Water Babies - Making a Splash for Charity!

Water Babies in Sussex West is getting ready to celebrate the nation’s finest summer of sport with a special charity event to raise money for Tommy’s, the baby charity, and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth.  

The Water Babies Games will take place on Friday 20^th July and Saturday 21^st July and will involve special themed lessons with a sporting twist, including baby windsurfing, horse riding, long jump, relay races and cycling.   

“These themed lessons are all about parents and babies having fun together and it’s a fantastic chance for us to celebrate the exciting summer ahead and raise money for a great cause,” explains Caroline Braund who has been running Water Babies swimming lessons in West Sussex for ten months. “You never know, we may even discover the next Tom Daley or Rebecca Adlington as the babies splish and splash around in the water!”

The Water Babies programme is designed to make the most of babies’ natural affinity with water and teaches confidence and safety, using specialist techniques that see many swimming short distances from as young as 30 months.

Despite the emphasis on parents and babies having fun, the course does have a very serious safety point to it. “Tragically, drowning is still the third highest cause of accidental death in the UK,” explains Caroline. “In most cases it’s the shock of sudden submersion that causes children to panic. We believe that by introducing babies to water as early as possible, they’ll be less likely to experience fear if they do fall in.”

“With progressive training, babies can be taught life saving skills very early on, such as turning onto their backs or swimming to the nearest solid object following a sudden submersion,” she adds. “It’s fantastic what vital skills children can learn, and it’s really important that they are happy and confident in the water from a young age.”

This year Water Babies is celebrating its 10^th anniversary since it was co-founded in 2002 by Paul Thompson. What started out as a small family-run business is now the world’s leading baby swim school, teaching over 29,000 babies to swim each week across the UK, Ireland and Australia.

The Water Babies Games will take place at the Mary Rose School, Gisors Road, Southsea, PO4 8GT on Friday 20^th July from 3.15-5.45pm (for 2 months to 3 years) and on Saturday 21^st July from 8-10am (from 1 to 3.5 years).  

For more information please call Caroline on 07894242420 or visit www.waterbabies.co.uk.