How to Hold an Infant in the water

Video Transcript

PHILLIP TORIELLO: Hi. This is Phillip Toriello, and this section is how to hold an infant in the water. The first thing you ought to know, before taking your infant into the water is that they should be wearing a water-safe or waterproof-type diaper that is approved for swimming pool environments. The reason for this is that in case the child should have a potty incident, it won't contaminate the pool, and more importantly the diaper won't dissolve as you are working with your child in the pool, which could lend into a very embarrassing moment. As far as holding your infant into the pool, it is generally best to hold them with all four fingers in the back, supporting their back, and then your thumbs just underneath the front side. Now, you don't want to pinch or over hold the child like this, as if you are compressing him, just hold him comfortably as to where they have a little bit of freedom, to like to adjust to the water, but also securing them at the same time. Now, if they are small infants, say 5 or 6 months old, which is common in pool environments, you also want to hold just the back of their head to be able give them a little bit more support if their head seems to be bobbing around, and a little bit out of sorts. So again, you are going to be holding them with all four fingers or all eight of your fingers in the back, the thumbs in front just beneath the armpits and, again, not pinching but just providing that extra support for your child. And then as they become more comfortable in the water, laughing, giggling, that sort of thing, you can kind of lighten up on the things so they can kind of feel a sense of buoyancy and working and supporting themselves in the water. If you have any other questions with regard to how to work with or hold your infant in the water, please contact your local swimming instructor or swim coach.