Teach your toddler to swim before walking

It’s never too late to learn water safety. It’s true that it could never be too early to learn it also. Ever wondered what could be the right age for your child to learn swimming? Six months is the answer.

Yes, a toddler as young as six months’ old can learn to kick and glide in water. Infant swimming is the new trend that has caught the imagination of parents in Bangalore.

“Children who can’t even walk can be taught swimming and it’s the only best form of cardio exercise for children at that age,” said Satish Kumar, founder of SwimLife which has initiated the first-of-its kind infant swimming classes in the country.

In India, ideally, a swimming expert would insist that five years and above is the right age for a child to learn swimming. Established pools in the city would refuse to admit a kid below five years for swimming classes simply because children at that age are too young to even understand the instructions given to them.

Though it’s too early for infants to pick up the techniques of swimming, Satish Kumar insists that a toddler would pick up the nuances of gliding and holding his or her breath inside water rather easily than a four- or five-year-olds would. “It’s a natural tendency for newborns to be comfortable in water considering the fact that warm liquid is akin to intrauterine environment,” opined Satish, an international swimmer turned coach.

Infant swimming was first introduced in the West and videos of teaching methods were put up on the internet but for Satish, who travelled to Florida in 2006 to get trained in teaching infants, it was a whole new experience. “I was not aware of infant swimming until a friend showed me some videos on the internet. I was curious to learn more so I decided to do a two-week course under John Mckay who was training several other coaches from different countries,” recalled the 33-year-old coach.

Despite the certified course, Satish was not confident of starting the classes until he put his two-year-old son in the pool. “Though I had done the course, I was a bit skeptical on starting infant swimming classes here because it can be risky if not done in the right way. It was only after I put my own son in the pool that I was sure of how it works,” he added.

Today, there are over 70 kids between the age of 10 months and three years who are being taught swimming at the SwimLife Centre in St Joseph’s Indian High School. The programme involves even the parents who need to get into the water along with the child, unlike regular swimming classes where the children are assisted only by the coaches. According to Satish, this method helps build a bond between the parent and the child.

“Infant swimming is called parents and tots programme. It’s not an issue if the parent does not know how to swim. We just teach them how to handle their kid in water and there’s a bond that develops between them as the child starts to trust the parent,” he said.

(Photo Courtesy: Blogspot.com)

---