The slogan "Swim before you walk" is very popular among modern young mothers. Everyone knows that staying in water at a comfortable temperature has an extremely beneficial effect on the well-being of a small child up to one year old. You can teach your baby to swim in a large bathtub at home and in a children's pool. In the latter case, for a visit, you will need to collect the necessary documents confirming the absence of infectious diseases in the child and his mother.
A child can swim from birth, this skill can be developed
Benefits of swimming for babies
Any healthy baby knows how to swim from birth, because this is what he does for nine months in the womb. However, when a baby is born, the innate swimming reflex can diminish. To prevent this from happening, you need to exercise daily. To do this, you can go to the pool, where there are groups for young mothers and children under one year old.
It's worth a try, because swimming has a versatile positive effect on the child's body:
- Promotes complete muscle relaxation;
- Reduces intestinal colic and promotes the active passage of gas in children up to three months;
- Strengthens the emotional connection between the child and the mother;
- Strengthens the nervous system and makes the baby calmer;
- Improves sleep;
- Reduces intracranial pressure.
Experts say that children who spend a lot of time in the water from infancy later begin to sit, crawl, and roll over earlier than their peers. Swimming also saturates the lungs with oxygen and improves appetite, the child begins to grow faster and gain weight. The good thing about the pool is that, unlike the bathtub, the child can swim with his mother.
Swimming is known to have a beneficial effect on the condition of the spine and the formation of posture.
Contraindications for visiting the pool
There are many contraindications for visiting the pool, for example:
- Any skin diseases (eczema, dermatitis, diaper rash);
- Chronic otitis media and sinusitis;
- General poor health of the baby (drowsiness, lethargy);
- Teething period is the time when the child becomes especially susceptible to any infectious disease.
Also contraindications are any gastrointestinal disorders: diarrhea, vomiting or loose stools. In case of chronic constipation, the pool, on the contrary, is recommended, because active movements in the water activate intestinal peristalsis. In no case should you go to the pool with your baby immediately after breastfeeding or formula feeding, because the baby can vomit profusely during swimming. The best time for a hike is about forty minutes before the next feed.
If you get to the children's sports center by public transport, in late autumn and early spring, when the peak incidence of acute respiratory infections is observed in most large cities, it is better to stay at home and train in the bath so that the child does not get sick from prolonged contact with a large number of people.
Attention! It is strictly forbidden to visit the pool with the baby if the child has a runny nose, cough, fever or other signs of an acute respiratory infection. In this case, even the slightest hypothermia can lead to complications such as otitis media, sinusitis, or even pneumonia. Therefore, if a child is often sick, it is better to choose a pool, where, when buying a subscription, the payment for missed classes is returned.
What tests need to be done
Analyzes for the pool for a child are tests for enterobiasis (pinworm eggs) and helminth eggs (worms). Also in the pool they may ask:
- A copy of the baby's birth certificate and mother's passport;
- A certificate for the mother from the gynecologist that she does not suffer from sexually transmitted diseases;
- A certificate for mom from a dermatologist that she does not have infectious skin diseases;
- Permission to visit the children's pool from the local pediatrician.
It is better to put all documents in one plastic folder or file, so they will definitely not be lost. It is not necessary to bring originals of personal documents, copies of them are enough. Having prepared all the papers, you can start collecting the necessary things.
To visit the children's pool, an infant under one year old must wear a special waterproof diaper to prevent water pollution during the session. You should also take with you a disposable absorbent diaper, a comfortable terry towel with a hood-corner and a flannel cap so that the baby is not bare-headed after getting out of the water. In case the child gets hungry, you can take a pre-diluted milk mixture in a thermos container or at least a bottle of boiled water. To make the baby more fun to swim, some parents take rubber toys or rattles with them.
Only healthy children and adults are allowed into the swimming pool
Attention! The validity of the tests is limited, so it makes sense to go to take them only if the parents have already decided on the pool and the time of the first visit.
Where to get a certificate for the pool
It happens that the mother knows what certificates the child needs for the pool, but does not know who to contact for them and where to get tested. You can get the necessary certificate for visiting a public pool from your local pediatrician or at a paid clinic. First of all, the parent of the child should contact the local pediatrician at the place of residence. If the doctor does not find any contraindications for early training in swimming, he will give admission to the pool and a referral to take tests, for example, to the Invitro laboratory, although tests can also be given in the children's clinic. For her certificates, a mother should contact the adult clinic to which she is attached.
Applying for documents to a private medical center allows you to significantly save time and not stand in long tedious queues. However, in this case, you will have to pay for each individual procedure, even if you have a compulsory health insurance policy.
Sometimes young mothers, hoping to save time and money, turn to doctors they know for fake certificates for themselves and their child. It is strongly discouraged to do this, because in Russia criminal liability is provided for forgery. Therefore, you should not be tempted by dubious ads in newspapers or on the Internet promising to make any reference in absentia in 15 minutes. The best option is to go to a doctor for a referral, get tested the next day and immediately get the necessary document.
Children's certificate validity period
The period of validity of a child and adult certificate to the pool is on average three months, or 90 days. However, some medical institutions issue a document for a period of six months. The period of validity of the document is usually indicated in its text.
Before collecting documents for the pool for a baby under one year old, you should consult a pediatrician. Perhaps the doctor will find contraindications for early training in swimming in the baby. It is also worth consulting a neurologist and orthopedist. If there are no contraindications, but the baby feels uncomfortable, you need to change the children's pool or temporarily postpone classes, continuing them when the child grows up.
Swimming in the pool
