Hellobee Boards

We did it last year at 12m. I'd only do it if you are excited about getting in the water & singing songs! I don't think my LO got a ton out of it (mostly just bonding time, introduction to the water) that we couldn't have gotten on our own at the pool. So if you're looking for an excuse to go to the pool, or you're looking for some sort of class to go to with LO, it's great. But it's not particularly swimming-specific at that point

I used to teach these classes - I think they're good for getting babies used to the pool, which gives them a leg up for learning to swim, especially if you keep up with the classes. Plus they're fun! The one thing I'd say is that sometimes the really little ones can get really cold in the pool, so maybe visit and get a sense of the water temp or get one of those swim/sun shirts for an extra layer.

We did a class at the Y when DS was right around six months. It was good to start getting him used to the water - we took a couple vacations to the lake/beach later that summer and he was great in the water, so the class may have helped with that. He also would always take epic naps afterwards, so that was nice.

The drawbacks were 1) there's no real focus on teaching them anything besides maybe how to kick. It's pretty much just parent-kid time in the water with songs. Also, our class had kids from 6 mos to 3 years, so he would've ended up being in the same class for a really long time. It sounds like that's not the case at your Y, though. Also, 2) we went on Saturday mornings and our Y was always PACKED. All the swim classes seemed to change over at one time, so it was nearly impossible to dry/dress both him and myself in the throng of kids and parents in the locker room. I would end up leaving the class 5 mins early just to avoid the rush, and even then it was difficult to manage getting both of us changed since he couldn't stand or walk.

I can't answer for a 6mo old, but I have taken DD since she was about 12 mos (20 mos now) & I think it has been fun & worth it. She's getting better about moving her arms & doing flutter kicks, but to me the most valuable things she's gotten out of it is being able to pull herself out onto the side of the pool, getting used to going underwater, and getting a feel for floating around wearing different types of floatation vests occasionally. Like @elljay: said, we have similar drawbacks, but I've still felt it was worth doing as an activity.

If I were you, I'd just take him for some open swim sessions to start getting him comfortable in the water. We tried to do lessons with DD1 around 22 months, and even then, I don't think she was interested in doing much other than flopping around. She definitely didn't want the instructor to hold/help her, so it was just me or her dad trying to drag her around to do the "skills" when really she just wanted to splash and play with toys. We could have saved a lot of $$$!!!

I will caveat that with - it might be more fun with a baby as young as your DS - I imagine at 5 months he'll be a lot easier to manage, so you might actually get to socialize bit with other parents!

We tried it and my daughter hated it. I think the water temp was too cold for her and she didn't want to let go of me EVER. We stopped going after a few classes.

We did the baby swim classes at the y starting st six months with my first! We had fun yeah, he didn't learn to swim by a year old but he became super comfortable in the water and it gave us something to do I recommend it!

@LCTBQE: holy bejuss... I'd be hesitant to sign up then too!

I'd try the open pool first to see if he likes it or not and go from there. I will say my LO loves bath time too so it sounds like yours might like swim time.

@LCTBQE: That's why I signed my son up, because he loved bath time. So I thought that meant he'd love a larger pool, but that wasn't the case. I think it's a great idea to try it out during family swim a couple of times to see.