Baby Swimming: Environment & Equipment

Benefits of baby swimming have been established, but there is limited knowledge about the methodologies used by practitioners. To address this knowledge gap, this study aimed to categorize and classify the equipment and environmental used in baby swimming programs worldwide. A descriptive categorical content analysis approach was employed to analyse videos of baby swimming programs obtained from YouTube. The framework created was validated for interrater reliability, and a pilot study was conducted to classify videos from different countries based on the equipment and environment used. Results indicated that the physical environments observed were pool tanks and swimming pools with and without depth reduction zones, while the equipment used included assistive devices, toys, and clothes. This study represents a significant first step in the development of a comprehensive tool to systematize and characterize the methodologies used in baby swimming programs globally.

Keywords:

Subject: Public Health and Healthcare - Public Health and Health Services

INTRODUCTION

More than a promotor of aquatic skill competencies, baby swimming programs have been considered for many years a way of entertaining babies, promoting social interactions and opportunities for parents to bond with their infants. Although it has been shown that infants younger than 2 years of age cannot learn swimming or survival skills in the water (Taylor et al., 2020), recent studies have shown other important benefits of (Camus, 1993)baby swimming participation (Santos et al., 2023). For instance, it has been shown that young children who participate in early-years swimming achieve particular motor milestones earlier than the normal population across motor (Borioni et al., 2022; Dias et al., 2013; Leo et al., 2022; Pereira et al., 2011; Sigmundsson & Hopkins, 2010) and cognitive (Borioni et al., 2022) domains.

While these results are very positive, there is considerable variation in the approaches to aquatic education offered by the baby swimming industry (Camus, 1993) and the quality of learning practices offered are inconsistent across swimming schools, making parents’ decision between schools an act of chance.

According to the ecological dynamics theoretical framework (Button et al., 2020), like any other activity aiming to promote skills acquisition, baby swimming programs are the result of the interaction between environmental, individual and task constrains, which are boundaries that influence these young learners’ behaviors. Baby swimming programs are, therefore, influenced by the physical environments where the sessions take place, the equipment available, the goal of the program and the cultural traditions and historical practices (Irwin et al., 2019).

The freedom provided by aquatic environments offers considerable potential for the development of young children, affording exploratory behaviors that are often far more constrained on land. Babies’ exploratory behavior in the water is also encouraged by the use of assistive devices, such as toys to motivate infants’ engagement (Langendorfer, 1987) or floating devices used to increase the confidence of unexperienced learners (Parker et al., 1999). Practitioners often manipulate these constraints (physical environment and equipment) for various reasons. For example, baby swimming instructors may use the deeper side of a swimming pool, when the parents are accompanying the babies, or the shallow side, when the babies are by themselves participating in the sessions; they may use buoyancy aids or toys to promote adaptation to the aquatic environment or they may not use any equipment at all, depending on the pedagogical methodology used. In fact, pedagogical methodologies seem to differ according to their main goal and the emphasis on different aspects of swimming, such as comfort, bonding, technique, and survival skills.

Although the methodologies used in baby swimming programs are highly dependent on the physical environment and equipment constraints, there is a surprising dearth of evidence on what environments and equipment features are being used, and instructors’ decisions on how to manipulate these constraints are often based on empirical ideas and personal experiences. To our knowledge, pedagogical methodologies used in baby swimming programs were never categorized in the literature. In fact, the characteristics of physical environments and equipment used to teach children and young adults has been analyzed in the literature (van Duijn et al., 2021), however “with the assistance of what equipment” and “where” baby swimming programs take place are issues that have not yet been addressed. The approaches to baby aquatic education practices urgently demand further investigation.

One big first step towards understanding how baby swimming programs are taught and what and how babies learn is to better understand how the constraints that influence aquatic education, such as the physical environment and resources available, are being used. The specific aim of this article is to test the applicability and usefulness of a framework to characterize and classify equipment (task constraint) and physical environments (environment constraint) used in baby swimming programs worldwide. To that end, we adopted a descriptive categorical content analysis methodology through the observation of videos extracted from YouTube. By observing videos of baby swimming programs, we extracted types of environments and equipment used, important information to categorize the methodological approach applied in these programs around the world.

