Kids and water

[Shahaku]

My daughter loves the water. At four months, I barely have to support her to keep her floating (and no I would never leave her alone near water). She smiles and coos every time I draw a bath for her and let her float around. She loves playing in it, etc. I've never been particularly gentle about it either. I put her in the shower with me and count 1, 2, 3 and she goes under the sprayer. I've done that since I brought her home. So she has no fear of it... I dunked her once on accident and when I brought her back up, half a second later, she was grinning.

I don't under any circumstances want to ruin her enjoyment of water for her... so what's the best route to go from here? I've seen way too many people my age who have serious water issues due to swim lessons they had as kids and I know she's way too young for that but... what's the best route to foster that love of water and still teach her to keep her head above water? (BTW, my impression is that the formal swim lessons around here are pretty terrible. That may have changed in the last 5 years or so, but... I'm not too trusting)

[Denarius]

Re: Kids and water

Supervised play is by and large the best way for kids to learn how to do things. Stay safe and keep things simple and you should be fine.

[thalassa]

Re: Kids and water

Let her play.

While you are at it, over the next 5 years, teach her to blow bubbles, blow bubbles with her nose, kick, paddle, float on her front and back, and to jump in and go underwater...and teach her to do all of that with her eyes open.

But mostly, let her play.

I taught swimming lessons for close to 10 years. My kids have done formal swimming lessons once (where I worked, with one of my favorite instructors, and only because it was free for us and was the only "school-like" activity they did at the time) for the socialization rather than the swimming. I don't believe in swimming lessons for kids until they are a) tall enough to touch the bottom of the pool with their chin above the water, b) comfortable enough to put their face in with their feet off the bottom, can c) take their face out of the water without taking 2 minutes to "recover" from the slight of having water on their face---seriously, until they can do these three things, lessons are awaste of money and time and frustration for everyone....unfortunately most parents don't know what to do with their kids in the water, and many are afraid of it themselves or don't know how to swim and think its some specialized thing. And, to be honest, most kids aren't kinesthetically aware of themselves for how many lessons are taught.

Many things are sort of instinctive to teach, you really don't need to be a competition swimmer or anything (unless you are teaching competition strokes)...but some things do require some specialized knowledge in terms of how to teach it well, hand holds for supporting them in a way that makes them do most of the work but still feel secure, and what/how to use extra tools to bridge them between a persons support and being on their own...but all of that is more a 2-4 year old thing.

At the age your daughter is, the biggest thing to know what to do is how to properly dunk her (and how often, and how long), because of the possibility of water intoxication from swallowing water. Its actually pretty simple--you can practice out of the water to make sure you have the timing of it, and then in a pool. But, before about 6 months its not recommended, and then no more than about 3 times in the time you are in the water. All you do is blow in her face really hard--babies instinctively gasp and hold their breath...then you dunk and make the "yay! good job baby" faces and noises that only parents can get away with. How long you can dunk before they inhale water depends on the kid...which is why I recommend trying it out of the water first.

Also, you can teach her to blow bubbles once she starts blowing raspberries...other than that, keep having her "float" on her back--back floating is one of the hardest skills for alot of kids because they don't trust the water to hold them up, and its a very unnatural position to be in on the water--you can't see where you are or whats under you or where you are going.

[Shahaku]

Re: Kids and water

Thanks for the advice, Thal! Will chlorine bother her eyes, keeping them open underwater?

[thalassa]

Re: Kids and water

Thanks for the advice, Thal! Will chlorine bother her eyes, keeping them open underwater?

Not really. It might sting a little at first, and if she's sensitive to cholrine or the pool is over chlorinated, here eyes might get red, but its a short term thing and its fairly easy to get over and there's no long term damage at the levels they use in pools. Plus its better than the potential for infections without chlorine!

