How crucial is it that you and your child take swimming lessons? It seems like every mom in my mom’s group brings their infant swimming, but I can never seem to get excited about it. Is it really that horrible to wait until my son is older? Let’s say a year or so? He was okay when we took him in the water a few times, but we haven’t taken any official action.
I’ve been taking my daughter to the pool every week since she was 4.5 months old. It’s not formal swimming lessons—I just bring her to the pool for about 30 minutes until she starts getting cold or cranky. For the first four weeks, she mostly just sat there, staring at the other people in the pool. But last week was a huge breakthrough! She seemed to really notice she was in the water for the first time and even reached toward the side of the pool. When I took her there, she held on and kicked her legs while I supported her, it totally caught me by surprise.
While I’m not expecting her to be doing freestyle anytime soon, she’s definitely getting something out of it, and it’s been a great bonding experience for us. I say go for it!
These truly do educate a baby not to drown, therefore it would be a smart idea if you have your own pool. Mostly, it’s just about having enough comfort to turn over and float with ease. There’s always the possibility that a newborn could inadvertently cross the pool fence.
i would advice you to try
Don’t worry about what others are doing—focus on what feels right for you.
I understand why some people start early to get their kids “used to water,” but for us, it didn’t make sense to spend money on 30-minute sessions that were mostly nursery rhymes in the water. My 4-year-old just started lessons and she’s loving it, doing great on her own. We tried lessons when she was under a year, but it felt like a waste of time and money. You don’t need to wait until they’re 4, but it might be better to start when they can follow directions and do things more independently.
We’re waiting until 18 months to do our swim lessons. I’ve been taking my LO to the pool for a couple of months now, he’s almost 15 months and he’s been loving it! Mainly just getting used to the water and meeting other kids, unless you have an unfenced pool or live very close to water I wouldn’t worry about doing swim lessons until later. If you have the time and it’s something you’re interested in then it may be worth it just for an out-of-the-house activity, but I don’t think it makes a massive difference in swim ability later.
We started taking our son to the pool at around 6 months and recently began again at 18 months.
To be honest, when we started at 6 months, it quickly began to feel like a bit of a chore to go every week. After the first 5-10 minutes, my son didn’t seem to enjoy it much (the class lasted half an hour). I also agree with others who’ve mentioned that the instructors didn’t seem to have much of a plan, so it was basically just a half-hour free swim. I’m sure the experience can vary a lot depending on the pool and the instructors.
If you’re considering it now, I’d suggest doing it mainly for the “quality time” aspect with your baby. As a dad, it was a great bonding activity for me and my son. Otherwise, I’d recommend waiting until he’s at least 18 months to 2 years old. In the meantime, you could take him to the occasional free swim so he gets used to the water.