Babies love water. After all, they were there for the first 9 months of their lives. Baby swimming or toddler swimming, from 6 months to 4 years, is a great way to spend fun time with your child, but also help them develop basic swimming skills through play.
The benefits of baby swimming
Swimming strengthens the defense system of babies, which is not yet fully developed, and helps a lot in their motor, muscle and mental development. The composition of the water, the buoyancy, the resistance it exerts on the body, offers them a pleasant environment and the opportunity to activate their senses from a very early age. They learn to control their body, to change postures and positions. In addition, the water relaxes them, because it regulates their muscle tone and thus they sleep more peacefully.
The child is led to learn basic swimming skills, at rates dictated by age-specific abilities and receptivity. For example, a 6-12 month old infant can become familiar and hold his breath with his head in the water, as well as float in a supine position. Also the children's companions obtain valuable information regarding her better safety but also her water training.
Baby swimming programs are designed to help infants become familiar with water and develop confidence in it through participation in safe and enjoyable pool activities. Scientific research has shown that through play, exploration and encouragement, these activities can lead to learning basic swimming movements and skills that help keep them safe in the water. These programs have been started since the 60's in America while in Europe they have developed a lot in Germany and the Scandinavian countries and are very widespread and popular.
However, parents should not pressure children if they refuse certain movements in swimming, nor criticize them if they do not do an exercise exactly as the teacher has shown. Instead, babies need constant encouragement and reward, while parents always need to listen to the teacher's advice. Finally, something important that parents should be aware of is that they have not fed them before swimming for at least two hours if the children are over 2-2,5 years old and for a little less time if they are babies.
What is the right age for an infant to start swimming?
The answer to the above question is "the sooner the better"! Indeed, infants at the age of 6 months perform reflexive swimming movements and reflexive breath holding when underwater. This is because when infants are submerged in water, due to the reflex movement of the epiglottis, they can hold their breath without swallowing. In infants this should be taught from the beginning, because this specific reflex movement is lost over time as the infant grows. This is one of the reasons that learning to swim should start from the age of 6 months, so that these characteristics are cultivated and it becomes a voluntary skill. Many researchers and scientists agree that reflex swimming is the primary motor behavior that newborns have in the water immediately after birth, as a phylogenetic memory from their life before they were born. If these reflex movements are cultivated correctly, they can become voluntary swimming movements from the 11th month and - through the appropriate stimuli and the right guidance - lead to learning to swim independently from the age of 16 months. Of course, even after this age, it is never too late for children to start swimming in order to reap the important benefits of baby swimming.
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