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Water Babies
The Pros and Cons of Infant Swimming Lessons
By Melinda Copp
Swimming is not only a fun summertime activity, but also an important safety skill that everyone should know, which is why many parents enroll their kids in lessons. And these days, many companies and community centers also offer swimming lessons for babies as young as a few months old. But can young babies really learn to swim? How young is too young? And what are the pros and cons of enrolling your baby in swimming lessons?
Enrolling your baby in swimming lessons has several pros. First, it's a great way to bond with your baby, as most programs put either Mom or Dad in the water with the little student.
"You don't have your cell phone attached to your hip or other distractions – it's an hour of uninterrupted one-on-one time for you and your baby, and it's fun," says Sue Davis, who runs the Almaden Valley Athletic Club (AVAC) swim school program in San Francisco, Calif.
The AVAC program starts kids as early as 6 months old, but at that age, swimming lessons are more about teaching the parents what to do with the baby in the water and basic water safety techniques than about the baby learning to swim independently. Davis says they focus on making the baby comfortable and happy in the water, which means practicing getting the face wet and going under – something you can start practicing every day with your baby in the bathtub.
Although lessons are a fun way to bond, safety is the most important benefit of swimming lessons for babies, and most programs emphasize safety above all else. A child that is comfortable around water and knows basic techniques is safer.
"Drowning is now one of the leading causes of death for kids under 5," says Mindy York, co-owner of the Baby Otter Swim School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and co-creator of the Is Your Child's Life Worth Ten Minutes? water safety DVD for parents. "Swimming lessons are one of the layers of protection that can save a child from drowning."
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