Infant Swimming Lessons
Not only do infant swimming lessons help a child physically develop their muscles and lung capacity, it can also aid in a child’s social development as well. Infant swimming lessons are often a child’s first social experience with other children outside the home, giving them an opportunity to interact with and relate to their peers. The lessons also give parents a chance to interact with other parents with children the same age where they can share parenting tips and form a network to help with babysitting or carpooling.
Infant swimming lessons can also be an excellent calming experience for children suffering from autism or Asperger’s syndrome. Swimming is a naturally nurturing experience, as the buoyancy of the water can feel like an invisible helping hand beneath the water.
Safety First!
Infants who take swimming lessons also begin to learn vital water safety tips that could prove to be lifesaving in the future. In fact, water safety is one of the main reasons that parents enroll their young children in swimming lessons in the first place. Throughout infant swimming lessons, the basics of safety are always continually enforced, such as swimming to edge when feeling tired, never running on the deck, and always swimming with an adult present.
The Basic Skills
Some parents choose to start their children in infant swimming lessons as early as 6 months old. These lessons consist mostly of getting the infants accustomed to the water by teaching the children to hold their breath underwater, and swim short distances between 2 adults. They also learn how to grab onto the side of the pool, and jump into the water from a sitting position on the side of the pool.
Proper infant swimming lessons can begin when a child is between one and two years old. During this time, children learn to jump into the water from a standing position on the side of the pool, turn around in the water, and swim longer distances. They learn basic kicking technique which forms the foundation for later stroke learning.
As children become more comfortable in the water, skills such as the front and back float are introduced. Once children can access their inner sense of buoyancy, they will learn to float with ease. This usually happens around the age of 4. At this age, children also love swimming under the water and jumping from the edge into the pool.
Basic kicking skills while holding onto a flutter board are also introduced at this age, which work as the foundation for the freestyle front crawl stroke. Some children begin performing the doggy paddle stroke, which is where the head is kept above the water and the arms and legs are moved to propel the body forwards.
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