How to Teach Your Baby to Swim: From Birth to Age Six

Before my son was born I spent a lot of time researching and reading anything and everything I could get my hands on. I was a life guard and a swimming instructor for all ages and all levels of swimming and this is the best book I found. I read it throughout my pregnancy and began using the techniques with my son after his belly button was fully healed. They worked. The techniques would also work with an older child, though (as my niece would demonstrate). I respectfully disagree with reviews here that say you have to have specific types of tubs to use this book. The techniques can be practiced in any regular tub, which is what I have. A very good video to complement this book is Learn to Swim with Ms. Bea. Many of the techniques described/advocated in this book can be watched in the video. Finally, if you're looking to help your child survive a possible water emergency (as any parent knows, supervision is not perfect no matter how conscientious we are) there is one program that can teach an infant/child how to survive if they fell in the water with no-one around. It is ISR [Infant Swimming Resource [w doubleu w dot infantswim dot com]]. Regular/traditional swim techniques/lessons in and of themselves can't help an infant/toddler with self-rescue because there is a lot to learn and practice before children can learn to rescue themselves at this age. Enrolling my 13 month old in ISR was the best thing I could've done [I didn't find out about ISR until he was almost a year]. My son is now (July 2010) 19 months and with ISR he learned to propel himself under the water, roll onto his back and float when he needs to take a breath/rest, and roll back to swim under water until he reaches me, the shore, the stairs, or the wall. ISR works with children as young as 6 months to 6 years. I'm thankful he can do this even though I always watch him like a hawk in and around the water. It is a gentle program (in spite of some reviews you might read). Sure, he protest-cried during his 10 minute lessons every time, but he also cries to be taken out of the car seat and when he has to get a shot. Now he's less than 2 years old and is a little fish in the water. He has so much fun and I can tell he's so proud of his skills. The ISR lessons were worth every penny. My son still pages through the now wrinkled pages of this book often (he picks it out from his shelf himself!) and watches Ms. Bea's video just for fun (he asks for it!). You will not regret getting this book!

So far this book has been informative. We will have a better feel for how practical it is when the pool opens this summer.

This book provides good information on how to teach a baby to swim at any age beginning with the new-born. Unfortunately, some techniques were not practical for me, e.g. the book suggests taking baths with the baby. There is a pictures of the author taking a bath with his baby son in a deep Japanese style bath. This is absolutely impossible to replicate in my early 1980s townhome with shallow fiberglass baths/shower enclosures. Overall, I liked author's gentle approach to teaching the baby to swim because it is i disagree with the "throw the baby in the water and let him figure it out" approach recommended by some.

This is an excellent, precise book about introducing your baby and young child to the joys and wonderful benefits of mobility in the water. There are other books out there but this is by far the best I've read on the subject. I really enjoyed the MANY clear and descriptive pictures showing you the exact form of what is being described. It is more thorough than any other book I've read. They take you step by step, year by year, all the way from the time your child is one day old up until their sixth birthday. They teach you how to help you baby swim under water, dive, blow bubbles, climb out of the pool, float on their back, and more, while thoroughly enjoying every minute of it. By the time they are six they will be able to swim in numerous yards using a perfect crawl stroke. It is anything BUT stressful but rather fun and productive. Just hearing of even one child who has drowned or nearly drowned (and is now brain damaged for the rest of his life) is reason enough for every parent to be serious about teaching their young child to swim. The gift is yours to give. This book will show you how to do so in a fun, easy, beneficial, and productive way. I would enthusiastically recommend it to any parent who has a child under six and would like to give them the beautiful, priceless gift of water safety, enjoyment, increased brain growth and function, and superb physical fitness.

We started using this programme with our two year old, but it would be much better put into practise with a newborn. It is much slower going at this age, though the lessons and ideas are still working. I would definitely recommend this book to anybody who is expecting or who has a new baby. The programme is simple, easy, and fun. Before your baby can walk or talk, he will be swimming. You can't ask for better than that.