water babies

I think kids in Florida have to learn to swim, but not real young? But it helps to make baht time fun, then take the child wiht supervision into a calm, non-splashing pool wiht mom and dad or grandma or grandpa just to have fun.
Living in Florida, I have heard of too many toddler pool drownings, so I do think teaching kids to swim is mandatroy down here? But a life jacket should ALWAYS be on any child going into a pool in the beginning.
But when swim lessons can be offered, then I do see this as a good idea. but not to be oushed on the child. Rather..if the child can see it as fun, then great!

I think it is very smart to get infants/toddlers comfortable around the water. I also think that the parents still have to keep a good eye on them.

I had my first two children take swimming lessons starting when they were 6 months old. It was more of an introduction to the water and swimming. By the time they were 4 they were fish!

My 2 youngest didn't take swim lessons. We had a pool and they pretty much learned from watching their older brothers.

I would hate to have my kids afraid of the water and also hate to have them panic if they fell in.

as long as the child wants to and sees it as fun i dont see a problem with proper supervision. learning to swim is great for when they grow older and many of theirr friends swim but they are unable to. it can be a little embarrassing to them. plus on a safety view, learning to swim could one day save a life

I think it is better to let the kids learn to swim early because seriously it's harder to learn this skills when you grow older haha. I can't really swim but i believe I will survive in water.

No, I don't think they should be pushed. It can work well for some children, but it could also cause a real fear of water for some children. I think the best way is to go at the child's pace. Sure living in Florida means there are lots of opportunities to be in or near the water, and that likely recreation will involve water. But why risk making a child terrified of water? Wouldn't you rather he stay on the shore building sand castles than having a melt down at the thought of even going near the beach?

The best approach is to let the child take it slow, at a pace that he is comfortable with. If you allow them to progress slowly, they will come to feel more relaxed and not be scared. But remember, some people- even some who live near the ocean or lakes- do not like being in the water. There is nothing wrong with that. Swimming is not the only way to have fun.

I have a summer job working at the local YMCA swimming pool teaching children to swim. I personally don't teach children under the age of 5 and I believe it is not a bad idea to get them use to the water at a younger age. The sooner they get to use to the water they get more confident and less afraid of sinking. I wouldn't prefer teaching a kid to swim below the age of 5 because they usually are unable to keep themselves afloat without the need of a floatation device and they easily forget anything they learn and have to short of an attention span to last very long to a lesson.

I don't think kids should be forced of pushed into the water just to make them learn how to swim... that might result into an accident... or them might hate swimming more... easing kids into the water without pressure should be the method... i wouldn't want a swimming instructor to terrorize my baby into learning how to swim...

It is good for kids to get used to being in the water. As to how young an age is the best age, I have no idea. My youngest son had an ear problem and we would not let him near the water for fear of aggravating it. It took him a long time to learn to swim.

i saw in a magazine program many years ago about water babies
women gave birth under water so that their babies natural tendacies to swim, learned from swimming in the womb, would continue outside of the mother. and it worked. infants swam naturally.

the problem is that under the age of 2 years, their lungs are not developed enough to handle it, and they swallow too much water. which is not good. regarding that fact, they should at least be 2 years of age, if they are developing normally.

children easily get fascinated by water. it is very easy to attract them in the pool or for any other water sports. so i think they should be encouraged to enjoy water sports and games from early age.