When infants learn to swim before they’re a year old, they gain some skills and traits that give them a head start in the skills that they will learn as toddlers.
Besides blowing bubbles and floating, infants can achieve balance, confidence, socialization, entertainment, and strength building.
Balance
As babies grow, they are learning how to control their bodies. Balance is critical to this and several of the activities taught in infant level swim classes reinforce this. Achieving balance helps infants in learning to crawl, sit up, stand, walk and eventually run. This sets the stage for success!
Confidence
Even babies are stopped by fear. Their fear may be somewhat subconscious but it’s real and can keep them from trying something new – even something as basic as sitting up. Just like adults, babies gain confidence when they realize that they are able to accomplish things. It may seem impossible that an infant could back float when first starting swim class, but allow them to build a little confidence and they will be back floating like champs.
Gaining their confidence in swim class can help babies to reach their gross motor skill developmental milestones right on or ahead of schedule.
Socialization
One of the first opportunities that your infant may have to be around other babies is in an infant swim class. Babies don’t realize what they’re doing when they socialize and they surely don’t realize it’s importance to their development, but interacting appropriately with other babies is critical to every future socialization skill they will learn as toddlers, tweens, teens, young adults and even in mature adulthood. Infants grow each time they react to and engage with new people. They cannot learn this at home and because infant swim is often done much earlier than other group activities, it is a critical opportunity for them to begin to socialize.
Entertainment
Did you know that entertainment is a learned skill? It happens from birth to about age 5, and often happens during play. Because swimming is stimulating and so much fun, swim classes are a great way for infants to begin learning how to entertain themselves.
Strength Building
It’s also very important for infants to build strength. Swimming engages muscles that infants use in new ways and helps them to embrace healthy movement. Infants subconsciously develop healthy exercise rhythms and habits that can build a good foundation for their future muscle development.
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