Before your baby takes their first steps, they can learn to save their own life in water. Our Self-Rescue programme is built on the Les Bébés Amphibies International technique — developed by Jean Fouace in Villars-Sur-Ollon, Switzerland in 1967 after his own eight-month-old son fell into a pool and instinctively kept himself together — and combined with the techniques Lizette Botha has refined over more than three decades of hands-on teaching since 1989. The method works because all babies can float: their body density is nearly the same as water. What we teach is for an infant to stay calmly on their back, with controlled balance and breathing, for long enough to survive an accidental water entry. Sessions are strictly one-on-one, conducted without flotation devices, with parents seated close by to observe the entire process. The training programme typically runs over three to four months, depending on how regularly your baby attends.
What you will learn:
- Roll from face-down to a stable, independent back-float survival position
- Float unassisted for a minimum of 15 minutes while breathing calmly
- Qualify in full clothing — because accidents happen when children are dressed
- Develop a permanent, lifelong reflex that the infant will never unlearn
- Strictly one-on-one with the instructor — parents seated close by to observe
- Typical duration: 3 to 4 months, depending on lesson frequency
- Personalised gold-mounted Amphibies Babies Africa coin awarded on qualification
Drowning is silent and takes less than 60 seconds. The Les Bébés Amphibies International method — as taught by Lizette Botha — is the most effective preventative layer you can give your baby before they can walk.
In Our Classes
What this programme looks like
The Amphibies Self-Rescue Water Safety Method, photographed in Lizette Botha's own classes — from the very first water-familiarisation lesson on the pool steps, through to the personalised gold-mounted coin earned on qualification.
Phase 1Water familiarisation
Every journey begins on the steps. Lizette spends the early lessons building trust, eye contact, and a baby's first joyful associations with the warm-water pool — long before any floating work begins.
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Phase 2Supported back-float introduction
The baby is introduced to the back-float position with full hands-on support from Lizette — head cradled, body relaxed. This is where the infant's natural buoyancy (their body density is nearly the same as water) is gently revealed to them.
Phase 3Progressive support reduction
Hands quietly come away. The baby learns to balance and to breathe calmly with their respiratory tract above the waterline. Lizette stays in close attendance — never further than her own hands — while the infant takes more and more of their own weight.
Phase 4The 15-minute qualification float
The standard is uncompromising: a baby must float independently on their back — fully unsupported, fully conscious, fully breathing — for a minimum of fifteen minutes. That is not a target. It is the minimum window for a realistic rescue.
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The outcomeA lifelong reflex — fully clothed, fully alone
Qualification floats are performed in full clothing, because accidents happen when children are dressed. Once entrenched, the floating reflex is never unlearned. Decades later, the now-grown swimmer will still fall back onto this skill in an emergency.
The awardKeepsakePersonalised Amphibies Babies Africa coin
Every baby who completes the qualification float is awarded a personalised gold-mounted coin — engraved with the child's name, carrying the Swiss and South African flags of the Jean Fouace × Lizette Botha method, mounted on a hand-finished wooden stand. A tangible mark of a life-saving skill.
Every photograph above was taken at Kiddies Aqua Swimming Academy. The programme is delivered strictly one-on-one with Lizette (or an Amphibies-certified instructor trained under her), with parents seated close-by to observe the entire process. Typical duration: three to four months, depending on lesson frequency.
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Book Free LessonLizette Botha
With over 37 years of aquatic teaching experience since 1989, Lizette Botha is the founder of Kiddies Aqua and the author of our entire teaching methodology. She holds international certification in the Les Bébés Amphibies method and has personally trained every KASA instructor.
"Every child deserves to feel safe and free in water — that belief is at the heart of everything we do."
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