Our toddler loves the water, and has become very confident. If he sees a pool he wants to run and jump straight in! He creates quite a scene, crying and struggling as we try get him into his swimming gear... with him using as much energy as he can muster

to get out of our grip.

Now when we plan to go to the swimming pool or beach, we make sure we all change into our swimming gear (including our bub) before we leave. This way, as soon as we arrive our toddler can have the time of his life and be in the water ASAP.

Why does he love the water? Since he was a very early age we have involved him in "water babies" swimming classes. At about 6-8 months old he could hold his breath (happily) under water. If you are interested in this type of thing I highly recommend it, it is really great bonding time with your child, it is great for their confidence, it also has the added benefits of getting you both out of the house and gives you something to do each week :)

UPDATED: 31st May 2006.
Our toddler is now 21 months old (I think, either 20 or 21 months... gettinghard to count), anyway... our experience at taking him to the pools has settled down considerably. He now understands that we intend to go in soon, we just need to change into swimming gear first.

One useful technique apon exiting the pool is to first wrap your child up in his towel, make sure he is warm and dry and then sit him down near you and give him some biscuits or fruit to eat. They are especially hungry after swimming. This gives you a good  few minutes to dry yourself down, get changed into dry clothes, and prepare his stuff. Then simply dry your toddler off, put him in his dry clothes and you are both happy as larry (as some people say)!

I hope this helps with your swimming trips.

UDATED: 11th Mar 2008.

Codi is now an absolute fish. Admittedly we do have a pool at home now which he swims in at least 3 times a week, however I have no doubt that the lessons and the fact that we introduced swimming early has helped him gain confidence in the water. He is only 3.5yrs old now and can swim unaided etc. He loves it, and he even had about 1 yr out of the water when we were in the US last year.

Here is a quick video of water babies classes...