 years can swim in 29 C pools so long as they are wearing a wetsuit. Don’t worry though, we’ll make sure you’re always in the right temperature pool for your little one. 

Carers and babies need to be ready to jump in as soon as the class before them has finished! We would recommend arriving 15 minutes before your lesson to give you and your baby plenty of time to get ready.

We’d recommend feeding your baby one hour before the lesson starts – keep the meal a light one! But, if they need milk closer to the lesson, do go ahead and feed them. 

With toddlers, we advise leaving an hour between them eating solid food and them swimming. If there's anything that you're ever unsure about, get in touch with your local office. They'll be happy to help. 

It's absolutely safe for your baby to go underwater. That's because they are born with a reflex called the ‘laryngeal reflex’, or ‘gag reflex’. This kicks into action when your baby feels water on their face, nose or throat. When your baby goes underwater, the soft tissue at the back of their throat (called the larynx) closes to block the entrance to the airway.

Using your little one’s natural reflexes from an early age, we prepare them to go under the water through word association. This means that as the reflex fades, controlling their breathing becomes a learned response.

But we'll never, ever submerge a baby that isn't ready or prepared to go underwater. You can be rest assured that your baby is in safe hands with us.

Our Water Babies world, Oceans of Imagination, is an immersive swimming experience where little ones learn a skill for life. You’ll be guided by our team of Swimvincibles, on your own, individual swimming adventure, tailored to your needs. Every water baby will join one of our swimming superheroes, The Swimvincibles, in their Team. They’ll work towards progressing key swimming skills and collecting Water Babies Treasures along the way, with their Swimvincible Team member leading the way. This includes everything from badges and stickers to certificates, highlighting your little one’s achievements as they travel through our programme.

The Swimvincibles are a team of swimming superstars, who head up our swim Teams at Water Babies. They’ll inspire and guide your little one through their swimming journey with us. Starting with Pearl for our new baby classes through to Saffi, Echo, Sculli, and finally Finn, as you head for independent swimming!

A Team represents where your little one is in their swimming journey with Water Babies, with our littlest water babies starting with Team Pearl, and our big water babies swimming in Team Finn.

You’re a ‘Swimvincible in training’ from your very first lesson. There are five Swimvincible Teams in total, and you’ll progress through a team in a year.

A massive sense of pride and an amazing Swimvincible cloth badge as a forever keepsake of your swimming journey with us.

Mystery Island weeks are a chance to have extra fun and let imaginations run wild!  We have few sprinkled through the year as special events in class, with a chance to wear fancy dress and get involved in a themed lessons such as our bi-annual ‘Splashathon’ charity week.

Water Babies badges are awarded at special celebratory Island badge weeks planned into our swimming calendar usually at the end of your swimming term. There are four spread out evenly throughout each swimming year, which are collected on the way to achieving each Team Swimvincible badge.

You get five Water Babies badges per year! There are four Island badges (Cloudfish Cove, Lighthouse Lagoon, Floating Forest and a Mystery Island badge) spread out throughout a swimming year, which are collected on the way to achieving each Team Swimvincible badge.

Badges will be awarded towards the end of each term. They will appear in your ‘My Water Babies’ account and your teacher will let you know when an Island week is approaching.

Each Water Babies Island badge relates to the skills you’ll have been learning and working towards in your lessons. The badge week will highlight and celebrate your little ones efforts, progression, and development as a class.

You will receive a badge towards the end of each term. There are also stickers and certificates awarded along your journey, so lots to look forward and add to your Water Babies Treasures collection.

Yes! If you joined after a specific badge week but would like to collect the badge to complete your set, you can purchase any missing from your local office.

The specific Team Swimvincible badge is awarded at around week 40 of your swimming journey, as you complete the Team and are ready to move onto the next one.

There are 25 Water Babies badges to collect across our whole programme – 4 Island badges and a Swimvincible badge for each Team and 5 Teams in total to complete.

All our Water Babies offices do badges! If you haven’t received one please contact your local team who will be able to help.

Water Babies Badges are awarded as you go through the programme, but you can buy any from an earlier stage if you didn’t join us at the start of Team Pearl – just ask your local office.

Just contact your local office – any badges awarded before you joined us won’t be activated on your ‘My Water Babies’ account, but you can still buy them to complete the set!

Badge week is a chance to celebrate all your swimmer has been learning and working towards in the pool with your whole class. There are four Island badge weeks (Cloudfish Cove, Lighthouse Lagoon, Floating Forest and Mystery Island) spread out evenly throughout each swimming year, as a chance to reflect on progress and development for each island’s set of swimming skills. You’ll leave the class with a sense of pride and an amazing cloth badge to add to your collection of treasures!

No! The Water Babies Treasures awarded to you, as you make your way through the Teams with the Swimvincibles, are all part of the journey. You are able to purchase any which may have been awarded prior to you joining us.

Water Babies is the world’s leading baby and toddler swimming school, teaching over 40,000 little ones a week the lifesaving skill of learning to swim. Aimed at families of all shapes, sizes and blends who want to give the children in their lives the best start in life, Water Babies takes each child on a journey of aquatic discovery, adventure and purposeful play. We advocate holistic learning through creating water quests and adventures tailored to every stage, prioritising child personal development, and nurturing every little mind, body and soul through swimming. We’ll support you and your little one’s unique swimming journey, helping to build water confidence and safety in a creative and imaginative way.

We’ll find you a class in the Team which is most appropriate to your child’s age and experience. All our new babies will join Team Pearl. But if you’re joining us with a toddler or pre-schooler, you could join in Team Saffi, Team Echo, Team Sculli, or even Team Finn. It’s about getting you settled with similar age class mates and skills which will be at the right development stage for your little water baby.

Your local office can give you advice on the next steps in your swimming journey.

We understand every child develops and learns at their own pace. Water Babies teachers are trained to teach what’s in front of them, and will work with you and your little one to help achieve skills in their own time. Not achieving a particular skill won’t affect your child’s ability to be rewarded for their individual progress and be awarded with their badges.

Water is a leveller, a place where everyone can flourish and have fun in a non-competitive environment. Swimming has a whole range of benefits for babies and toddlers with disabilities and learning difficulties, and at Water Babies, we welcome all little ones to swim with us. Our teachers are trained to teach every baby and toddler as an individual, and at their own pace. When booking on to your lesson, just speak to your local office about any additional support which might be needed for your little one to help them in their swimming journey. Your teacher will then be on hand to help you and provide you with this support in lessons.