It’s really important, in my opinion, to start your kids swimming early. The younger they are, the better. Let us take a look at why I think teaching infant swim lessons is so important.
Doctors are now saying that a child can take up swimming nearly as soon as the umbilical cord falls off. I know that sounds a little bit strange, but doctors do say that as soon as the umbilical cord does fall off, the child can now start taking baths.
That is when they can actually be submerged in water. That’s when they can actually start getting that sensation of water against their skin. The sooner this happens, the sooner the child will get with water.
We Prefer to Teach Children 6-Months and Older
We at Life Saver Survival Swim School do prefer to wait until the child is at least 6-months old to start formally teaching a child to float and swim. I’m just letting you know that submerging a child in water at 6-months old should not be anything that you as a parent should be worried about.
At 6-months old, the one thing that we are trying to teach the child most is how to float. We teach them not only how to float in the water, but also how to roll-over if their face down in the water. If they are face down, they need to roll-over so they can float and breathe. These could be important life-saving skills.
Lessons for a 6-month-old last about 10 minutes. This is about the maximum retention span for these newly born babies.
As time progresses, we monitor and evaluate their mental and emotional levels. When the instructor believes they are ready, the instructor will start teaching them to “paddle and float” towards the edge of the pool. Eventually, the child will start swimming.
Most of our parents enroll their babies and children in our swimming school so their children can learn the life-saving skills of floating and swimming. This is certainly an important reason. Drowning remains the number 1 leading cause of accidental deaths in children 4 years and younger.
However, there are a number of other very good reasons why teaching a young child to swim. These might surprise you. They are:
- Improves Motor Skills – Experiencing the natural resistance of the water builds strength and coordination. This will improve their balance and posture.
- Increases a Child’s Intelligence – Studies have shown that swimming increases a child’s ability to think and improves their memory functions.
- Learning to Swim Increases a Child’s Self-Confidence – Learning to swim in water increases a child’s confidence. Learning that “I can do it!” is important and it builds their character.
Give Life Saver Survival Swim School, LLC an Opportunity to Teach Your Child
We have been teaching infant swim lessons for over 15 years now. We have taught thousands of young children how to float, swim, and to survive in water. Most of our students are between 6-months and 3-years of age, but we have also taught hundreds of children older than that.
If you have children that are at least 6-months old and if they still haven’t learned how to float and/or swim, sign them up for one of our up-coming classes. Or, if you still have questions, give our owner, Bonnie, a call. She can be reached at (832) 366-3008. Or, you can email her.