Infant survival type swimming lessons?

[Amatullah0]

I'm thinking about putting DS in a class like this:

http://www.infantswim.com/

http://www.infantaquatics.com/

Thoughts? Organization suggestions?

[SundayCrepes]

I didn't look at the links you listed. I've heard some of the infant swim classes can be pretty traumatic and terrifies the babies of going into the pool. I don't know if the ones you've listed are like that. If we had a pool, I would do what I needed to in an attempt to give my kids a fighting chance should they fall in the pool. However, I simply refuse to have a pool, so that takes care of it and I won't do the classes offered locally. I cultivate a fear of drowning so we don't go to pool parties. 

Instead of draconian lessons, we have always made the pool fun. Last summer my then 4 year old and under 2 year old both basically taught themselves to swim because of the frequency of time we spent at the wading pool (early summer) and a friend's pool (late summer.) We also used toys lifeguards had said helped kids learn to swim. (Our son used these, our toddler didn't.) The main ones were a large plastic truck that can be pushed on the bottom of the wading pool. The pushing position mimics the swim position. Also a foam kickboard. Our almost 2 year old is just a fish so learned to swim on her own. (Though she could only get her head above water once each time she swam away from us. After that she sank.)

[kythe]

I've seen some videos of babies who look very comfortable and content in the water in these types of classes.  I think it greatly depends on your child's temperment and level of interest, as to what they will gain from swimming lessons.

What bothers me most about these infant swim courses is that they advertise their services as safety related.  There is no such thing as a drown-proof baby or toddler.  I think these classes feed off of parents' fears and provide a false sense of security about their baby's abilities in the water.  Swim lessons at this age should be play-based and as long as your child is enjoying himself, it's a healthy activity. But you are not trying to teach your baby to swim independantly. 

[eastkygal]

DD1 took this type of class as an infant and loved it.  We absolutely loved our time in the water.  They used a heated therapy sized pool.  She is 5 and is not afraid at all of the water, holds her breath and goes under, and she tries to swim, but isn't proficient at it yet.  I used the techniques they taught us with DD2, and she is now terrified of the water.  Even in the bath.  I completely regret trying it with her.  She will get into water, but only stand.  She'll sit in the bath, but washing her hair is a huge struggle.  So, I agree.  It is up to the child.  You could try the first class to see if your son takes to it.  I would not try putting him under the first time.

[Dar]

Moved from Learning at Home and Beyond to Toddlers....

[hakeber]

If you are not a strong swimmer yourself, I would say a swim class is a good idea when the child shows an interest.  If you are, I would introduce the child to the water yourself. As a PP said, it isn't about teaching SAFETY at this age, it's about teaching them a sense of peace and confidence in and around the water. I honestly cannot remember not knowing how to swim, my mom and dad had us in the water that much as kids.  Our whole family are part duck.  It should be about play and fun.  There is no such thing as infant survival swimming

I had DS in the water from about 4 months, and DD from about two days old.  I helped support their core while they'd practice floating and kicking and blowing bubbles and getting used to having their face and ears under the water, and I nursed them in the baby pool so they'd associate the water with positive feelings, and little by little they'd break away swimming small strokes between their dad and I.  Swimming in the part of the pool where they could just touch.  DS wore wings for about 4 months from 3.5-4 ish and DD just got her first pair and is now leaping in at the deep end to join us in the pool.

DS now 6 swims confidently above and underwater and is now learning proper strokes.

I'm a trained lifegaurd and I'm fully updated in my training for mouth to mouth and CPR so I feel pretty good with my kids in the water as long as I am close by and watching carefully.

On the other hand, my SIL is a very weak swimmer...not really a swimmer, and her fear of the water and of drowning would have been a major impact on the confidence he kids feel in the water.  For her enrolling them in toddler and kids swimming classes was perfect.

