Swimming lesson problems-help!

[cdlamis]

Julia has just started swim lessons. She has always had a fun time in the pool and bath but HATES when she goes under water or water gets on her head. She cries and grabs at her ears. We know its not an actual problem with her ears since this only happens in water.

I am guessing that she just doesn't like the feeling of water in her ears or doesn't like being under water. What can we do to make it more pleasant? Would ear plugs help? Should we keep going under with her so she'll get used to it? I go under as well so she can she its ok but I still feel so mean doing it to her. We have another lesson tomorrow.

Thanks~
Daniella
Mom to Julia 6-13-02

[Melanie]

I'd just skip the dunking until she's older...

[Karenn]

Just today I was talking about this with a girlfriend of mine. She had just read an article which says the AAP doesn't recommend swimming lessons for kids under age 3. She said that when babies go all the way under water, their bodies aren't mature enough to respond appropriately and it causes problems.

Honestly, I was kind of annoyed when she told me this because I am really looking forward to swimming lessons with Colin and was planning on it for the fall. BUT, I've been stewing about what she said all day, so I went to check it out for myself. I just did a search on the AAP website, and this is an excerpt of what I've found so far:

2. Young children who are repeatedly immersed in water may swallow so much of it that they develop water intoxication. This can result in convulsions, shock, and even death.

If you do enroll a child under three in a swimming program, particularly a "mommy-and-me" class, think of it primarily as an opportunity to enjoy playing in the water together. Be sure the class you choose adheres to guidelines established by the national YMCA. Among other things, these guidelines forbid submersion of young children and encourage parents to participate in all activities. When your child reaches three, you may want to teach him to swim so he'll feel more comfortable in and around water. But remember that even a child who knows how to swim needs to be watched constantly.

Here's the link. [http://www.aap.org/pubserv/backyd.htm]

I hope that's not more information than you wanted! I was so annoyed with my friend when she burst my swim lesson bubble, I hate to do the same to you! I think I'll probably still do swim lessons at the YMCA, but I'll probably avoid any dunking.

[cdlamis]

That is so strange that the YMCA guidelines say that because that is where we take the "Mommy and Me" classes!! I am not sure I trust these classes anymore or the instructor. She said to keep dunking Julia and that by the end of the class she will be used to it. I feel like a horrible mommy ! Its weird since all the baby swim classes here in Phoenix teach submersion.

Our Ped said that the AAP advises against swimming classes only because too many parents are more lax around water since they think that their child can now "swim." Our Ped said it was ok to take the class as long as we saw it as a Intro to Water class.

We will be the only ones not going under water tomorrow at our lesson!

Thank you for your info~

Daniella
Mom to Julia 6-13-02

[toomanystrollers]

Stick to what you feel is right. I wouldn't be dunking at that age. She should be having fun w/Mom and just splashing around. My dd just started swim lessons at age 4 1/2. Our ped. recommends against swim lessons for little ones - she'd rather have them a little afraid of the water than too comfortable leading to accidental drownings.


HTH

[muskiesusan]

I wouldn't put her under anymore. We took swim lessons over the summer and the instructor told us to only "dunk" if we felt comfortable, and if the baby liked it. I tried it once, Nick didn't like it, didn't do it again. I think getting them used to the water is good, but forcing them to do things they don't like is unproductive in instances like this. I think it is unfortunate that your instructor feels you should just do it anyway.

Susan
WAHM to Nicholas 10/01/01

[lizajane]

i taught swimming lessons for years. not to infants, but to little kids. the only kids i EVER dunked (there were only 4 total in all the years...) were 5 year olds who had an irrational fear of going underwater. they could not learn to swim for fear of getting their faces wet. so, after telling them exactly what i was going to do and allowing them to prepare for it, i took them under with me. and then we celebrated like lunatics when we came back up. one out of the four hated me for this, but a week later was swimming with her mom. so who cares if she hated me, she learned to swim and loved it. the other four learned to swim the next day. literally.

the point here: kids need to be old enough to really understand what you are going to do (dunk them) and that you are going to keep them safe. i always asked them if they understood that i could stand up in the water, that i could hold them in the water, that i could bring them right back up, that i would never let them get hurt... etc etc.

a toddler, in my opinion, isn't old enough to understand that you are dunking them to help them learn so that it will be fun.

so don't worry what the swimming teacher says. do what you think it right! i think you have great instincts here.

[egoldber]

We have taken two swim classes through our county parks&rec (one at 7 months and one at 18 months). Both instructors said only dunk briefly if your baby seemed to enjoy it and no more than 3 times per session. I would find another instructor.

HTH,

[August Mom]

I agree with the other posters. Don't take Julia under if she doesn't like it. The point of these classes is to have fun and to get Julia used to the water. If you dunk her neither one of you is going to have any fun. Like Karen, I researched this issue before enrolling in swimming classes with DS. What I found was a split of opinion between the AAP and the swimming world, with the AAP saying not to take swimming lessons before 3 and the swimming world saying to start ideally between 6 months and 1 year and definitely before 2 years or the kids would be afraid of the water and it would be a struggle for them to learn to swim. I also did some research into water intoxication because that seemed to be the AAP's concern and I determined that the risk of water intoxication in a water babies class was so low that I didn't consider it a serious concern. Your baby would have to swallow an incredibly large amount of water for water intoxication to occur and as long as you are watching her (which you will be in a water babies class), I don't see how this could occur, even if she did go under the water. So, although I generally agree with the AAP, I don't agree on this one and I feel that this policy came about to protect against parents who don't supervise appropriately and let their 2 year olds play in the pool, doing whatever they want, including swallowing lots of water.

Just my 2 cents.

BTW, we took water babies in the spring and had a blast. We're enrolled again this fall.