Does anyone know any baby swimming classes in Taipei or New Taipei? I’m in Xinzhuang but open to travelling a bit if necessary
You can visit the Xinzhuang sport center 新北市新莊國民運動中心
However the swimming classes starts from 4 year old kids
You can find more information about the swimming classes in the following link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-bI9fwki-NsMVdwTkQ3T3ZXSlU/view
For babies , maybe you can contact the following instructor at the Xinzhuang sport center
Also this place in Xinzhuang could have swimming classes for babies … or maybe is only a Baby SPA 
https://baby-spa-indoor-swimming-pool.business.site/
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There are also classes at the basement of Taipei Arena.
NT1500 per class, if I’m not mistaken
I want to start taking our 3-year old swimming this summer. I have an elementary school swimming pool a few blocks away from my place, so that’s convenient. They offer group classes for NT$400/hour, but I am thinking of teaching the boy the basics myself, or at least first test if he’s even interested in swimming.
My first concern is the water. Is the water in a school pool bad for a toddler? He’s certainly going to swallow some. What other things should I be worried about or not?
Anecdotally speaking, I’ve taken all three of my children to public swimming pools without any issue.
Of course they ended up swallowing some water, but not a large volume that would make me concerned.
As long as there’s always an adult together with them, you can only expect lots of fun! (and maybe some crying until they get used to the water 
)
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I will be extra cautious, he likes to drink soap water when in the bathtub…
I’ve heard that drinking water before swimming is a good idea too.
Also a bit worried that he will run around on the wet floor, sometimes hard to stop him…
That will only make the water more dirty, if you know what I mean…
Don’t worry! One time fall and he’ll learn to stop running! 
The best course of action is to show confidence and enjoy your time in the water. If you show that you are afraid of what may happen, the kid will read your signs, get scared and cling on you.
If it happen that he swallow a bit of water, don’t desperate, rather laugh it off. But be always attentive!
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And to think that when I was a kid, we used to throw rocks at each other, run around barefoot over cacti, climb up lamp poles and trees, ride bicycles and skateboards without helmets and pads, and when we went home with blood pouring down our heads, our mothers would slap some iodine and a plaster over the wound and send us back out to play.
Boy, times sure have changed.
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We did that too, so what?
l want him to learn how to swim not how to recover from a concussion. Just turned three, he’s hurt himself multiple times before already. Not going to allow any running on slippery surfaces even he goes into full tantrum mode.
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You’re doing the right thing. Get them started early and able to make it a few meters for safety. I have found that teaching the flutter kick together with the breaststroke arm movement is easy for kids to pick up. Then just play in the water to reduce fear. But you also don’t want fearless so take them a few meters away from the side and get them to swim back themselves after they have some confidence with that flutter kick and breaststroke arms.
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Yay, took our tot to the pool. Went fine. Played in the waist-deep (his waist) water and he was very excited. Child’s first-experience moments are always great to witness. They have a lot of small balls floating on the water so he was chasing them around, stumbling a few times and going under water for a second or so until I pulled him up immediately. They also have a slide he tried, bumped his head a bit when losing control, but all fine. Problems started when he wanted to test the adult’s pool, threw his goggles and flip flops into the deep pool and I had to decide how to retrieve them. Knew that he would do something stupid once he felt comfortable in the new environment. While I dived for the goggles he waited on the side of the pool, but then started to run… He didn’t slip but that was nerve wrecking. Slip and slide into the adult’s pool and the chase is on. He didn’t wear any floating devices. So that’s what I am going to do next. Buy those inflatable armbands. I have seen kids with these tube-like inflatable things around their bodies that make them float in the water, but they look like the wrong tools if you want to teach the children how to swim, right?
Any suggestions what floating device is the best? I am thinking armbands and styrofoam board.
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Please don’t. My parents had some stupid rule about us wearing those in the pool until a certain age or height or something. It’s a either/ or situation: either you wear them and float hopelessly in the water or you don’t and you figure out how to move about the water without them. You can’t learn to swim when your arms are being kept on the surface of the water with various floatation devices.