METHODS

Corpus of data

A descriptive categorical content analysis approach was followed. Videos containing baby swimming activities, published online, were retrieved for content analysis. The inclusion criteria were videos of babies in aquatic activities with evidence of professional supervision or direct professional intervention, as opposed to evidence of informal experiences provided by friends or family members or evidence the aquatic activity was purely for hygiene purposes. The videos could be edited or not, reporting full sessions or just part of a session, they could be TV news or documentaries, promotional videos, families’ personal videos reporting the experience of their baby, or any kind of video meeting the inclusion criteria. The collector site was YouTube. Videos were collected in January 2021. The translation of the expression "baby swimming" in the Google Translate language order, was searched on the collector site. The corpus of data was built concomitantly with the direct coding process, seeking to reach a saturation point where the addition of new videos did not generate new codes. The first 19 languages (Afrikaans, Albanian, German [Alemão], Amharic, Arabic, Aramaic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Basque, Bengali, Belarusian, Burmese, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Kannada [Canarim], Catalan, Kazakh [Cazaque], Czech and simplified Chinese) led to the identification of 54 videos. Following the initial search, a new search of videos in English, Hindi, Spanish, Russian, French, and Portuguese, was conducted in order to include the nine most spoken languages in the world (Ethnologue, 2021). The analysis added 73 videos. From the total 127 videos collected, 52 codes were generated up to a new saturation point. The list of videos with YouTube links is available in Appendix 1. As of 21 April 2023, only four of those videos had been removed from YouTube.

Direct coding

The analysis focused on identifying types of environments where the sessions took place and types of materials used in the sessions. What the editor or camera operator wanted to highlight was not considered relevant, nor was the aim of the program or session, their goals, or their intentions. Most of the videos observed represented only a fraction of each session, so a frequency analysis of type of environment or materials would be influenced by the subjectivity of the editor. Thus, for each video, only the presence of each coding was registered (not its frequency).

Regarding the equipment, we considered baby swimming equipment as items that assist or enhance the swimming experience for babies. Regular swimwear (without any flotation device attached), wetsuits, swim caps, and swim diapers, were not considered.

Characterization

The Types of environments and equipment observed in the videos were coded until the saturation point, when no new type of environment or equipment would appear. Once the saturation point was achieved through direct coding, the types of environments were clustered in categories and subcategories in accordance with the environment’s dimensions and types of equipment were clustered in accordance with their properties.

For types of environments, three categories were created (see Table 1).

All the videos in our corpus of data were filmed in built environments (e.g., swimming pool facilities, home jacuzzies) and no videos of baby swimming activities taking place in natural environments such as lakes, rivers or beaches were found. There were videos of aquatic activities taking place in pool tanks and bathtubs, with and without equipment being used, and videos of activities taking place in swimming pools with and without the use of equipment. Therefore, the use or not of equipment was not specifically related with the type of environment.

For types of equipment, four categories and seven subcategories were created (Table 2).

In some of the videos no equipment was observed – the activities occurred only with the water as the element for the baby and adult’s action. On the other hand, many baby swimming activities were performed with the use of flotation devices, as well as goggles or propulsion devices, designed to assist the baby in self-supported buoyancy, displacement or underwater orientation. This category was named Assistive Devices, following van Duijin and colleagues (2021) terminology. There were also toys to be handled underwater, with enough density to remain on the bottom of the water, challenging the baby to perform underwater tasks; these comprised the Diving toys subcategory. Toys were considered to be Sensory toys if they stimulated the baby’s senses, symbolic toys (Koşkulu et al., 2021) if intended to stimulate pretend play, or organizational toys (Koşkulu et al., 2021) if they appealed to the baby’s cognitive skills of organization. In many videos, general fine and gross motor skills seemed to be stimulated, using what we named Sport, gym, and playground equipment. Also, in some videos, the babies’ aquatic abilities were challenged, increasing the drag with the use of Daily clothes by the baby. The use of clothes by the adult was also considered, since in some practices babies are stimulated to autonomously latch onto an adult for support.

