Babies are constantly receiving sensory messages of touch, sound, smells, movement, and noise. When you support your baby in the water, they are guided by the pressure of touch. If your hands are open and relaxed your baby will be guided through the roll easily and effortlessly.
Developing the three midlines, front and back, left and right, top and bottom are all essential skills for developing spatial awareness of ‘where I am in space”. For example, can my body fit through this space, which occurs when they begin to crawl under furniture and become upright. Starting in the SPLASH gives your baby a great head start for spatial awareness. Rotational movement also requires visual tracking – essential for reading and visual perception ‘how far away is that?”.
Should your baby cry, your hold may be too firm, or the roll may be too fast. If they are startled, comfort and gently return them to the comfort of swishing through the water either on their back or front. Spinning around in a circle, holding your baby in a vertical position also develops the front back midline development.
What can I do at home?
The best approach to supporting your baby to experience a positive roll over in the pool is to allow them to roll on the floor at home. Place toys at either side of them, or out in front when they are experiencing tummy time. When reaching out or turning their head, the rolling of the body will naturally occur.
