Swimming lessons for Babies

I learnt swimming so late in life that till date i am not a confident swimmer and cannot go in deep water even in a swimming pool forget a sea or a lake. My daughter is almost 1 year old and i plan to enroll her in a swimming class as soon as winter is over, its too cold for her yet even if its a heated pool.

I have three children, adults now. All are adopted and at the time my 3 yr old son was terrified of water. I live in Florida and we have always owned homes with a pool. He didn't even enjoy a bath, but not through any trauma with us. He did learn however, that if he wanted to enjoy family fun, he had to get involved, often in the pool. He now is a "water baby" at 28. My daughter was 3 days old, and we had moved to a new house, and had a pool built. We began "DROWN PROOFING" her at age 6 months. The first task wasn't comfort with water at all. She had been bathed more than once a day since birth. The issue with children and water in NOT GETTING IT, and not strictly being in control, and that's confusing. Drown Proofing for us was to be in the pool with her, BLOW in her face, causing her to inhale sharply, then DUNK her, and bring her up immediately. When she DID get it, we were able to release her and to everyones joy BABIES can float. The next step is coaching the Floating, most often on the back, and as they learn, teach them where saftey is, Obviously at that age SAFE is another human. Treading water was the next step, and swim stuff is so prevelant that seats and rings, arm band floaters and rafts are sold everywhere. Obviously not every town has a community pool, or teachers of children, but certainly there might be a YMCA local. Here in Florida we had an old guy "Fleet Peoples" who ran swim classes for Kids for most of his life. The Ocean or Bay or lake etc. is certainly different and at any age someone should be monitoring a child. A kid can have as much fun at the beach, in water no deeper than their calf. Obviously Adults get carried off as well, and learning respect shouldn't happen by getting into a dangerous situation. Educating a child about water safety is a task that takes time, and of course a teacher cannot strictly show examples of drowning or the effects, if the child is to be encouraged rather than be made paranoid. Steven Stiles

ive been swimming with my oldest one since she was three months old! she is now 2,5 years old and is not afraid of water! now i also swim with my youngest one, she is nine months old now and likes the water too!

I did when my oldest was 2. She loved it. The class sounded a lot like yours.... it was more of a class to get the kids used to the water and not afraid of it. We went twice a week at the local YMCA. I didn't get to take my youngest to an actual class because we had moved by then and there wasn't a Y close by... but we had a pool then, so I took the kids in with me constantly. They have never been afraid of water and they now know how to swim like fish!

Definately! My neice and nephew both started when they were only 10 weeks old. My daughter will be starting when she is 6 months old. I think it is essential for all kids to be comfortable and familiar with water.

I am definitely going to put my child in swimming lessons as early as possible!

yes swimming classes are very good for all age children, but im a good swimmer so when i have children i will teach them myself. only thing i dont want to teach them is playing in the pool or around the pool. be more trying to get them use to the water but also teacher the kids not to go near water by themself, (not exactly able to teach 6 mth old but you can with a 3 yr old as i helped teach my neice), also you should try and over come your fear a bit to help teach your daughter as well.

ABSOLUTELY! I swim like a fish. I love love love being around any body of water, and I love boogie boarding and what not in the ocean. I took swimming lessons from the age up 2 or 3 until I was about 6 or 7, then we moved and my parents joined a country club, so I was able to swim very often in the summer and I got even better at it. My mom doesn't know how to swim, that's why she wanted us to learn. I feel very strongly about kids knowing how to swim. Not only is it a GREAT exercise in the summertime, but I think every child should know how to swim and know water safety. It's essential, in my opinion!

being a non-swimmer myself (yes, i don't know how to swim... lol!), i would like my daughter to take up swimming lessons. i'm just not sure at what age i will let her. by the way, may i know which school you enrolled your daughter in?

Yes definitely. In this world where fast food is the current trend, you need to keep your children healthy and fit. You can't control everything that they eat. So why not make them join activities that will keep the calories off them. Rather than just spending the entire day in front of the computer, I'd rather enroll my kids in swimming.

this is an excellent thing you are doing for your child. Did you know in california, accidental drowning of children dropped drastically after completing this type of class. If your child is near any type of water, this a most needed type of class.

