Two of the UK’s major bodies involved in baby swimming teaching, STA UK and Birthlight, are urging parents all around the world to seriously think about the potential dangers of using floating neck rings on babies. In a new report, both organisations warn about the damaging effect this aquatic activity could have on a baby’s physical, neurological and emotional development.
Images of so-called ‘baby spas’ have been rife in the press and on social media recently—and STA with Birthlight are growing increasingly concerned that parents will buy into what is being marketed as a ‘pamper experience’, without fully understanding the potential harmful risks posed by hanging your baby vertically in water with their head supported by a semi-rigid foam or plastic structure.
STA and Birthlight are united in saying that this activity involving neck rings cannot be promoted for routine use without serious warnings to all parents. The full commentary on the report’s findings and download of the report itself is available on STA UK’s website, by Françoise Freedman, Founder of Birthlight & Shawn Tomlinson, Birthlight and STA Baby Swimming Tutor.
