Baby Phelps

As with many new dads, I want to start teaching my son how to play various sports as soon as possible.  My wife loves the beach and sitting around swimming pools so it is understandable that she wants to teach Baby Carter how to swim as an infant.  Although I am anxious to start the sports development process, I am very hesitant about putting my son into a disgusting public swimming pool.  I also do not think 6-months is old enough for an infant to learn such a critical life skill.  To give my wife the benefit of the doubt, I decided to do a little research regarding infants learning how to swim and found some very helpful articles.

Circleofmoms.com had a few informative articles, which included the following factoids:

“You should not bring your baby to a public pool until they have had all of their immunizations.”

“Infants can begin the swim process as young as 4-6 months.  At this age, babies are less fearful of water and floating in the water may still feel instinctual to them.”

“Generally, children under 4 years of age are not developmentally ready for swimming lessons (strokes, holding breath, etc.), thus aquatic programs for children less than 4 years have not proven to decrease the risk of drowning.”

Worldwideswimschool.com also included the following helpful bullets:

“The water is a perfect medium to stimulate babies.  It can become a place of fun, enjoyment, and learning.”

“Before you take you baby into the aquatic environment, they should have good neck control and the parent(s) should be confortable handling their child.”

“Crawling is a very similar action that babies can use to propel themselves through water.”

“Children who participate in early swimming programs are more intelligent, socially adventurous, better coordinated, and had greater self esteem.”

I do feel somewhat better about starting Baby Carter in an infant swim program, but I am not sure if he is ready to take on such a courageous task.  I think some of my fears and concerns derive from my personal fears of drowning when I was younger.  I do not want Baby Carter to develop the same fears as his dad, but I also do not want to put my best little bud in such a compromising situation.  My wife seems to be completely comfortable with the situation so maybe I am overreacting?  I welcome any suggestions or insights.  In the meantime, lets look at a couple funny baby-swimming pictures!