Validation process

The videos were first coded by the principal researcher. To validate the categories created by the principal researcher, nine scenes of physical environments and 33 of equipment were coded separately by two raters, one expert in baby swimming programs (rater one) and a second not familiar with the activity (rater two). In the scenes, the different subcategories appear randomly. Fleiss Multirater Kappa and Cohen's Weighted Kappa tests were used to ensure overall and pairwise interrater reliability and establish the extent to which raters consistently distinguish the created categories.

Overall percentage of interobserver agreement (between the three raters, including the main researcher) was perfect for environment (k = 1.00) and high for equipment (k = .823). Pairwise raters’ agreement between main researcher and observer one and between main researcher and observer two was perfect for environment (k = 1.00). Regarding type of equipment, agreement was high between main researcher and observer one (k = .897) and between main researcher and observer two (k = .854).

Framework pilot application

After the framework was created, to explore its applicability, the possible differences regarding the environment and equipment used during baby swimming classes in three different countries were explored. Videos from China, Germany, and Brazil were selected for analysis. The rationale for choosing these three specific countries was that they were the countries with the highest number of videos in our corpus of data. Note that these videos are used as an example for the application of the framework and may or may not be representative of the country. Fisher’s Exact Test was used to analyze the differences between clusters of videos according to the countries of origin regarding the environments and the equipment used.

RESULTS

Framework pilot application

An initial qualitative analysis of the videos allowed us to observe that the use of the environment and equipment in videos from Brazil and Germany was organized in a group of babies accompanied by an adult in the water (probably one of the caregivers) and by a teacher, also in the water. Chinese videos show diversity in the use of environments and equipment: most videos show an individual baby activity (68%), with no other babies in the vicinity, and the presence of caregivers in the water also varies. Regardless of the presence of different equipment, the selection of water activity videos from China with adults in the water, tend to show babies being immersed. Videos from China show babies engage in other activities prior to entering the water, like baby massage, and could be labeled as what many Asian countries refer to as Baby SPA programs, even though the video authors called them baby swimming.

Types of environments

Some differences in environments used for aquatic activities between clusters of videos according to the countries of origin were found. Videos from China were the only ones where the pool tank / bathtub appeared, suggesting an association between the use of this facility and the country (p = 0.01, Fisher’s Exact test). The swimming pools with depth reduction sections were significantly more prevalent in videos from Brazil (50% of the videos) when compared with videos from China (13%) or Germany (17%) (p = 0.037, Fisher’s exact test). Although 83% of the videos from Germany showed aquatic activities taking place in swimming pools without depth reduction sections, the differences in the use of this type of physical environment was not significant between clusters of videos (China: 34%; Germany: 83%; Brazil: 50%; p = 0.077, Fisher’s Exact test).

Types of equipment

Although we observed in videos from China sessions without equipment and sessions where the equipment was used continuously, in videos from Germany and Brazil the use of equipment varied within the same sessions, with moments of use followed by moments of no use of equipment. In videos from Germany, but especially in videos from Brazil, observed activities without equipment were often group routines performed with songs. Statistically, videos from China showed more instances of activities without equipment than videos from Germany or Brazil (p = 0.05). Most videos form China with continuous use of equipment showed the use of attached assistive devices (63%). Those videos showed the aquatic activities taking place mainly in pool tanks/bathtubs (75%) with the adults out of the water.

Only in videos from Brazil did diving sport, gym, and playground toys appear, whereas floatation sport, gym, and playground toys appeared more frequently in videos from Brazil (80%) and Germany (83%) than from China (21%) (p < 0.001, Fisher’s Exact test). Buoyancy assistive devices, attached or loose, were present in videos from the three countries but not exceeding more than 50% of the observed videos from each country. The use of swimming goggles and propulsion devices was minimal or nonexistent (we observed goggles in only one video from Brazil and fins in only one video from Germany). The use of sensory and symbolic toys was also minimal, and organizational diving toys were not observed in videos from these three countries. Also, in none of the videos did babies or adults wear clothes. Toys from the floating toys, sensory and symbolic category were broadly observed (around 50% of the videos or more from each country), while the presence of floating organizational toys was minimal, appearing in only one video from China.

