How Do Babies Swim Underwater: A Guide
Swimming is an exercise that both adults and children enjoy. It is the most excellent method to relax your senses while on vacation. It has many advantages that we can benefit from, such as strengthening the body and brain while increasing endurance and stamina. It also protects the heart and lungs, as well as toning and tuning the muscles and bones. Moreover, it eventually adds years to your life since it can make you healthy.
Overall, swimming is one of the few healthy lifelong activities that we should do once in a while.
Can Infants Swim Underwater?
The majority of people think that swimming is not appropriate for youngsters under the age of five. However, this is not really the case because this is only a myth. Swimming is particularly beneficial for children in their early years and infants as well. Swimming may begin with a child as early as the day of birth. But make sure that your child must have their first vaccine first before doing so.
In fact, babies have already swum and bumped for kilometers in their mother’s womb fluids.
Baby Swimming Underwater Essential?
Water is an essential component of human existence. Since swimming is a popular pastime and leisure activity, people afraid of water feel humiliated when there are gatherings and activities.
It may be life-threatening if the fear is severe and extends to waves, splashes, and sprays. Furthermore, if not addressed early on, fear of water may progress along the way. This unusual occurrence has the potential to be disastrous.
Teaching infants to swim at an early age is the most effective way to prevent water phobia. Infants may have both good and negative responses to new experiences, and these results in different situations. Infants may use positive reactions to enjoy swimming and eliminate the possibility of aquaphobia entirely. Your child will then have a great adventure with water for the rest of their life.
What Is The Ideal Age For A Baby Swimming Underwater?
There are many misunderstandings when it comes to the ideal time to start swimming since various coaching centers have their own criteria. Scientifically, six months is the most appropriate age for a child to begin swimming lessons.
At this age, your child’s muscles and bones should be robust enough to tolerate water pressure. This is also the age at which infants are ready to embrace new experiences by bodily kinesthetics. If not standing, most six-month-olds will have learned to sit and crawl, which will aid them in learning to swim.
Some other institutions recommend infants as young as three months olds by introducing them to the basic leg and arm motions in a bathtub. This will prepare the infant to learn to swim effortlessly when they are six months old.
However, the ideal moment to enroll your infant in swimming lessons is entirely up to you. We all know that every child is unique compared to others. Some infants learn quickly while others do not. Some develop quickly while others do not. Some are afraid of the water, while others love it more. Each of them has its own individual differences, to begin with.
Baby Swimming Underwater Factors
The most essential of these elements is a well-developed body structure. A four-month-old is generally ready to swim if he has established a robust bone and muscular system. On the other hand, a ten-month-old infant may not be appropriate for swimming if he has weak bones or muscles.
To know better, you can consult your pediatrician if you want to know that your child is qualified for swimming lessons. You can also consult a qualified swimming trainer or coach for advice in all areas of swimming. Gaining more knowledge about the basics makes you feel comfortable all the way.
One rule of thumb is to see whether your kid is already sitting, crawling, or attempting to stand on their own. If you can observe movements like this from your child, you can be confident that your child can have a better balance which will aid them to withstand water pressure.
Another factor is your baby’s health and immunity. Of course, you wouldn’t want your baby to be sick if he is prone to recurring illnesses.
How Does A Baby Swim Underwater?
It is not true that infants are born with the ability to swim, despite having reflexes that make it seem so. According to a pediatric pulmonologist, Jeffrey Wagener, when infants are immersed in the water, a reflex known as the bradycardic response causes them to hold their breath and open their eyes. However, this response will continually fade after six months.
Furthermore, until around six months, infants put their belly down underwater instinctively and move their arms and legs in a swimming motion, giving them the appearance of natural swimmers. But these responses do not imply that they can swim already. Let us remember that babies aren’t old enough to hold their breath on purpose, nor are they strong enough to keep their heads above water. That’s why parents need to guide their infants when bathing at home to avoid the risk of drowning. Also, it is hazardous for a baby to consume an excessive amount of water.
Another fact is that your child is born with a reaction known as the laryngeal reflex, sometimes known as the gag reflex. When your infant senses water on their face, this reflex kicks it. When your infant dives underwater, the soft tissue (larynx) at the back of their throat shuts instantly, obstructing the airway’s entry.
This reflex is usually observed in the child’s first six months. However, this does not imply that infants may be immersed in the water abruptly without warning. That is why we need to be cautious every time we dip our child into a pool. Laura Skilton of Baby Squids, a leading UK swim school, says ” I thoroughly recommend a child-led approach. Every child is different, and therefore there is no one size fits all answer. As such the child and parent must be comfortable before creating a negative experience for the child by trying to force them to swim underwater before they are ready”.
Using your child’s natural reflexes from an early age and training them to go underwater via word association or by telling or signaling them to do so means they can absorb it more clearly for fast learning.