I don't know if it helps from infancy or not, but the most important thing in my opinion is for the child to feel totally safe, that the adults are totally in control and keeping them safe and that THEY are ready.  If you push a child who is terrified of water into the water you will definitely make for some scarring memories....this isn't one of those "I'm pushing you for your own good" sort of things. 

[dejagerw]

I'm not sure about those particular classes, but I've seen classes where they literally throw the baby in the water and say to the parents "this is what would happen if your baby were to fall into a pool now". And they advocate not comforting your child if they cry during lessons, etc. While some of these classes may teach the baby to swim, at what cost? It's kinda like crying it out. It may teach some babies to sleep, but at what cost to the relationship. I had a friend who did the ISR swim class (your first link). I remember I was interested in the class, but after talking to him, I was totally turned off by the class.

[Amatullah0]

I am a strong swimmer, and DH is fine if he can touch the bottom, he's not scared of water, but he also doesn't know how to swim for too long. Last summer, we went to the beach a couple of times to teach DH and DS how to swim, well, how to at least float on their backs. We didn't get too far, since we only had the opportunity to go a couple of times.   

I'm not interested in the classes as a replacement for constant supervision around water. I'm also not really coming from the "swimming is fun!" gang. I guess I'm looking for starting early in teaching an important life skill. I think it's sad that my DH doesn't know how to swim, or even really float on his back. If DH got caught in a flood or fell off of a boat or something, he would be in a lot of trouble. I don't want that happening to DS. 

I didn't realize there would be so many tears in this type of class(and we're considering the class now that DS is almost 2years old, though we were also considering it for future DC at younger ages). 

I can't wait to take DS to the beach though. We don't have any swimming beaches here, I don't think... but if the river I'm thinking about is swimmable, I would seriously doubt it would be safe to accidentally drink(this is Pakistan) and DS tends to drink whatever water comes near his mouth. 

[hakeber]

Maybe your DH can enroll in a class. :p

My DH is the same.  DS has surpassed him already by some distance.  DH can't float either...It's like his butt is made of lead.

I agree it IS an important life skill, but I would say making it as fun as possible at a young age has been better for us than going from the pragmatic end of the issue...but that is because my son does not respond well to pragmatic logic yet.  He's not interested in what we HAVE to do...make it a must and he has an instant mental block...make it a CAN and he's like WooHoo!

But every kid is different. 

[starling&diesel]

I was so excited to do infant survival swimming with my daughter, but then the more I looked into it, it seemed in direct opposition to some of the more important tenants of Attachment Parenting.

The tears (essentially CIO), the forced experiences, the feel-the-fear-and-do-it-anyway mentality.  I respect the outcome immensely, but ultimately we decided to go with early lessons and often.  DD started lessons at four months, including going under water, applying the mammalian instinct, which is still so prevalent at that age.  We've done lessons every six months or so, and at 27 months old, she is a complete fish.  We're actually getting ready to go swimming right now.  We go 1-2 times a week, which is important for keeping up her comfort level and skill sets. She's confident in the water, happily jumps in, goes under water, and is now learning how to 'swim' proper.  I'm glad that we did it this way.

And now I'm going to take off my mama hat and put on my paramedic hat:

I want to make sure that someone mentions secondary drowning when it comes to this style of learning to swim.  Secondary drowning happens when water (or any fluid) is ingested into the lungs, and the damage -- and often death -- occurs sometime after the episode, when the fluid can act as a devastating irritant to the lungs, often unbeknownst to the victim or loved ones. 

[Amatullah0]

Thanks, somehow, I didn't realize that throwing the kid in the water was involved.... totally not our style.

[kythe]

I just wanted to add:  My kids didn't take swim lessons at all for their first several years because I couldn't afford it, but you can't tell the difference for as well as they swim now.  We used to go to our (free) community apartment pool every day each summer just to play in the water, and later at the public pool.