DISCUSSION

A descriptive categorical content analysis of videos collected from YouTube was conducted to describe and categorize types of equipment and environments used in baby swimming programs worldwide. The results of this study add to previous research by van Dujin and colleagues (2021) who analyzed the existing literature on physical environments and equipment used in children’s and adults’ aquatic skills acquisition, by focusing on babies, a population for which this analysis was lacking. Unlike van Dujin and colleagues’ work (2021), which centered on a literature review, our study was a first attempt to analyze the equipment and environments used in aquatic activities with babies in a field of inquiry for which no literature currently exists and so a new framework needed to be created.

Regarding types of environments observed, coded and categorized from the videos collected, the results show that baby swimming programs take place in three physical environments: small bathtubs or pool tanks, swimming pools without depth reduction sections, and swimming pools with depth reduction sections, allowing the babies’ autonomy in their locomotion in the water. No videos with baby swimming programs being conducted in natural environments were found.

Considering the equipment observed, the main aim of the equipment was to motivate babies' engagement (Langendorfer, 1987) or to promote confidence by assisting their flotation (Parker et al., 1999). Specifically, from the videos analyzed from multiple countries around the world we coded equipment promoting infants’ autonomy in the water by enabling independent floating with the assistance of floating equipment or holding onto adults’ clothes for support, equipment promoting infants’ propulsion (fins), underwater orientation and diving skills (diving toys) as well as equipment promoting sensory, emotional, cognitive, and motor development (floating and diving toys). The use of daily clothes as resistive drag equipment aiming to train infants’ survival skills were also observed and coded.

An interrater reliability process was conducted to validate the framework created and confirm if experts and non-experts in baby swimming programs would be able to use this framework accordingly. The results show perfect or very high agreement between raters, which suggests that the framework created can be used by anyone to characterize baby swimming programs by the equipment and environment used.

During the direct coding and categorization process, it became evident that the use and existence of equipment is not always the same and can reflect specific goals, making prominent the hypothesis that culture has an influence on baby swimming programs (Dubois, 2001). Adopting this assumption, and as a way of validating the framework created as an instrument capable of characterizing baby swimming equipment and environments, a pilot application was conducted comparing videos from three countries with different cultural backgrounds, China, Brazil and Germany.

Some differences in types of environments and equipment used in aquatic programs between clusters of videos by country were found. For instance, videos from China show more baby swimming programs being conducted in pool tanks and bathtubs and more activities with continuous use of equipment than in Germany or Brazil. The term “baby swimming program” was used in the search for videos from YouTube and, although in western countries these aquatic activities in bathtubs and pool tanks with the use neck rings would be categorized as baby SPA activities or simply baby water activities, videos from China refer to these activities as baby swimming programs. This is an interesting observation that could be further explored in future studies as a potential cultural difference in baby swimming methodologies. In addition, videos from China show less use of floating sport, gym and playground toys than videos from Brazil and Germany. Videos from Brazil showed more use of diving sport, gym, and playground toys and aquatic activities taking place in swimming pools with depth reduction sections than videos from China and Germany. Brazil has a tradition of using psychomotricity approaches in infants’ aquatic activities (Velasco, 1999), and it mandates that practitioners responsible for baby swimming programs must have a Physical Education background, perhaps explaining why their programs focus on babies’ global development rather than only their aquatic competencies, and why they use equipment that promotes infants’ global development. It is important to emphasize that the videos we analyzed may or may not represent the reality of the countries considered in this pilot application of the created framework. The framework was created from the observation and coding of videos extracted from the internet and the authors of those videos only posted on the internet what they wanted viewers to see, not necessarily the entire reality of the programs. The use of videos from YouTube was a convenient way to obtain information about equipment and environments used around the world and create the framework that will support the characterization of baby swimming programs. This pilot application has shown that the framework is a good instrument for not only characterizing but also comparing programs. The comparisons of baby swimming programs can be investigated in future studies using this framework through the observation of programs in situ and not only biased internet videos. This framework created to categorize baby swimming programs by equipment and environments used is not a finalized instrument and other environments and equipment may be added in the future. Nevertheless, this framework is an important first step toward a systematic characterization of baby swimming programs and methodologies.

