Peter Kirk, Bellevue, Renton pools

Although baby swim lessons are really fun, you don’t need them to have fun with your baby in the water. (You just need to keep a tight hold on baby all the time, or even if they’re sitting in a shallow pool, you should be in arms reach at all times.)

Here are some great games to play in the water with your child and some recommended local pools (for my readers who live on the Eastside of Seattle).

Some games to play in the water:

Motor boat: In a shallow pool, you can have your child sit on the bottom of the pool and kick their legs up and down. In a deeper pool, you can hold your child, or have them put their back to the wall and hang on with their hands, then kick their legs. As they kick, chant:”Motor boat, motor boat, go so slow. Motor boat, motor boat, go so fast. Motor boat, motor boat, run out of gas.”

Bubble, bubble, pop. Sing “All the fish are swimming in the water” (click here for video and lyrics)  When you’re singing about fish swimming, move your child around in the water, when you sing about ducks paddling, paddle your hands, then frogs jump and children splash. When you get to the part about “bubble, bubble splash”, raise your child in the air as you sing bubble… then splash down on the word splash.

Trot, Trot: Sing Trot Trot to Boston, bouncing your child on the trotting part, and lifting up and splashing down on “watch out baby or you might fall IN.”

Practice blowing bubbles in the water. Bring something that floats (rubber duck, ball, etc.), throw it, chase it, catch it floating in the water and throw it again. Bring a plastic cup or watering can in the pool with you, scoop and pour.

Why swim?

Well, first and foremost, water safety is an essential skill to teach your child! We can’t count on swim lessons to “drown proof” a child, but certainly the more familiar they are with water, the better!

Second, research shows the following benefits for swimming for kids: swimmers outperform non-swimmers in balance, movement, grasping skills, higher IQ’s, strengthened all their muscles, were more self-confident, etc.

Finally, its fun. Most kids love playing in the water! It’s also fun and engaging for the parent – at a playground I may sit on the sidelines and check out Facebook on my phone, but at the pool, I have to be fully aware of and involved with my child – it’s good for me to give him my full focus. And, my kids always sleep better at naptimes and at night on days when they were in the pool.

Some great local pools:

North Shore Lagoon at Anderson School / McMenamin’s in Bothell. Our favorite! Salt water pool, so no chlorine irritation for eyes. The tiki-themed decor makes it feel like you’re on vacation. There is not a toddler wading pool there. Bothell residents are free. Non-residents: under 3 is free, children $6, adults $7.50. Open year-round.

Peter Kirk Pool – in downtown Kirkland. Outdoor pool, open only in the summertime. Check their schedule here. They’ve got a big pool, of course, but I love them for the wading pool – it’s shallow enough for my short 3 year old to walk in, but nice and big so plenty of kids can play. $6 per person.

Henry Moses Aquatic Center in Renton.  It’s a little more Theme Park like, with big slides and a lazy river. They say it has a toddler play area. Costs: free for under 1 year old, $8 for ages 1 – 4. Ages 5+ $16.

ParentMap lists more local pools.

Do you have a favorite local pool? Or favorite game to play in the pool with little ones?

[Note: this post is part of a series called “Cheap Dates with Toddlers” about fun, cheap activities that kids age one to five (and their parents) can enjoy. Many include recommendations that are specific to Seattle/the Eastside, but hopefully most of the core ideas apply to all parents everywhere….]