Just generally, natural consequences and logical consequences are very effective with any child old enough to walk and talk. If your kid is throwing things into the deep end so that you have to retrieve them, it’s time to go home. NOW, and I don’t mean after you retrieve the things they threw. Apologize to the attendant , grab your towels, wallet, keys, and child, and go home immediately. If your child is running on the pool deck and unable to follow directions to “walk please”, same thing. You pick your child up and you carry them out, kicking and screaming, no hesitations, no second chances. As a former lifeguard, there is no parent I hated more than the one who said “they’re three, what do you expect from them?” The child is three, which means you either hold their hand at ALL times while in the pool area until they do know how to walk, never run, or you don’t come to the pool. I take this warning to an infinite power in Taiwan, because most lifeguards would clearly panic/not want their phone to get wet/pretend not to notice in the event of an emergency. Water is a safe place only when you are prepared to be safe in it. I started swim lessons shortly after birth and understood from a very young age that most people who drown do so because they don’t know what to do in and around water, leading to panic or not following common sense rules like walking. If your child is already walking and running but not ready to listen to clear “we are going to the pool and you must walk while on the deck”, your child is not ready to be at the pool. Also, always review the rules about walking and staying close to you many, many times over the days before you go to the pool and being clear that “or else” means “we go home immediately, even if we just got there, because we need to be safe” (and ALWAYS following through with that “threat”)
Please don’t take what I am saying as a criticism of your parenting. I know that you are trying to give your child new experiences and new experiences are exciting and an important opportunity for them. That being said, what I said above about logical consequences is the optimal way for a child to learn pool safety. I would say that if your child really doesn’t listen and runs off, slipping and hitting their head might be the necessary natural consequence for them to learn, but the likelihood of a concussion and lasting brain damage isn’t low, so I highly recommend you follow the logical consequence, which is to leave the second common sense safety isn’t understood. Give it a month or two, remind them what the rules are constantly for a week or so before trying to go to the pool again. They will figure it out eventually, even if that takes many years of paying $1,000 for 5 minutes of swim time.
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Thanks for this. It was a new situation for both of us. So I’ll know better the next time. Problem is, he usually listens. I did retrieve the goggles while he was sitting poolside. When he started running I got out of the water, grabbed him immediately and took him out of the pool area to his granny, then I went back to get his flip-flops. So I kind of did what you suggest, actually the same approach as when in the park and he does things that are not OK and he knows it, grab him and get out of there.
I know how dangerous drowning and slipping on wet surfaces can be. I did share my concerns about it further up this thread (and was laughed at… ). Going to be very strict next time explaining the rules clearly beforehand and announce the consequences for bad behavior. Let’s see how that goes.
OK, no floating help then, but styrofoam boards OK? So he can get a sense of what swimming is like and practice the leg movements?
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I see the posts up thread. You’re not overthinking things to be concerned about safety and not slipping. Children of that age quickly “forget” rules and also enjoying “checking that the rules still apply in this exact moment here” (aka, “testing your boundaries”). (You’re a parent, so I’m not telling you anything you don’t know). I’d recommend a lot of “we’re going to the pool on Friday, do you remember what we need to do?” And then reviewing that “we walk”, “stay close”, “hold our goggles in our hands”, etc., a number of times daily, starting on Monday or so. You can even practice walking around the house carrying the goggles if you think that’ll prepare them further. (And take the goggles away if they start running around the house with them in hand). Do another review of the rules as you go to the pool and maybe once more when you arrive. It might feel like overkill but children really do have trouble remembering what they need to do. You knew to leave the moment the rules were forgotten, so that’s a good learning moment.
Those are great for leg movement practice, as they keep the head up while the body is in a natural swimming position. Most people (adults, professional athletes) who swim laps still use them. Keep in mind they keep the head above water when swimming, but they’re not a “floatation device”. Generally I’d say let your child kick away but also keep them close enough that you can support them if they let go or get tired.
Also, thanks for teaching your child to swim. On my list of things that i think are very absolutely necessary for this world, it’s for all children to be comfortable in water. Enjoy your time!
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If you referring to my reply further up, I’m sorry if that’s how I came across. I wasn’t laughing at you, rather trying to express that you don’t need to be over concerned but always attentive.
The adults swimming pool is no place for unaccompanied child, not even for a second. If it happened that he throws anything into the pool again, take him to grandma first, and then dive to retrieve the things. If he went under water while you were retrieving the goggles, things could turn out very different.
Swimming pools are to be a fun place, but that doesn’t make it less dangerous.
If your kid is always with an attentive adult, the worst it may happen is swallowing a bit of water or slipping and hitting his bottom on the floor.
As for the question on hand, my kids use a floating vest which allow them to keep their head out of water but free their arms and legs. They also need to keep kicking to maintain the balance and not fall forwards or backwards, if they can’t reach the pool floor, but we’re always next to them watching in case it happens.
I think this helps them to get comfortable in the water while learning that swimming is not a passive activity. They like it a lot but are surely tired after few hours in the pool.
No, of course not you! 
OK, no one really laughed at me. jimi just implied in his post that I was overly concerned. But the running I worried about, did actually happen.
The retrieving of the goggles took a second. Even if he had slipped into the pool, I would have been right there, so it was not dangerous at that moment. Just when I was still in the water and he started to run away, he got a bit of a head start, cause it took me two seconds to get out of the water before I could chase him. 
Will probably go again on Saturday and share the experience with you guys.
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