CONCLUSIONS

The reported framework will permit the categorization of baby swimming programs by the equipment used (gogles, propulsion and floating assistive devices, diving and floating toys, and babies and adults’ clothes) and environment were these programs take place (pool tanks and swimming pools). In future studies, baby swimming programs can be characterized and compared in terms of equipment and physical environment. This framework is an important first step towards the creation of a framework capable of characterizing baby swimming programs and methodologies.

Appendix A

Table A1. List of YouTube links.

Language	Link
Arabic	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXyCFSNZsrE
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XRFaTwP81M
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peNJ9rPpR9o
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2CGMDHWy6c
Armenian	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI7tzHjBNB8
Armenian	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SILfkriNzcY
Bosnian	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3a3PFYLZko
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IzU0MPzrWs
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2YDq5tw91o
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oolJElYVldo
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38AnB764wX4
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6UqtqVTlvU
Bulgarian	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdRFl1oztY4
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS5AXctVVSA
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc3GFfC1DZs
Chinese	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZkq2QnzJlY
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXUCfLy92C0
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUcTtoKStKU
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8YerfS9B5Q
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__u4GG_Uh0A
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz0IX0n6bF8
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk0PLfBcSMg
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ge8Yx64x5sU
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9-FdfO3fLM
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib1XwhXabBs
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn0nXnIUJXQ
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGwrdSBb1MQ
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-7Ll834Pf0&list=RDCMUC_S7C4QPoZKTGH9DBz-1HCw&index=2
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubBMa3_0Ek0
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXUCfLy92C0&list=TLPQMDYwNjIwMjBtNULkkpaHrQ&index=31
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IYpCM0or3Q
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzV9XSg_3xo *
Czech	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApKnROM7hhc
Czech	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qpLiIlVSzs&list=RDCMUCuGuHZJKSKKvnC2RMGsZyyg&index=2
English	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llMNEC28Pr0
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d9YUijoL4w
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHIeVBe0EPo
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTjiJuJuiLI
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icXqrgD4cjE
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WjBOule_J0
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR5ZA5mxBFk
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkl_MC1h2_w
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx7bzWS4EtY
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jh8oJCNG6A
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFUheDoSdT8
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TUsrk_Y5Xg
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ7XE9VyB10&list=RDCMUCtcQ6TPwXAYgZ1Mcl3M1vng&start_radio=1&t=214
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9xkZRC1-Gs
French	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9OTPa8LGO4
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHE1Yj_UQN8
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9X1TCDXh50
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlmW5YL-ZWE
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw8M68OkvaQ
German ("Alemão")	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR-8TUWkpfw
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxSKb85EBb8
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=766IBHfN8V4
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZqPQD7TxMw
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zEeKUy9IJ8
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGc9uW2ua-M
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGERDFZJBBQ
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD67oP16vxs
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDMtnFu-GsY
Kazakh (Cazaque)	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIkegYc0aaI
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4Rr8NvNpiw
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9E-KiyJvPg
Portuguese	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4f164NuNBo
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pjLGJ6TOAY
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkdPrC6jF0c
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK35JKSv1dk
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfTemB-qim0
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mytjP_vKE_Q
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWHpTlu82TM
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJaRL4bjqgY
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHeBrIQhpfU
Russian	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB_tERVYV0w
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmTWMxTTeLQ&list=PLemPaV82TxR5JA_tQrmcrn1C8XN1v5lRa
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1Ad59rhdag&list=PLemPaV82TxR5JA_tQrmcrn1C8XN1v5lRa&index=3
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bikFB1ydf8M&list=PLemPaV82TxR5JA_tQrmcrn1C8XN1v5lRa&index=4
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD-_ABRMhVA
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCnz5MYGrqI
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEiL8_O3qbU
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CghSxZuLhwQ
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BjMRnnd9_U
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTtEP-k_pIE
Spanish	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eAJA2HQaW8
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PRvMm_cNL8
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtI-ONH4_7c
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuI9imhvMKM
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG1qsXL8A38
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsA9GaVj2IE
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnAlp-PaRaA
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55euQIBHyos
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meqxArc1zZ4&list=RDCMUC2hO6WV-1qGBZUMUWhdqYsg&index=6
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbonoXKAULk
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0BfLHF5oqc&list=RDCMUC2hO6WV-1qGBZUMUWhdqYsg&index=5
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI7-TPUegFc&list=RDCMUC2hO6WV-1qGBZUMUWhdqYsg&index=10
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhzwIrNPdbk&list=RDCMUC2hO6WV-1qGBZUMUWhdqYsg&index=15
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk1jc5ymKPU&list=RDCMUC2hO6WV-1qGBZUMUWhdqYsg&index=2
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHhsOogjGvo&list=RDCMUC2hO6WV-1qGBZUMUWhdqYsg&index=3
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VgdXFsNz78
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUaegdlTSTA

