Cory Hutchings Joins his 2-year old son Zak as poster boys for NEW water confidence message

Triple World Surf Ironman Champion Cory Hutchings was born with a natural feel for the ocean, but he thanks his Nana for being his earliest ‘Pool Buddy’ and for teaching him to swim.

Cory has teamed up with his youngest child Zak (2) in a poster campaign this summer funded by Huggies, which encourages parents and caregivers to get into the pool and be pool buddies with their children under five. Cory says in the poster: ‘I’m a big fan of one-on-one time in the pool with Zak our youngest. Close together he feels secure and it’s fun.’

The Huggies Little Swimmers Pool Buddy campaign is based on the view held by water safety experts that helping children become familiar with the water early is an important foundation for learning to swim.

“I encourage parents, grandparents and caregivers to get into the pool with the littlest members of the family this summer. It’s fun and it’s special. I think kids build water confidence more easily if their earliest water experiences are with someone they are close to, where there’s already a relationship of trust,” says Cory.

Cory says he and his wife Ange have both had one on one pool-time with their four children at different stages. He says their children have come to enjoy the water in their own time and in their own way.

“Zak is still hesitant in the water and I respect that. Luke (7) surfs and is confident in all depths of water, but I am still vigilant with him. Skye (9) loves the water and swims confidently but is not interested in competitive water sport. And Korbin (12) is New Zealand’s current New Zealand Surfing Champion in the under-12 age group, and is preparing for competition in Australia.

“Children have different personalities and they all feel the water differently. I think New Zealand parents do a great job. The key is to give kids opportunities to build water confidence early and then book them into more formal swimming lessons when they’re ready.

“It’s a tricky balance between being over-cautious in the water and overlaying our fear onto them, or at the other extreme, expecting too much of them too soon,” he says.

As part of the Pool Buddy campaign, Huggies have consulted experts in water-based child development and offer parents age-related and child-centred pointers (see below) and a Pool Buddy song on the Huggies website.

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Huggies Little Swimmers POOL BUDDY Pointers
These pointers are designed to help parents understand water confidence
from a child’s perspective:


0-6 months
· Hold me and support me so I can feel safer in the water· I feel safer in the water when we have happy eye contact
· I won’t be frightened when you move me through the water gently and slowly
· Singing and talking gently teaches me what is coming next
· Supporting my body helps me learn what it feels like to float
· When you are relaxed I relax too

6 months – 1 year
· When you support me I can try new things
· I love it when we play with my friends in the water
· Learning to swim means I discover how to feel happy and safer in water
· I love to try to do the actions when you show me how
· Tell me before you splash or submerge me
· When lying on my back, I need to feel your support and feel you close, especially when my ears, head and shoulders are in the water

1 -2 years
· Continue to support me as I need to know you are there
· Always return me to a safe place (like the side of the pool so I can hold on)
· Roll me from my back to my tummy over and over in the water
· Lie me supported on your shoulder and gently roll me to my tummy
· Laughing and playing with you in the water is special

2 – 3 years
· I still need you to be there with me in the water
· Respect me because sometimes I don’t want to be in the water!!!
· Please catch me when we decide it’s time to jump in
· Playing games in the water helps me to develop my confidence
· Repeating activities I love gives me confidence to do it by myself
· I need to trust you when I try new things

Developed by Jenny McPhail of Water Discovery and Gill Connell of Moving Smart

PHOTO:  Cory with parents and babies from
the ‘Water Babies’ class at the Millennium Swim School in Auckland