Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Get that baby swimming!

When I was a new mother, I was extremely cautious about keeping water out of my baby's face and ears.  Bath time took a long time!  I felt like she hated the water, even though she was really happy during bath time.  What I failed to consider, was that she had just spent 9 months fully surrounded by water, and that in reality, it probably felt very comfortable for her.

When she was 6 months I put her in a Mommy and Me swim class.  One lesson they made me dunk her, and I thought that I was the worst Mom, and that she may not survive the whole ordeal.  I was wrong.  She is now a total fish, and even on the swim team.

Recently, I spoke with a friend who is a very successful swimmer and swim teacher.  She has tough tons of kids to swim, and even had her own kids swimming by a year old.  I asked her what all parents need to know in order to help there kids love the water, and get them swimming as soon as possible.

Here were some of her tips:
~Never keep the water out of their face.  From bath #1 dump cups of water over their heads, and splash them.  This way they will always be used to the water.

~Get them in the pool as soon as you can.

~Let someone else teach them to swim.  They will have a much higher success rate with a professional who is not so emotionally attached.

Get those babies swimming, you will be glad you did.  From experience, the sooner they learn the easier it is to teach them.

4 comments:

  1. I have never been careful about keeping water out of my son's eyes in the bath (well unless there's a bunch of soap involved! haha) and he absolutely loves playing in the pool. He even tripped once while playing in a small children's pool at a hotel and his face went in the water and he thought nothing of it! He just kept splashing and playing! (we were sitting arm's length away in the pool of course!!!) I totally agree. I am looking forward to many summers full of lots of pool play!

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  2. I definitely think the earlier you teach kids to swim the easier and more natural it is for them. And nothing is better in the hot summer then a trip to the pool!

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  3. Malaika says:

    I´ve always been very careful about not wetting my babies faces because I hate getting water in my face. My husband on the other hand dumps the water over their heads like a waterfall and they actually don´t mind it, go figure.

    laikilu@yahoo.com

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  4. My baby girl is almost 5 months old and I was looking for a swimming class for her. I'm a little worried and it's nice to hear that your daughter did well.

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