Swimming is a lifesaving skill that every child should have (especially when their parents don’t know how to swim) – but when exactly is the best time to learn? Signing up your child for swim lessons well before age 3 gives you both a GOLDEN experience and provides even more benefits than simply learning a lifelong skill! Sure, it can be easy to dismiss these lessons because after all, the children are babies and they aren’t really learning to swim. Right? Not at all! Read on to learn what littles have to gain from becoming comfortable in the water so early.

Bonding

Splashing around in a shallow baby pool is one thing – but when you’re in the pool with your little one, teaching him or her the building blocks of swimming, it becomes so much more than just a fun activity to pass the time.

Holding your baby in the big pool provides an incredible opportunity for bonding time. He or she feels your support and guidance – quite literally – and savors the physical closeness. You have uninterrupted quality time together. Because your focus is on keeping your baby safe and secure, with no other outside forces demanding your attention, swimming with your baby allows you to be fully present in the moment.

Happiness

During swim lessons at Goldfish Swim School, our instructors use integrity, compassion and trust to ease babies into being comfortable in the water. While it’s normal for some babies to cry at their first lesson or two, the unease generally quickly turns to happiness and gives you both reasons to celebrate!

There’s something about the calming feel of the water that brings about a lightness – both physically and emotionally – to little ones (and adults, too!). You’re smiling and laughing, and so is everyone else in the pool – and your baby sees that and instinctively wants to imitate that. And when your baby smiles and you react in a positive manner, he or she wants to continue evoking that response from you.

Confidence

As parents, we all want our children to have confidence. We want them to have the self-awareness to know they can achieve what they work for, to know that they can be resilient while getting there, and to understand they can overcome any trepidations over trying something new.

So, the best way to make sure our children learn to have confidence is to start at a young age – and they won’t know a time without it. In our Mini classes for babies ages 4 months to 3 years old, our specialized Goldfish Swim School curriculum provides extraordinary results that instill confidence in kids every step of the way (our award ribbons given upon trying and mastering new skills also help!).

Balance

Imagine being a gangly teenager, trying to get used to your quickly-growing arms and legs. Well, babies are getting used to their growing bodies, too! Swimming provides a safe and fun way for babies and toddlers to get to know how to control their bodies.

The coolest thing about doing so in water is gliding along, buoyant, while learning balance. Their bodies learn how to use their arms and legs to move, how to stay afloat, and how to go underwater.

Bonus: The balance learned through swimming helps when it comes to climbing on the playground equipment, too!

Start Your Toddler Swimming at Goldfish Swim School

Children as young as 4 months old can learn to swim at Goldfish Swim School — and you may be surprised what they can learn by the time they turn 3! Remember, Mom and Dad…these little ones will be independently taking lessons in the big pool sooner than you may want to retire your swimsuit. You owe it to yourself to savor this precious time! Stop by a location near you to sign up today. We have some pretty WOW! customer service and will gladly answer any questions you have!