YOU may think perfecting the art of the butterfly or backstroke is the sole preserve of adults, but water-loving tots as young as four months are working on their technique nowadays. Teaching children to swim is a smart move for any parent. After all, who doesn't want their youngsters to feel safe and confident in water while enjoying a fitness and leisure activity?

Traditionally parents used to wait until their children had mastered the art of walking, the perceived wisdom is now to take the plunge before they are out of nappies.

Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie have chosen to celebrate their baby boy's first birthday with a pool party at Chequers on Sunday. And it won't be the first time Leo has taken to the water; he is reported to be having lessons at a London babies swimming club.

Babies up North are taking to the water in growing numbers too. Bedale Leisure Centre manager Fiona Hughes says North-East parents are more aware of making their children feel confident in water than ever before.

The North Yorkshire leisure centre runs a Teddy Tots session for babies and their parents on a weekly basis and it always guarantees a full class. The main pool is flooded with giggling babies with armbands or floats, wiggling to musical nursery rhymes.

"Helping your baby become accustomed to the water is a great idea, but parents must make sure it is in a controlled environment with all the safety measures - like their local swimming club," says 30-year-old Fiona. "We adhere to the safety ratio of one adult for two under-eights and one adult to one under five-year-old."

The centre also provides hygienic 'aqua nappies' for bathing babies and says they recommend that a tot takes the plunge only after the initial set of injections for polio, rubella and measles. "It is recommended that babies should not be taken to a swimming pool until they have gone through the full immunisation programme, which is normally around six months old," she says.

Child swimming instructor Lauren Heston, who runs the nationwide Little Dipper courses, says the move to introduce babies to the pool at a younger age is part of a trend which began a few years ago.

One reason for this is the health benefits of swimming. According to research conducted in Finland and Germany, youngsters can develop advanced motor development, better social skills and greater mental alertness, as a result of swimming.

Lauren also believes that training babies with Down's Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy helps to improve their muscle development and co-ordination. She even says swimming makes babies so strong and fit that they will never develop asthma. The aim of Lauren's classes is to teach infants not to panic if they ever fall into a pond or pool. "We teach them specific things, to get on to their backs or to turn around and grab hold of anything that is there," she explains.

"You need to start as young as possible - if they start as a beginner after a year, they are not as open to suggestion. They can't actually swim until they are about three- years-old because they don't have the strength or co-ordination. What we try to do is to teach them vital life-saving skills."

The idea of dunking your baby's head in a pool may horrify some parents, but babies are born with a natural diving reflex which makes them hold their breath underwater automatically.

"It's called the mammalian diving reflex - it's very strong and is carried over from the womb," says Lauren. "It's the same reflex that happens when you drink."

And parents need not be worried about accidents in the swimming pool. Children rarely drown in pools; in 1999, 21 children under five in the UK drowned, none of them at public pools. So perhaps it's time for parents to follow little Leo's manifesto for a good time: get those aqua-nappies out, pack the goggles, and take us water babies down to the local pool for a splashing time.

l Bedale Leisure Centre in Bedale, North Yorkshire, is having a Splashathon in the week starting June 25, to raise money for national pregnancy health charity, Tommy's Campaign, for tots and their parents. To take part or for more information, contact the centre on (01677) 427272.

For further information on Little Dippers courses or to order a copy of Water Baby, call 01273 328275.

TEDDY TOTS SWIMMING CLUB MEMBERS ON WATER BABIES

Dad Stephen Walsh thinks a pool party for babies is a fabulous idea. His own two boys, Sam, three, and Matthew, eight months, were both taken to the pool after their six months injections and took the water straight off.

Sam loves to swim on his own and Matthew has never been nervous of the water.

Stephen and his wife Michaela takes the boys for a swim to Bedale swimming pool every Sunday as well as attending Teddy Tots night in the week. He says the boys love the water so much, he may even consider a pool party for Sam next year.

"Sam's birthday is in January and we can't organise anything outdoors because it's too cold, so a pool party may be the perfect answer next year. He absolutely loves swimming and he jumps in confidently and swims on his side," says Sam, a 37-year-old electrician from Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire.

Stephen also thinks a fun weekly swim is the perfect way to bond with your baby.

"It's a really nice way to spend a few hours with your baby. It's a fun way to bond."

Mum Lisa Dodsworth began taking her two children, Joseph William, two years, and Erin Victoria, seven months, to Bedale swimming pool straight after their injections at around four months old. She says she was eager to get her boys in the water at an early age because she couldn't swim until she was 12-years-old and was fearful of the water as a result.

"Erin's taken to the water like a natural - she shows no fear, which I feel so pleased about. She's like a water baby, says Lisa, 30, a part-time clerical worker from Northallerton.

"I remember being terrified of the water and I didn't want it to be the same for my boys when they grew up," says Lisa. Anyway, it's nice one-to-one time with them," she adds.

Little Joseph now goes to swimming lessons at Thirsk and Erin goes for her weekly dip with the other tots at Bedale.

Dad Andrew Coulthard has worked as a duty officer at Bedale Leisure Centre for 11 years and knows the benefits of swimming for babies. He has recently started taking his own son, Will, ten months, to weekly swimming sessions.

"I've seen a lot of babies come to the pool with their parents and you can see how it's benefiting them. If they are familiar with the water at six months or so, they don't develop the fear that a five or six-year-old child will have who is learning to swim," says Andrew, 30, from Northallerton. Will likes to float around in the water with his dad but isn't quite as confident when he is submerged, at this stage.

"He splutters a bit when he's submerged so we don't do that very often because I don't want to push it. But on the whole, he's happy to be with me in the water and looks like he's having great fun."