Becky from Baby Squids West Yorkshire shares her #childrensmentalhealthweek “Place To Be” story
This year’s Place 2 Be charity’s campaign for Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week is called “This Is My Place” and its the perfect opportunity to celebrate this incredible swimming space we provide for parents and children from birth to age 10. It reminds us how vital it is for children to have spaces where they feel safe, calm and confident.
Becky, who runs Baby Squids West Yorkshire, knows that a “Place 2 Be” is about more than just a physical location – it’s about where a child feels they belong.
We’re sharing her story for Children’s Mental Health Week and this year’s “Place To Be’ campaign to help other parents find that same sense of calm and connection for their little ones.
Becky knows better than anyone that the pool isn’t just a place to learn strokes – it’s a sanctuary for mental wellbeing. Mum to her wonderful daughter, Jessica, she started running Baby Squids West Yorkshire in 2025 after 15 years in hospitality – and a calling for a more rewarding career change to follow her passions.
With a love of swimming and always being passionate about water safety, she took the step to run her own baby swimming franchise – one that focuses on consistently creating a joyful space, where children and adults feel safe, supported, nurtured and connected.
After starting her own baby swimming journey with her daughter at just 3 weeks old, Becky saw firsthand how the pool is the perfect place to nurture trust and resilience. She says: “In the pool, children don’t just learn to swim—they learn to be themselves.”
Becky says: “Quickly, I realized how incredibly transformative swimming is for children, not just for safety but for their development, their wellbeing and the precious bonding time it creates. And truthfully, I found I enjoyed it just as much as my daughter did!”
This profound experience started Becky off on a powerful passion to become a baby swimming teacher and support other parents and their little ones to feel the same.
“I wanted to share that same magic, that same sense of wonder, with other families. Those initial moments were magical,” Becky recalls. “Seeing the sheer delight on Jessica’s face and the confidence she found in the water changed everything for me. I realized swimming isn’t just about safety – it is about transformation.”
She continues: ” For me, being in the water felt like coming home. And now I get to help other parents and little people to feel that same comfort. There is something so unique and wonderful in the joy of seeing a baby’s first splash, a toddler’s confident kick, or a parent’s proud smile – precious milestones and memories for them – and incredibly fulfilling and rewarding moments from my perspective too!”
“In the pool, children don’t just learn to swim – they learn to trust, they learn to try and they learn how to be themselves. For me, offering swimming lessons that help a child to feel safe, strong, calm and happy is more than running a business – its an inner calling that brings so much joy and reward.”
“I passionately believe in my local community and owning my own franchise doing what I love and being able to create and share a warm, supportive environment for families is so much more than a job to me.”
She says: “Baby Squids offers a unique, nurturing approach to baby and toddler swimming, focusing on building water confidence and essential life skills through fun, play-based lessons. This isn’t just about teaching strokes; it’s about fostering a lifelong love for water, promoting safety and strengthening the incredible bond between parent and child in a unique environment.”
This Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, we’re helping to raise awareness that a child’s “Place 2 Be” isn’t always a physical place. Sometimes, its a feeling. A feeling of calm. A feeling of trust. A feeling of connection. And a feeling of belonging.
It reminds us how vital it is for every child to have spaces where they feel safe, supported and understood. And for many children, the water offers this and so much more.
Becky concludes; “When I look back at my time with my daughter in the water over the years, I can really see how every splash and sprinkle has helped her to not only become a water-loving little mermaid who loves going under! I can see how calm and confident she is in – and out the pool. And I can see how these skills flow through into the rest of her life and are helping her to grow, thrive – and be grounded.”
Its scientifically proven that being in water can have amazing physical health benefits. It helps the co-regulation of a child’s emotional and nervous system. Swimming and playing in the water builds self-confidence, resilience, trust and empowers little ones to achieve big things in the pool – that continues into all aspects of their lives and development.
Want to know more about Baby Squids? Our classes are fully inclusive, we welcome everybody to the water, where every individual feels valued, just get in touch.