My kids are 9 and 10 years old now and have had less than two full seasons of swim lessons in their lives.  But when I enrolled them into semi-private lessons last summer, dd progressed very quickly. By the end of this summer she will have finished swim lessons completely, having passed every level this organization offers.  She can do all the strokes with good form, but she needs to work on endurance with laps.  You would never know how few swim lessons she has had when you look at her now (I had swim lessons for years as a child, but never took to it.  Dd has far surpassed my own swimming ability).  Ds is not much of a swimmer, but it's not for lack of lessons.  Swimming just isn't his thing.  When my kids were young, I regretted not being able to put them in swim lessons.  But In retrospect, I think early swim lessons would have been a waste of money since they learned quite a lot on their own through regular free play at the pool.

[Linda on the move]

I think your HUSBAND needs swim lessons. Some Ys do classes for adult beginners, or you could arrange for swim lessons privately. If you want my thoughts on how to find a wonderful teacher for that, just say so.

My kids are both wonderful swimmers who have swam competitively, and plan on being life guards when they are old enough. I'm not a fan of those kinds of programs for babies. Primarily because I believe that what keeps a baby or small child safe around the water is a watchful eye of a parent. I believe that it is our duty to watch our child is though their lives depend on it. Every single time I read a story about a child who has drowned, the parents say the kid knew how to swim. It is heartbreaking.

The second reason I'm against those classes is they are totally against the tenants of AP.

Last, they really aren't necessary for kids to ultimately learn to be wonderful swimmers. My kids can both crank out a lovely 200 IM without even thinking about it, and we didn't do those kinds of lessons. We wanted until they were old enough for regular swim lessons and WANTED swim lessons (which was very different ages for each of them!) and then I spent a lot of time driving back and forth from the pool!  I think that if you want your kids to be wonderful swimmers, at some point you end up thinking of your car as a swim taxi! Time in the water with a wonderful coach is what helps kids become wonderful swimmers.

[Peony]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move 

I think your HUSBAND needs swim lessons. Some Ys do classes for adult beginners, or you could arrange for swim lessons privately. If you want my thoughts on how to find a wonderful teacher for that, just say so.

My kids are both wonderful swimmers who have swam competitively, and plan on being life guards when they are old enough. I'm not a fan of those kinds of programs for babies. Primarily because I believe that what keeps a baby or small child safe around the water is a watchful eye of a parent. I believe that it is our duty to watch our child is though their lives depend on it. Every single time I read a story about a child who has drowned, the parents say the kid knew how to swim. It is heartbreaking.

The second reason I'm against those classes is they are totally against the tenants of AP.

Last, they really aren't necessary for kids to ultimately learn to be wonderful swimmers. My kids can both crank out a lovely 200 IM without even thinking about it, and we didn't do those kinds of lessons. We wanted until they were old enough for regular swim lessons and WANTED swim lessons (which was very different ages for each of them!) and then I spent a lot of time driving back and forth from the pool!  I think that if you want your kids to be wonderful swimmers, at some point you end up thinking of your car as a swim taxi! Time in the water with a wonderful coach is what helps kids become wonderful swimmers.

Agreed. I was in these survival classes every year, from the time I could walk because my mom is not a strong swimmer, we lived on a river and she wanted us to basically be able to save ourselves. I don't remember anything about it but she has pics from when I am 4 or so and they are still throwing me in the water while I am screaming. I ended up being a decent swimmer but there are certainly better ways to address swimming. 

We go swimming often, 1-3 times a week. When my kids start showing an interest in actually swimming, we start doing the normal swim lessons in a private class. DD1 was 4 almost 5, and DD2 asked when she was 3 but then decided she wasn't ready and is now doing then again at 4.5. DD2 is swimming short distances on her own after just a couple lessons again and DD1 is 8 and has been on the swim team for 1.5 years now, she is a very strong swimmer. And even more important IMO, has a love of swimming which is something that I never had, I do think that if it hadn't been forced upon me, it might been different. I really enjoy water, but not the actual swimming.