3 Reasons to Start Swimming Early

At KidsCanSwim we believe swimming is a life skill and it’s never too early to start learning! While many parents begin thinking about swimming lessons where their kids start kindergarten, we have specially designed parent and tot lessons that focus on water confidence and play as well as on survival.

While your child might not be able to walk, they can certainly start to swim – with some help from mom and dad! Our parent and tot classes start as young as 3 months old while our independent levels begin at 3 years old.

Regardless of what age your kids start swimming, there are a couple key reasons why early introduction to the pool is a huge bonus to your child’s progress through beginner classes.

Why Should Your Kids Start Swimming Early?

Water Confidence

Babies and young toddlers haven’t yet developed a fear of the water. They tend to have a much easier time putting their face in the water and are much more eager to lift their feet off the bottom of the pool and float.

Building Trust

The younger a baby or toddler is exposed to swimming lessons and swimming instructors, the easier it will be for them to make the transition to independent lessons and to trust their swimming teacher. When kids learn to trust their swimming teachers, they are more willing to try new things and such as floating on their own, kicking with their eyes in the water and swimming underwater – the key building blocks of all future strokes.

Muscle Memory

It’s not new news that the motions required for swimming are much different than movements used for any on land activity. Research has also shown us that it takes 10 times the number of repetitions to fix an incorrect body movement as it does to learn a new one. Getting kids into formal swimming lessons early ensures that they learn the right technique from the beginning developing great muscle memory for future strokes. Early swimming lessons also give kids a familiarity with their own buoyancy and what it feels like to move in water.

For these reasons (and many others) our Aquatic Educators recommend that kids start swimming in our BabiesCanSwim program as early as 3 months or in our independent KidsCanSwim program at 3 years old. Sign up for your free trial here!