This is my thinking on the subject, and its more personal opinion and experience driven than official policy of any agency that certifies swim instructors (though most swimming instructors I know would agree with me)--if you start kids out on things like goggles and masks and ear plugs (unless there is a medical reason for those) and nose clips then they become dependent on them...or for that matter, floaties* and the like. In a real world situation, what happens when a kid that has always used a mask falls in the water and gets water up his/her nose and in their eyes? They panic... Teach a kid to swim without that stuff, and they can swim with it or without it. Teach a kid to swim with all that stuff, and they spend more time freaking out over the water in their eyes or up their nose than swimming when they don't have it. Plus, if they want to do stuff down the line, like lifegaurding or surfing, etc...lets just say its easier to learn to use goggles or a snorkel than to unlearn it. Personally, when I taught classes, I didn't let kids wear goggles until they were at the level where they were swimming laps.


*My opinion on floaties...The arm floaties are awful. Absoluetly awful. It puts kids in a vertical position in the water, and hampers them from learning how to use their arms properly. A swim vest (not a life jacket) with removable floatation pads is good though (similar to this one) because it keeps arms and legs free, and makes a horizontal position easier to achieve (at her age, its something to keep in mind for next summer!). Plus, the floatation pads are removable--basically, you take them out as they improve...you want enough floatation that they can stay with their head out of the water with some work and have some independence...its NOT a life jacket (I feel the need to reiterate that, as I live by the beach and see too many parents that treat them that way).

[Heka]

I'm really pro getting your kids in the water. I teach swimming too, but not to the level of experience Thal has. Listen to all her advice! It's gold I actually teach a 6month plus swimming program, that gets babies and mums in the water together, and does a lot of that safe dunking, floating etc stuff, all to different songs and nursery rhymes (most can be adapted to suit a water theme).

On a related note, hubbys aunty just took her daughter to her first swimming lesson, and posted it all over facebook.... Her daughter is 9. Personally I think that's unacceptable. /rage

[Azvanna]

Re: Kids and water

On a related note, hubbys aunty just took her daughter to her first swimming lesson, and posted it all over facebook.... Her daughter is 9. Personally I think that's unacceptable. /rage

So with you there, Heka. My husband's sister is photo crazy. I have already had issue with her taking pictures of bubba I don't know about and then posting them on Facebook. She thinks she is going to do swimming lessons with him in the future. I say nay way.

- - - Updated - - -

My daughter loves the water. At four months, I barely have to support her to keep her floating (and no I would never leave her alone near water). She smiles and coos every time I draw a bath for her and let her float around. She loves playing in it, etc. I've never been particularly gentle about it either. I put her in the shower with me and count 1, 2, 3 and she goes under the sprayer. I've done that since I brought her home. So she has no fear of it... I dunked her once on accident and when I brought her back up, half a second later, she was grinning.

that's so good! My bubba doesn't really like water. He was a winter baby so I haven't put him in water much. We live by the beach, so hopefully he'll get used to it!

[anunitu]

Re: Kids and water

Not sure why,but as a kid I had a VERY hard time learning to swim. I did "float" on innertubes but slipped through one once and almost drowned. That summer the city sent me to camp(inner city youth thing) and I spent the whole of that camp teaching myself to swim,well enough that when I was in boot camp I passed the swim test with no problem.

Sometimes kids have problems,but in my case it took almost drowning to push me to learn. I think I was 12 when I went to camp.

[thalassa]

Re: Kids and water

Not sure why,but as a kid I had a VERY hard time learning to swim. I did "float" on innertubes but slipped through one once and almost drowned. That summer the city sent me to camp(inner city youth thing) and I spent the whole of that camp teaching myself to swim,well enough that when I was in boot camp I passed the swim test with no problem.

Sometimes kids have problems,but in my case it took almost drowning to push me to learn. I think I was 12 when I went to camp.

If you grew up in the city, in a lower income area, this is pretty common as an experience.

Drowning is the 5th most numerous event to cause accidental death...on average, something like 10 drownings occur a day (this doesn't count boating incidents resulting in drowning...I think that adds in about another person daily).

