How young babies can learn to swim

If you’re a parent, it’s important to arrange for your baby to learn how to swim as early as possible. Not only will it ensure your child’s safety, but swimming is a healthy and fun activity.

Perth kids are blessed with the weather, pools and beaches to make swimming an everyday part of life, especially in the summer months. 

What age can babies swim? 

Babies don’t have the fine motor skills to be able to swim, but they can be taught some basic principles that will help them to feel comfortable and to become independently mobile in the water. This mobility can help to ensure their safety long before they can swim a stroke like freestyle. It can also help them to learn how to swim properly when their body has the capability to do it. 

When can you start teaching babies to swim? 

Babies can start learning to become familiar with the water from birth. After all, they have been in a watery environment in the womb for nine months! You can continue the process of water familiarisation in your baby’s daily bath and progressively introduce important additional elements such as submersion, floating and breath control.

Below are some milestones you can aim for your child to achieve through regular early  exposure to water. The earlier you start, the better. 

4 to 8 months 

Infant swimming concepts at this early stage can include being taught to submerge, float and kick in the water. Make it fun so your baby enjoys the experiences!

If you want to take your baby into a pool, make sure it’s a heated one and take care to keep your baby’s shoulders under water as much as possible. You should also get in the pool with your baby, but if you’ve had a caesarean or perineal tear, check with your doctor first. Make sure you buy some swim nappies for your baby to avoid any accidents. 

When it’s time to get out, make sure your baby is wrapped up warmly as soon as possible. Don’t stay too long in the water. Start off with 10 minutes and progressively build up to a maximum of half an hour. 

Avoid swimming in a pool if your baby is unwell or has a skin complaint that may be irritated by chlorine. 

8 to 12 months 

Babies in this age bracket can learn how to wriggle and float for longer distances using a crawling-like motion. They can also be capable of pulling themselves up on a ledge and starting to turn in the water with some guided help. When babies can ‘swim’ in a pool even to that limited extent, it can prevent a tragedy. 

12 to 18 months 

Toddlers can develop the ability to turn in the water without assistance and to propel themselves short distances.  

18 to 24 months 

Toddlers of this age can be capable of:

• propelling themselves in the water for even longer distances,
• turning by themselves,
• climbing in and out of a pool, and
• picking up objects from the bottom of a pool. 

2 – 3 years 

Children at this age can learn how to:

• use a kickboard,
• float on their back, and
• start swimming independently. 

3 – 4 years 

By now, children have better control of their movements and their initial primitive swimming technique can be refined. 

The benefits of swimming for babies 

In addition to obvious benefits of safety, exercise and fun, other benefits of swimming for babies include improved:

• cognitive development,
• muscle development,
• physical coordination and balance,
• confidence and self-esteem,
• relationships and bonding between parents, caregivers and babies,
• sleeping patterns, and
• appetites. 

Swimming safety for babies, toddlers and young children 

Tragically, drowning is the number one cause of accidental death for children under the age of 5 in Australia. But it’s preventable if you follow some simple precautions:

• ensuring that your baby, toddler or young child is as comfortable and competent in the water as early as possible.
• providing adequate supervision for children around water at all times.
• always keeping pool gates closed.
• learning how to resuscitate your child in case you ever need to.

How we can help 

Our kids’ swimming lessons at HBF Arena in Joondalup are available for children aged from 6 months to 15 years in indoor, heated pools. Our parent and baby classes will introduce your baby to the water in a gentle, safe and encouraging way.

Contact us today to get your child swimming safely and enjoying the water!