Infant Swimming Lessons

Baylor has a great program called Baby Bear-a-cudas. It starts at 6 months. I plan on going with my little guy as soon as he is old enough. The classes are at the Baylor Tom Landry Fitness Center which is downtown, but I know the instructors there and they are well worth the drive to downtown!!

I enrolled my daughter last year at about 17 months, and I was so glad I did! She loved it! I'm enrolling my son this year and he'll only be about 9 months, but I think it'll be well worth it. Even with my daughter when she was older, it was still very much just about getting used to the water and having fun in a new way. She went under water, but it scared her a little, so we didn't do it again, and mostly just played. She loved it. I don't think the lessons made me any more comfortable in the water with my baby, but it was just a fun summer activity for her.

Had 3 sons. We put the first one in swimming lessons at 6 mos. He was born in January so it fit right when the summer rolled around. None of my other sons got to go that early to lessons. But we introduced them all to water pretty quickly. At around 1yr old if the weather was cooperative. My grandmother had a pool and we were always in the water. With my last two, they didn't get the early lessons. All three of them started in her pool and we put life vests on them and played in the water. we didn't let them out of the house with out a life vest as a matter-of-fact. When they are about 4, we start them in actual swimming lessons at the local university program. And they attend every year until they can swim. We also had passes to the same indoor pool and swam frequently for them to practice and become stronger swimmers. Anyone not proficient had to wear a life vest in case i wasn't watching. Or at least the swim suit with the built in life vest thingy. All of my 3 sons can swim. I have not noticed any difference in them based on start times for lessons, I think it is just important to teach them to swim and keep them safe. I think they do better, because they were all in the water at a young age. A friend of mine has 3 sons and her oldest didn't really get exposed to a pool until he was around 5 and he is terrified of water. My son the same age (8 now) is on the swim team with his older brothers and is swimming about 6-700 yards per practice and doing flips and stuff off the diving board.
I definately believe that you should take him to the pool frequently or get one for the back yard (a small one with a couple 2-3 of water, like from wal-mart). But looking back I don't think that the lessons are any important issue at that age, i think it was the exposure as a fun activity.
Good luck,
L.

My son started swim lessons at 1 y.o. at Emler in Arlington. Unfortunately, I heard they are closing the Arlington location, but still have one in Colleyville. We started before he could develop a fear of water. The infant classes are mother & baby & then he con't lessons year round until he was 4 at Emler. He is now 5 1/2 & will be on the swim team for the second time this summer. He loves swimming & has really excelled. I would recommend it, but not sure if you really need to start as early as we did. It probably depends on your child's temperment & if she has any fear of water. Good luck!

I have mixed opinions about infant swimming lessons esp the ones where the baby is w/o the parent. I've seen the videos of the babies that are put into the water and they do awesome! I just don't know if i'd want that to be my baby. I think that what I would do is enroll in a lesson that is a parent/child class and go from there. The City of Mckinney has a great class and for residents is only $30/session it's 8 classes per session. Hope this helps:-}

I feel strongly about infant survival swimming (ISR). With my 1 year old last summer I did some intro swim lessons and honestly I thought they were a waste of time and money. Then we signed up for ISR which was fabulous. It is time consuming and somewhat expensive but completely worth it and it works! I have videos and still images of my daughter - the experience was incredible. I wanted to go back this year but I'm waiting until next summer when I can also take our son...he isn't crawling yet and they have to crawl to start. Check out http://www.infantswim.com/home.html - if you want to see my personal videos send me a message and I'm happy to email you them. They tell you this is not swimming lessons but survival but your child learns to SWIM and FLOAT in order to survive in the event of an emergency. Well worth the money and peace of mind.

At the advice of other new mommies that I work with I signed my 8 month old son up for baby swim classes. We will start next month and I couldn't be more excited about the program. From what other new mommies say, I think it is great for babies. My son loves water and gets excited at the sound of the bath water running...so I know for us it was a good decision to sign him up.

Good luck and most importantly-- you need to feel comfortable with the decision you make. Have a fabulous day!

