You can take your baby swimming from around 3 months. It is excellent exercise for you both and is good stimulation for baby i.e. the temperature, pressure and feeling of the water and especially the skin to skin contact with the parent. It is very exciting for your baby because suddenly there are no limits to their movement. It is important to be aware that babies should never stay in the pool for longer than 30 minutes as they get cold much quicker than adults.

There are exercises which encourage baby to move in the water but they won't learn to swim properly until around the age of 3 years. They learn how to breathe out under water, how to fall into the water without being scared and how to move in water comfortably and with confidence. If you would like to take your baby swimming there is the question of swimming aids to consider; Many parents feel that the use of these aids is not advisable because children end up having to learn to swim twice - with and without the aids. The choice of swimming aids/water wings is also very limited as most of them are made from PVC and are heavily loaded with softening agents.

The final point to remember if you are taking baby swimming is you should buy a swim nappy in the right size - you wouldn't want to leave a mess in your local pool!!