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Swim, Baby, Swim!
Should You Teach Your Baby to Swim?
By Felicia Hodges
"I signed us up for a mother/baby swim class thinking he'd be moving through the water unassisted or at least be able to roll onto his back in case he ever fell in," she says. "I wanted him to be comfortable around the water because I grew up afraid of it and didn't learn to swim until I was an adult."
Instead of swimming, though, she and Zachery played in the water while she held him and sang songs like "Ring Around the Rosie."
"They had us fall up instead of down so Zachery didn't even get wet past his chest," Thomas says.
"That is not too unusual," says Patricia Ottie, a certified lifeguard and swim instructor at a health club in Fishkill, N.Y. "Most classes for children younger than 3 or 4 are designed to get children comfortable in the water, not teach them to swim. It may even be dangerous to try to teach children younger than that to try to hold their breath." Such skills as blowing bubbles and holding air in the lungs require dexterity and coordination that children younger than 3 simply do not have, she adds.
When in the water, the important thing is to get the child to relax," Ottie says. "It will be a lot easier for them once they begin actual swim lessons at age 3 or 4 if they are used to the water or at least don't have a fear of it." She suggests that if your child is afraid of the water, you focus on activities that he or she is comfortable with and progress as the child feels ready.