Eight months is a great age to start. And initially they aren't really swim lessons so much as they are bonding sessions, since you'll be in the water with her. I started my middle daughter at that age. It was funny, because she hated it at first . . . cried the whole sesson for the first 3 weeks. But I wouldn't give up, and on the fourth lesson (which happended to be on Mother's Day) she didn't cry! From that point forward she was hooked! And to this day (she is now 9) she is very comfortable in and under the water. I wish I had done the same with my oldest daughter (now 13), who is OK in the water but definitely not as comfortable -- I didn't start her with lessons until she was 3-4 years old.

It is so much fun! And for working moms (which I am) there are many programs out there that offer dates to fit our life styles. Enjoy!!

WTAMU has a great program in the summer. Each session is a week long, and there are classes every day, for about 30 minutes. I took my then-10-month old daughter, and she loved it. The instructor was super; it was a great experience for us. If I remember right, the cost was $25 for a week, which was less expensive than some other programs I checked out.
Hope this helps!

We enrolled our son in swimming lessons as soon as he was old enough for the classes. He was 7 months old during his first class. It was parent/child involvment. The first couple of sessions he was very timid about the water, but as the 2 week course went on, he was getting more adjusted and seemed to start enjoying it. The next summer he was about 1 1/2 yrs. old and we put him in the parent/child class again. He was very excited and ready for it from the first class on! He really seemed to enjoy it even more the 2nd time, which I think attributed to the fact that we start him early. After his 2nd summer session he wanted to get in the water with floaties on all the time at home. He showed great improvement and wanted to be a little more independent too. We let him explore his independence some with very close supervision, of course! Now this summer he will be in the next class up, which is still parent/child but with more of a "learning to swim" goal this time. He is now 2 1/2 and he already is asking about going swimming! I totally believe in starting them out early! I hope you can decide what is best for you and your child.

Don't think of them as traditional swim lessons, you are going to have a bonding experience like none other through this swim experience. It will help you learn how to deal with situations around large pools, and make the baby (hopefully) more comfortable in the water. I enjoyed the experience with both my babies, wouldn't change a thing!

I have three children and all of them started out early. My oldest was 6 mos, and an excellent swimmer. My middle one was a year, and still a learning to be a good swimmer (he's 5) My youngest is two and she's been swimming since she was about 9 mos. She loves the water. I think your daughter is a great age to start. I beleive the soon you start the less fear they have of the water. Just remember to stay relaxed and show her how much fun it can be. Also try to find a red cross class, they not only teach swimming put also she should teach the kids how to reach for the side of the pool incase of accident falls into a pool. Good luck.

I started our girl at 5 months. She is 4 now and still taking lessons. I started our boy at 3 months with me teaching breathe control and back floating and just getting comfortable in the water and getting his face wet. When he was 6 months, he was able to start lessons. I highly recommend starting them early. I see older children at our swim school that are terrified of the water or scream when water touches their face. I never wanted that for my kids and wanted them to be comfortable and confident that if they fell in a pool or water, they would have the ability to swim to the edge and pull themselves out.

I would also recommend that you stay with lessons year round and not just a 2 week summer session. Those are great additions to the classes that you are (or would be) already taking.

My daughter started at age 6 mo and at 3 yrs old has been through 4 rounds of swimming lessons. I would highly recommend them. If you go through your local rec center they are very inexpensive. We live in Arlington and there is an indoor pool so she is in swimming lessons now. I believe the cost was about $50. It is a good opportunity for your child to learn socialization too.

L.,
I think you can start them at any age. We never did swimming lessons but we did go swimming with our kids at thier grand parents. My first born was only a few months old when he started going in the pool with us....it is is amazing how babies know to hold their breath when you dunk them under the water.( I couldnt do it at first...but my husband had NO problem dunking my infant...and I was amazed at him holding his breath) Lessons are probably a really good idea. That way the child learns how to deal with the water and doesnt become afraid of it, plus they teach infants how to float, so that if for some reason they are left unattended and get in the water...they can float to keep themselves up, and they will not drown. If I were you...I would deffinetly find someone for the lessons and take full advantage of it for your own peace of mind. Good luck.

Watch this video, I had found it online when researching for my own kids. It's pretty awesome(and scary) to watch! :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0mUPr68x2U