Gordon Ellard designs a programme for Deaf Children Australia.

We believe all children should have the opportunity to learn to swim.
Late last year Gordon (founder and owner of Bangkok Dolphins) attended the Swim Australia conference in Brisbane,
where he presented the “Puggles Swim” program. A program that he wrote for Deaf Children Australia.
The course is designed to up-skill accredited swim teachers to include deaf and hard-of-hearing children in mainstream lessons.
Gordon was excited to discuss the course with Laurie Lawrence, Australia’s baby and learn-to-swim guru.

Bathing a Newborn: Birthing Suite to Bath Tub

By Gordon Ellard, November 2020

As a father of two, I admit that I had mixed emotions about bringing my first child home.  I was so excited but on the other hand, I was a little terrified.  The “What to expect” books seemed to make a lot of sense, but would it all fall into place when finally home?

Bath time for me ended up being one of my favourite activities of the day.  A potential slippery business soon turned into a whole new world of uninterrupted fun.

In the first week, we used a small cloth bath support seat that we put directly into the bathtub and used sponges to gently wash our newborn.  This was an ideal start as our baby boy was supported and comfortable. We then gradually filled the bathtub (water temperature should be about 32°C) so that the water level covered most of his body.   This helped him have the sensation of floating and yet feel supported in the water.

It still amazes me how much a baby of fewer than two weeks old loved the water.  I guess in hindsight it’s no surprise that babies love the sensation of being in the water as they have spent the previous nine months suspended in fluid.

As our baby grew, so did the activities we did with him in the bathtub.  I would fill up the tub to about 30cm and then I would get into the bath.  My wife, Elizabeth, would then hand our son to me and after a few moments of cuddles and singing nursery rhymes, I would slowly lower him into the water on his back – it was such a lovely, relaxed and calm environment. 

With one hand supporting his neck and the other the small of his back, I would gradually rock him back and forth on his back, progressively supporting him less, until he was super relaxed with his ears and feet under the water.

I would slowly remove my second hand from his back and he would then float with just one hand supporting his head. Once complete and with the baby still happy, I would sit him up while cradling him, and it was shower time! 

I had bought a little dolphin rain shower and I would pour water slowly from the back of his head then over his whole face, nice and gently.  As he grew more accustomed to the water over the coming weeks and months, I would support him less and made bigger showers – he just loved it, splashing and kicking all over the place. The amount of splashing and fun would often mean that the entire bathroom would need a good mop!

I did the same routine for my daughter, who unsurprisingly found the whole “swimming” experience thoroughly enjoyable too.

This article was published in Bangkok BAMBI Magazine in November 2020. You can download the article HERE.

About the Author

Gordon Ellard is the founder of Bangkok Dolphins which was established in 1997. Gordon has a passion for all things swimming and has worked to establish a programme at Dolphins that is accredited by the Thai Ministry of Education. His favourite age to teach is babies and the learn to swim range.  Gordon is married and has two teenage children, who he taught to swim.

Why enrol your child in infant swimming?

There are many conflicting opinions on this topic. Our answer is based on many years of teaching swimming to infants and research from Australia and the UK combined.

First and foremost is the safety aspect which applies in every country, but especially Thailand.  Giving your child the skill to save itself we see as the most important reason.  Recognising that there is a swimming pool in nearly every house or condo block, which is most likely not fenced, teaching your child to swim to the side of the pool could save his/her life. Your infant swimming goal should be that your child can swim to the side if they were to fall into the pool by approx 24 – 30 months.

During 6 – 18 months, physical & mental development is at its most obvious. Learning to walk, climb, understand and talk are all challenges for the child. Taking these challenges into the pool learning environment adds for another healthy, natural, fun thing to do.  Each class can be an interactive recreational activity with your child in a new and exciting liquid environment. In this medium you can bond with your child face to face. Often Dads gets involved in swimming lessons and it’s the “me & dad” activity for the week.

The lesson should be structured for the best benefit to your child and promote learning to swim through song and games especially in the 6 to 18 month age group.

At home you can encourage “getting ready” for swimming lessons from birth. Don’t be scared to pour a little sprinkle of water onto your baby’s head and let it roll down their face – they won’t like it at first. There is no need to wipe splashes of water off your baby’s face as it happens, it gets them uses to the feeling.

Encouragement of confidence and independence can start at any age, however the earlier the better. During the 6-18 month stage a growth spurt of self confidence happens as a result of the child’s ability to move about and master their environment. Looking for recognition of achievement is natural and being encouraging when an achievement of any size is made promotes a healthy self esteem in children.  Learning to master the water, fear of the water or independence in the water deserves encouragement and therefore can promote a good self esteem

Children learn to socialize (or perform for an audience) at an early age, although children generally do not ‘play’ with other children under 2 years. Learning to work or share with new faces and other children can help develop social skills needed for life.

When organizing lessons for your baby look for a qualified, reputable swim school. Ask about qualifications of the school’s staff. Take a look at the cleanliness of where the swim lessons are being held. The most beneficial environment to learn swimming is a heated, salt water pool. Baby’s cannot regulate their own body temperature so a heated environment is a happy one.

Finally, the smooth and fluid exercise that swimming brings relaxes many infants and toddlers resulting in uninterrupted healthy naps.