Baby swimmers need to wear a fitted aqua nappy in the water, these are available from Kirby Swim or most supermarkets. Children in a learn to swim or squad level need a snug fitting pair of bathers and a pair of goggles too. We recommend swim caps for children with long hair, fabric caps are available from Kirby Swim too, these are much more comfortable to wear.

Swimming is a life saving skill that is essential in Australia, being surrounded by water, so it’s important to help your child to understand that swimming is a skill that must be learned. Approach swimming lessons with a sense of fun and enjoyment, and talk about the fun things they will do in the class. Give lot’s of pool side encouragement during the lessons, lots of ‘good jobs’ and thumbs up go will help. And brag about their amazing achievements to family and friends. Confidence is the key. With over 302 preventable drownings in Australia the year 2008/09, mostly in rivers, it is so important that children under 5 are taught to swim and survive.

Children with contagious illnesses are much better off staying home and resting up. In the case of gastrointestinal infections, please keep your swimmer out of the water until they are well for at least 7 days. Swimming will not cause more illnesses as the pool water is one of the most sterile environments you can enter, however illnesses can be spread through contact, so to avoid the spread of illnesses please encourage your sick children to stay home and away from any group activities.

Swimming is a skill that must be learned and practiced all year round, unfortunately, children still drown in winter too. Our pools are heated to make swimming comfortable all year round and you will really see the skill difference come summer when you swim throughout the year. Children tend to forget new skills taught and new found water confidence will disappear without continual practice, to avoid this we recommend a year round approach, with only small breaks from lessons to re-charge.

Our pool deck supervisors are highly trained and experienced in swimming. They are there to ensure that lesson structure and continuity are flowing and that children within the class are working well together. They are also there to continually improve our teaching staff with tips and ideas. Please utilise this valuable resource, feel free to talk to the pool deck supervisor  at any time with comments or concerns regarding your children’s swimming, they are there to help! They will work with the parents in partnership to ensure every lesson for every swimmer is as good as it can be.

Swimming is a lifelong skill, and that takes years to master. Children really do learn at very different rates and have different strengths and weaknesses so it is impossible to say how long it should take for your child to be safe, and swimming well. Remember, if you have any concerns about your child’s progress, talk to our pool deck supervisor and chat about progress and tips. But please remember to reward little improvements you see, be patient and expect some plateaus, where skills stagnate and some peaks, where skills rapidly progress.

It is a normal part of learning to plateau and to not see significant improvements for some part of your child’s swimming learning career. These plateaus are usually followed by periods of intense skill acquisition, where the child swims out of their skin, so it is a case of ebbs and flows. Don’t pressure your child at this stage, remain calm and happy and keep coming to your regular lesson, it will soon pass. If you are concerned about the plateau, speak to your Childs pool deck supervisor and make a plan of action together.

It is expected that young swimmers get over excited in their swimming lesson, bob under water and find it hard to focus and  listen to the teacher. Teachers are very patient and deal with this scenario daily. For your child the water is fun and often for the younger swimmers their swimming lessons provide the first teacher – pupil relationship. Children are not programmed to listen to teachers, they need to learn this skill and this may take a few lessons. If you’re worried about that your child or another child within the class please speak to the supervisor for their experienced input.