*The link includes 26 short videos that fit the inclusion criteria.

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Table 1. Types of physical environments used in baby swimming programs.

Environment	Description
Pool tank / bathtub	Body of water with a dimension that does not allow swimming displacement for an adult¹
Swimming pool without reduced depth section	Body of water with a dimension that allows swimming displacement for an adult¹, that does not provide a reduced depth area, (considered in this analysis as an area deep enough for the baby to be entirely submerged in a horizontal position, but shallow enough for the head of the baby to be out of the water when adopting an upright position with the feet touching the bottom of the pool.
Swimming pool with reduced depth section	Body of water with a dimension that allows swimming displacement for an adult¹, that provides an area of reduced dept.

Table 2. Types of equipment used in baby swimming programs.

Equipment		Description
No equipment		No equipment is observed in the water.
Assistive devices	Floating devices	Attached to the body – floating devices attached to the babies’ body (e.g., arm bands, neck rings).
	Floating devices	Loose – floating devices that are not attached to the babies’ body (e.g., kickboard, noodles).
	Propulsion devices	Devices that assist the babies’ propulsion (e.g., fins).
	Goggles	Close-fitting glasses, for protecting the eyes from water.
Toys	Diving toys: toys that sink in the water or simply are used underwater	Sensory toys – toys designed to emit visual/auditory responses upon manipulation (e.g., sensory balls, mirrors, music toys).
		Symbolic toys – toys designed to elicit pretend play (e.g., dolls, animal or other figure squirters or foam toys, puppets, miniature motorcycles, cars and trucks, kitchen sets, gardening sets).
		Organizational toys – toys that require the arrangement of different parts (e.g., puzzles, fitting games).
		Sport, gym, and playground equipment – diving equipment such as balls used with a target (goal or basket), rackets, sticks or other sports equipment, rings, platforms, slides, tunnels, containers that can contain the baby.
	Floating toys: toys that float	Sensory toys – toys designed to emit visual/auditory responses upon manipulation.
		Symbolic toys – toys designed to elicit pretend play.
		Organizational toys – toys that require the arrangement of different parts.
		Sport, gym, and playground equipment – floating equipment such as balls used with a target (goal or basket), rackets, sticks or other sports equipment, arches, mats, swiss balls or similar, floating hula hoops, platforms, slides, swings, tunnels, containers that can contain the baby.
Clothes	Babies' daily clothes	Clothes normally used by the baby out of the water on a daily basis.
Clothes	Adult clothes (for the baby to hold onto)	Clothing used by the adult for the purpose of providing the possibility for the baby to latch onto.

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Baby Swimming: Environment & Equipment

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

METHODS

Corpus of data

Direct coding

Characterization

Validation process

Framework pilot application

RESULTS

Framework pilot application

Types of environments

Types of equipment

DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS

Appendix A

References

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