Gone are the days when a baby gets thrown into a pool to appeal to its survival instincts and swim on its own, thank God! Bert Lozada Swim School's Baby and Me Class is very systematic and empowering, progressive and relies a lot on the trust between child and caregiver.
Confidence in the water is facilitated through songs and games, mini contests of shooting balls in baskets or going after toys by kicking or paddling in the water. I found that it's important that there is only one designated caregiver with the child for all classes since whoever that is also learns the activities and the why of it. Plus, the child's trust in that person gets translated to his trust of the unknown, which is the water. A baby is more likely to forgive his caregiver for dunking him in the water today if that caregiver had been there from the start, making him feel how bubbles feel like in the palm of his hands.
We had our lessons at the Philippine Columbian. For P3,000 (3x per week sessions), you get ten thirty-minute sessions, a BLSS card, Ace Water Spa gift certificate and a BLSS shirt.
Our instructor, Teacher Berna was authoritative but great with the kids. She knew when to push a child and when not to. She was also very generous with praise. Still, she was really just a facilitator and the BLSS Baby and Me class is really about baby and me (whoever me is) enjoying the water in preparation for future swimming lessons.
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My son manages seven-second underwater dunks, a lot of kicking, jumping into water and paddling by the time the classes ended. And he enjoys pools and beaches all the more now.
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