Our Water Safety Officer
A bustling bundle of energy, young Saffi prides herself on being able to spot a potential water hazard, even with her eyes closed! A native of Lighthouse Lagoon, she’s always shining a light on the importance of being safe in and around the water, and her commitment to dotting every ‘i’ and crossing every ‘t’ is a source of good-natured amusement to the others. You'll always hear her say, “better safe than soggy”
Learn your water safety skills here
The jagged rocks that surround the Lagoon have claimed many a ship, that’s why WATER SAFETY is so important for those who call it home. Under the watchful gaze of the old lighthouse, you’ll find floats aplenty as the children are put through their paces.
Whilst on holiday in Portugal, 3-year-old water baby Ben had been loving his swimming. He was by the pool with no flotation aid while his friend was in the water and his dad Tom kept a close eye, even telling another parent "after going to Water Babies lessons with Ben, I felt that he would be ok if he fell in".
Not long after, Ben overreached for a ball in the water and fell straight into the pool. The other parents immediately jumped up but Tom watched as Ben turned himself around, swam back to the side, moved himself along to the nearest steps, and confidently climbed out as if nothing had happened. Tom says, "the extra confidence he has in the water is great to see and while we still watch him like hawks we know he can take steps to keep himself safe in the water."
Well done Ben! 💙🧡
Water Safety in action
Recently 5 year old Ellia and her dad, David, were enjoying a bike ride along the canal in Cheshire. Dad was safely cycling between his daughter and the canal, before dropping back slightly as she gained both independence and confidence. Ellia continued to ride perfectly along the path with Dad keeping a keen eye from just behind, when she suddenly looked back, causing her to veer right and sending her and her bike straight into the canal.
David immediately prepared himself to dive in after his daughter but Ellia had already kicked to the surface and swum back to the side, holding on for safety as she'd learnt in her Water Babies lessons. Dad pulled Ellia from the water and began to calm her down; she had reacted incredibly but the situation was still very frightening for her.
"I can't speak highly enough of how Ellia reacted that day, swimming to safety. I would very much recommend all children learn to swim at the earliest opportunity...it saved Ellia's life." - Ellia's dad, David.
Earlier this year, 4 year old Lucie and her family went paddleboarding with friends, stopping on a jetty for a picnic where she took off her life jacket.
During some fun and games after their picnic, Lucie accidently fell into the water and was pulled under. Her Water Babies instincts took over instantly, and Lucie kicked to surface, floated to calm herself and then swam and held onto the jetty for safety. She remained calm throughout and wasn't fazed by any of it!
Lucie's mum, Natasha, had this to say about the experience -
"Due to how Lucie handled it, we all felt calm & relaxed about it. It honestly felt like nothing happened if that's possible, it was only thinking about it after that I actually appreciated how differently the situation could have been and how amazing she was. I cannot recommend the lessons enough."
Meet Rhys, a water baby who used the key safety skills he'd learnt in lessons in a real life situation...
On a recent holiday, Rhys fell into a natural pond whilst walking with his family. Even though Rhys has not always been keen to go under the water when swimming, everything he had learned and practiced with Water Babies kicked in. Rhys fell into the pond, went under the water, turned around, grabbed onto the side, and waited for his Dad to help him out safely!
At Water Babies, all of our teacher are qualified life-savers and are trained to to carry out infant resuscitation (a qualification that they renew every two years!).
Not only are they experts in their field (or in this case, water!), they're also passionate, warm, dedicated, and supportive. Our teachers are ready to guide you through any uncertainty, developing your little one to transform them into strong, confident, independent swimmers!