I think that every baby should be taught the relaxing technique so if they should accidentally fall into a pool they would know how to roll over and keep themselves afloat so they wouldn't drown. I taught my children to do this before they were a year old. I did this after I had talked to a man who was teaching his daughter the roll over and float technique. She was only 4 months old. He had lost his son in a boating accident the year before. I applaud any mother or father who takes this precaution with their children. Heres the funny thing...when I was teaching my youngest daughter this life saving technique one of the women who saw me drop my daughter in the deep end of the pool went to the office of the apartment manager and told her to call family services to report me for child abuse. The manager came running out to see what she was talking about. When she saw me she went to laughing. She knew what I was doing because I had taught her son this same roll and float technique the year before. All my children were swimming by the time they were 2 years of age. And since we live in Florida they all love water sports. You are a smart mom and your children will appreciate what you are doing for them later.

hi! i have a 5 month old son and i would like to enroll him to swimming lesson when he turns 1. would like to enroll him on his 6th month but i'm scared so i'll probably enroll him when he's one year old na. i hope he'll enjoy it and won't have a fear with waters. right now he enjoys his bath time and i do hope he'll feel the same when we go swimming. i love swimming and it's my all time favorite sport. i do hope that he'll enjoy it as much as i do. besides, people said that swimming is a good exercise because almost all muscles are working when you swim.

By all means I would do so. I think it is very important for babies to be become confident with water. Before you know it she will be swimming like a fish. My children were raised on a lake and were swimming almost before they could walk. My children are all grown now but I have 2 grand babies who will start swimming lessons this summer. Here in the US so many homes have private pools that it is very necessary for babies to learn to swim and learn water safety. I appalaud you for your actions.

swimming is good exercise both for babies or adults. i think if you have in and around swimming pool where coaching facilities are available, one should enrol ones child. she will get benefit in future too.

I applaud your decision. I feel that the more we can teach water safety the better. At your daughter's tender age, just to teach the enjoyment of the water is great...and gives a foundation onto which actual swimming can be built. Until she learns to be safe, (hold breath, float,paddle) however, she may not fear the water now and will really bear watching near water!!! Seeing it as fun she may get in alone!! Enjoy the water with your little one!

As someone who loves swimming but has never had lessons, probably not. My mom had me in the pool at 6 months, and I've been fine. I took DS in last summer at around 5 months and he loves the water! My inlaws have a pool, so we'd go as often as we can. They also have a hot tub, so in the winter, they lower the temp a little and I take DS in there to swim. He hasn't put his head into the water yet, but he has no fears. I think that's the important thing, teaching them to be comfortable. We'll be back out there this summer, and as he's able, I'll teach him to do more. I won't ease up on my watching him until he's probably at least 6, but I'm sure he'll do just fine.

When I was a kid, we'd go to the beaches of Virginia, most of the time it was Jamestown Beach. We'd go running for the water and as soon as it got a little past our ankles my mom would panic and yell for us to come back in lol....I ended up terrified of water and for a long time refused to go near it. When my kids were born, I decided I did not want them to go through the same thing, but I also wanted to be able to enjoy it with them, so we enrolled in classes with the Red Cross. I was 25 years old then. I can't tell you the satisfaction I get now that I can confidently jump in the water and swim. I also had my kids go through the whale program with the YMCA and it taught them so much. They are adults now and love the water, but like me, they prefer to stick to the swimming pools where you can see what is underneath you. I can honestly say, I am not terrified of water as long as I know there are no creatures swimming below me. I bought a big above ground pool, big enough to do laps in and had it installed in the backyard. It became a source of great fun for us all. I miss that pool, but my kids still have access to it when they are in Virginia visiting their dad.

my answer is yes. be a friend with water from early age is very important, because that can make our son not fear with water. i'm can swam at 16 years old, before i can swim, i have fear with water. so enrolling them to a swimming lesson at early age is must done.

Not right away. I have seen plenty of parents out there who have started swimming lessons right away with their babies and the outcome is not too good. Many aren't ready yet because they still have that fear of water. The program that you're child is enrolled in is exactly where she should stay until 3 or 4 years. Even then, there's still no rush. A lot of kids become terrified of water when the instructor tells them to dunk their heads in the water and because of that, they won't want to learn at all. Believe me, take it slow. Wait until your daughter is at least in kindergarten. What's the rush anyways?