When you look at drowning statistics (I used to work for the Red Cross, in their Aquatics department--I taught pretty much every community program that the Red Cross offers in Aquatics, with the exception of Lifeguard Instructor Trainer...so I talked about drowning statistics alot and they haven't changed too much), the three biggest groupings of drowning victims are children under 5 (mostly at home, due to water sources where a child wasn't properly supervised), minorities between the ages of 5-14 (because of socio-economic factors that limit the access to swimming lessons), and males between the ages of 17 and 24 (because they do dumb things that usually involve showing off, drugs and/or alcohol, and incidents are often at lakes, ponds, or rivers where there is less access to immediate care).

Early supervision around water, and access to swimming lessons, are the most important ways to keep kids safe. Personally, I think schools should have swimming lessons as part of PE (and lots of them do--Chickadee's school goes to swimming lessons this year, but its not long enough to teach them much...cost of busing kids to a place with a pool, and then in other places, how many smaller towns and cities have indoor pools or can pay at a private facility like the Y? Our city has several indoor pools...and we have an added impetus in that we are surrounded by beaches--kids that can't swim here have ample opportunity for unsupervised access to water)

[loststarshine]

Re: Kids and water

I watched a documentary on netflix science of babies I think it showed how babies never really lose their stepping? ability. Babies placed in water can walk with adult assistance in water.

Thal Im 28 and cant accomplish task c. Can not handle water up my nose or my eyes open big goggles that cover my nose are nice.

[Heka]

So with you there, Heka. My husband's sister is photo crazy. I have already had issue with her taking pictures of bubba I don't know about and then posting them on Facebook. She thinks she is going to do swimming lessons with him in the future. I say nay way.

My issue was with waiting till 9 to teach your child to swim.

I have no issue with posting pics of your own child on fb, other peoples children? I hope you have permission...

[loststarshine]

Re: Kids and water

I was about that age when I learned or remember swimming in pools without floaties. Kids in play almost drowned me when I was young. I. taught myself to dog battle no classes no training. I went to the Y and heard teachers teach other kids and copied. I stayed in the. 3 foot side till I was 11. A skilled swimmer I am not.

[thalassa]

Re: Kids and water

My issue was with waiting till 9 to teach your child to swim.

I think 5-6 is probably the most productive age for the widest number of children. Yeah, some are good sooner (I used to teach private lessons to identical twins at 4, and had them swimming everything but the butterfly by 5...and both my kids could paddle around by 4/5 without "lessons", with Phee swimming a front and back crawl last summer and everything but the butterfly this summer @7, Sharkbait still doggie paddles mostly, but can breaststroke and front crawl, but hates being on his back).


Which reminds me, Shahaku--something to practice in the tub is laying on her back where she can float with a back close to the "ground" and letting water get in her ears. Other than the fact that laying on your back in the water is an uncomfortable and unnatural position, the water in the ears thing gets a lot of kids, even kids that are okay with having their face (or even their whole body) in the water.

There is quite a bit you can teach in the tub, and even out of the water completely (actually, teaching proper form for kicking is easier to do out of the water than in it).

[Heka]

I think 5-6 is probably the most productive age for the widest number of children. Yeah, some are good sooner (I used to teach private lessons to identical twins at 4, and had them swimming everything but the butterfly by 5...and both my kids could paddle around by 4/5 without "lessons", with Phee swimming a front and back crawl last summer and everything but the butterfly this summer @7, Sharkbait still doggie paddles mostly, but can breaststroke and front crawl, but hates being on his back

Not to disagree really, you have more experience than me, but I'm sick of getting 5-6 yos who just refuse to try new things, especially opening eyes under water.

My prefered age to get your kid in the water is 6 months. Yes this might be a tub, but like you said to Shahaku, get their ears in etc.

Get them doing it before they are old enough to know whats going on!

[Shahaku]

Re: Kids and water

I think kids should be in and around water from day one. Not just in those little baby tubs that decrease their exposure either. Set them in the tub with you. Put them in the shower with you. Float them. Anything. Back off if they get afraid but, hell, let them play. That's just personal opinion though.

I did find one odd thing over the course of the summer. I always had my daughter in warm water. The second I took her to the park or pool where the water was chilly, she hated it. It took a lot of effort just to get her comfortable putting her hand in and splashing which is really atypical for her.