Swimming is a fun activity for kids, and it’s a good idea to teachyour children to swim when they’re young.
Some pediatricians recommend teaching children to swim when they are3-4 years old, while others will say that infants as young as 6 monthscan and should take swimming lessons. Babies generally love playing inwater and don’t usually have a fear of swimming. They’ll close theirmouths instinctively and do motions (though not proper swimming strokes)to propel themselves through the pool.
Many public pools, health clubs and swim schools offer swimminglessons for infants. These classes are a great bonding experience, asparents take their babies into the water during the lessons.
Babies should wears a special swimdiaper that won’t bloat up with water. And be sure to use plenty ofsunscreen to protect your baby’s delicate skin.
Children that are one-year-old or older can use water wings orfloaties to help them stay above water. However, most of these floationdevices are not designed for babies younger than one. A swimsuit with abuilt-in floation vest might be a better option for your baby. Whetheryour child uses water wings or anything else, they still need to besupervised at all times in and around the water. These devices do notprevent drowning.
Some people will argue that children who are taught to swim at ayoung age are more likely to drown because their parents areoverconfident in their swimming skills and don’t keep a close eye onthem. However, according to a study by the NationalInstitutes of Health last year, swimming lessons do not increasedrowning risk in children ages 1-4.
“Swimming lessons are appropriate for consideration as part of acomprehensive drowning prevention strategy,” said Duane Alexander, M.D.,director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of ChildHealth and Human Development (NICHD), the NIH Institute at which thestudy was conducted. “Because even the best swimmers can drown, swimminglessons are only one component of a comprehensive drowning preventionstrategy that should include pool fencing, adult supervision, andtraining in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.”
via NIHNews
photo: Thinkstock
