An early start to swimming lessons can give your baby a head start in life, offering benefits both in and out of the water.
Are you wondering when the best time to start swimming lessons is? Starting your child on their swimming journey at a young age can offer numerous advantages, both in and out of the water. Swimming lessons can help foster physical development, enhance social skills, and strengthen the parent-child bond.
Physical development
Swimming provides a unique opportunity for infants to exercise their muscles and improve their coordination. The buoyancy of water allows babies to move their bodies freely, promoting muscular strength and flexibility. These benefits can contribute to developing essential milestones like crawling and walking. Additionally, swimming has been shown to benefit children with asthma and support healthy cardiovascular development.
Social and cognitive development
Swimming is an ambidextrous activity, meaning it engages both sides of the body. This can help develop gross motor skills, encourage coordination, and promote brain integration. As your child gets older, these skills can contribute to language development, reading, and writing.
Strengthening the parent-child bond
Swimming lessons provide an excellent opportunity for parents and children to bond. Sharing this enjoyable activity together can create lasting memories and strengthen your relationship.
A lifelong skill
Teaching your child to swim at a young age equips them with a valuable life skill and helps them develop a healthy respect for water. This can reduce the risk of accidents and ensure their safety around water.
When to start
You can begin introducing your baby to swimming as early as bath time. We recommend introducing babies to swimming lessons around five months old when they have good head and neck control and show interest in their surroundings.
What if my child cries?
It is perfectly normal for your child to cry in their first lesson or any other lesson. Children cry for all kinds of reasons, not only because they are in a pool. The main thing is to relax and settle them while they are in the pool; they should not be taught to associate crying with getting out of the pool. Your instructor can help settle your child—they have done this many times before! Quick tip: try not to schedule swim activities close to nap or feeding times.
How babies swim
While young children might not have the coordination to perform traditional swimming strokes, they can develop unique movements to propel themselves through the water. These movements often resemble crawling or wriggling.
A child’s development on dry land correlates with their capabilities in the water. When teaching babies to swim, the key is to provide them with age-appropriate activities that address their unique needs while fostering independence, all under the watchful eye of an adult.
By Mel Wright, Flinders Aquatic Academy | flindersaquaticacademy.com.au
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