6 Fun Pool Activities for Babies and Parents

Start raising a confident swimmer with these five fun pool activities for babies and parents!

I’m a terrible swimmer. I have little coordination, I swim very hard and overexert myself while not covering any sort of distance. I also get pretty scared when I’m near water.

Those are all traits I definitely don’t want to pass along to my little ones!

On the positive side, my husband is practically a fish and he was so excited to take our son to baby swimming lessons when he was eight months old. Really, he wanted to learn all the best pool activities for babies so he could replicate the experience whenever he could.

He spent many Saturday mornings in a high school swimming pool with Haiden (wearing his cloth swim diaper), playing guided games and learning about the best ways to foster a sense of comfort and confidence in the water.

Then, they’d come home and tell me all about the simple things they had done to make the pool fun for our baby.

Every week they came home I was encouraged. I didn’t have to become a gold-medal swimmer to make sure my kids didn’t start taking on my aquatic ineptitude. I didn’t even have to swim!

I just had to have their trust and genuine excitement that water play was fun, exciting and nothing to be afraid of!

Five fun pool time games and activities for babies and parents:

Before I begin, my inner Captain Safety must remind you to never leave a baby, toddler or child alone or without supervision near any sort of open water.

1. Blowing bubbles  ::  Once an eight-month old learns how to blow bubbles in the water, it’s hard to get them to stop! Blowing bubbles is the first step in all around comfort in the water.

If a little one can get (and keep!) her face in the water, she’s doing great!

2. Bring your own bubbles :: Every baby loves bubbles, and the pool is an excellent place to have fun with them! If your baby is scared, a bubbly distraction is a great way to keep him or her from fixating on the water.

Learn how to make bubbles with seven of the best homemade bubble recipes!

3. Incorporate nursery rhymes  ::  Say a familiar rhyme and work the actions into your pool play. For example, recite Humpty Dumpty while holding your child above or mostly above the water. When you get to “fall” have baby make a nice little splash.

4. Bring a floating bath toy  ::  A squeaky rubber duck or any other cute bath toy will provide a lot of entertainment!

Fill the duck with pool water and squeeze water in your face to make your little one laugh. Give the duck a little toss then float baby along to retrieve it. Have baby watch you submerge the duck, hold it down under your foot and release it so it pops back up to the surface.

5. Kick and Splash  ::  Get baby accustomed to being horizontal in the water by supporting her back and teaching her that kicks = splashes. Like blowing bubbles, she might not want to quit once she gets started!

6. Hold baby and walk backwards  ::  I know, the last topic is really not creative, but it is effective for helping little ones get used to swimming positions. Hold baby under the arms while facing you.

Walk backwards slowly, then increase your speed. The movement will push baby’s torso and legs out from under her, getting her in a more natural swimming position. The best part is that the position change can happen very gradually, making it an easy transition for baby!

Remember, almost every public pool requires that little ones wear a swim diaper.

Even if they’re already potty-trained, public health concerns usually dictate that kiddos under a certain age must wear a swim diaper, regardless of what mom or dad says.

Related: did you know you can teach your kid to swim without lessons?

Side note – let me blow your mind: did you know that you can wash and reuse little swimmers and other disposable swim diapers?

When you’re ready for your little ones to learn how to swim, you’ll want to check out this guide!

Readers: Do you have any tips for ensuring pool time fun for babies and parents? Leave your ideas in a comment below!

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