Spending time in the water can offer your toddler an opportunity to learn about textures, become more comfortable with his body, build up coordination and bond with you. The earlier you build positive swimming experiences for your toddler, the more comfortable he is likely to become with water. However, you will also need to take extra steps to ensure his safety.
Easing Her In
Assess your toddler's affinity for water before you fully carry her into a pool or place her into a kiddie-sized pool. You may find that she immediately wants to test the waters by dunking her head in and splashing, but she may also be reticent to do more than dip her toe in. Start within her comfort zone, even if it means staying at the top step or playing with the kiddie pool water from outside the pool. Encourage your toddler to experiment with water by bringing in simple pool toys such as cups and asking her to act like water creatures such as fish and mermaids.
Swim Classes
Until 2010, the American Academy of Pediatrics advised against taking toddlers to swim classes due to the belief that classes might make parents feel overly secure and thus less observant when their toddlers are in the water. The Academy reversed its position after a 2009 study in the "Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine" revealed that swimming lessons probably reduce toddlers' drowning risk rather than increase it. Still, your child isn't like likely to benefit from a structured swim class until he is about 4 years old because he isn't developmentally ready. Consider taking your toddler to a parent-toddler swim class that emphasizes water play and fundamental swim techniques such as doggie paddling.
Safety Tips
No matter how skilled you presume your toddler to be at swimming, never assume that your toddler is safe to be by herself in the water. Keep her within arm's reach at all times whenever she is in our around water, even if she is wearing water wings or using an inner tube. If you own a pool of any type, enclose it in a self-latching, self-closing pool gate that has no openings your toddler could potentially climb through. Also, take a CPR course and always have rescue gear such as a life preserver, a portable phone and a shepherd's hook near your pool. It's never too soon to start showing your toddler simple safety rules, too. Safety phrases such as "Don't go to the pool without Mommy," and "No running near the water!" will stick with her if you start using them early.
In an Emergency
Chances are that a momentary dunk will cause your toddler to sputter out water, but you may need to take further action if he has been under the water for longer than a moment. Lift him out of the water and carry him with his head below chest level, recommends BabyCenter. Immediately remove wet clothing and wrap him in a warm and dry blanket or towel. Call for emergency help or take your child to an emergency room as soon as possible, even if he seems to have recovered, because he may have sustained lung damage. If he is unconscious and you have already called 911, check his breathing and pulse. If you don't hear or see any breath sounds, begin mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. If you feel no pulse or breathing, perform child CPR.
References
- Bloomberg Business Week: Swimming Lessons OK for Toddlers, Experts Say
- BabyCenter: Swimming Lessons for Toddlers Get Pediatricians' Approval
- BabyCenter: Water Safety
- What to Expect: Toddlers and Swimming Pool Safety
- BabyCenter: Swimming and Splashing
- "Pediatrics" journal; Policy Statement: Prevention of Drowning; May, 2010
