When is the best time for your child to take plunge and begin formal swimming lessons? According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, not until the age of three. Although splashing in a wading pool (with adult supervision) or in a big pool (in the arms of an adult) can help a toddler gain an important measure of confidence and comfort in the waiter (a good first step in water safety training), formal swimming instruction can be both unproductive and unsafe.
Not only doesn’t early swim training make children better swimmers, it doesn't “waterproof” for them, either. In fact, children who’ve had lessons may be at greater risk around water that other children because they feel safe and comfortable in it and because their parents, under the impression their children can “swim”, are often lulled into a false sense of security. But there is an important difference between being able to swim and being safe without adult supervision.
If you do choose to sign your toddler up for swimming lessons before his or her third birthday, be sure that the classes follow the national YMCA guidelines, that the children are never submerged (toddlers, who often swallow water when submerged, are still particularly susceptible to water in-toxication, a potentially dangerous condition in which the blood becomes overly diluted), and that instruction is provided one-on-one (usually in parent-child parings) by instructors certified in resuscitation techniques.
