Scribble and I just got finished with two weeks of parent-tot swim lessons, and we had a wonderful time! I will admit, though, before we started last week I had no idea what a parent-tot swim lesson looked like. So for those of you who have no idea how a nine month old could possibly benefit from swim lessons, read on!

Chilling out after lessons; I wasn’t able to get any pics during them because my hands were full!

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I decided to enroll us in parent-tot lessons for a number of reasons. First, I am not teaching this summer, so I felt I needed something to give our days a little structure.  Also, we have a pool at home, and I thought swim lessons would give us skills to work on for the rest of the summer. I am super anxious about pool safety, and am always looking to advance Scribble’s water skills. So I thought that  formal lessons could help!

We registered for our parent-tot swim lessons through the parks and recreation association of a town just 25 minutes north. There isn’t a public pool in our county, so we have to travel a little!

Our parent-tot class is perfect for babies who are unsure around water or unfamiliar with swimming. It is not an Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) class. ISR classes are infant safety and self-rescue classes. They are intensive (usually between a month and two of daily lessons), and their objective is to teach infants how to survive an unforeseen accident, such as falling into a pool.  Since we own a pool, ISR is something we are curious about. But the high tuition costs, intensity of the lessons, and difficulty finding providers have prevented us from going this route. Right now Scribble isn’t walking so he is easy to handle poolside.  By next summer he will be a handful, so we may spend the winter saving up for ISR classes for spring!

Parent-tot classes, by comparison, are all about fun! We spend a lot of time singing songs and playing simple games.  Our class starts out with a round of “This Is the Way We Wash” (sung to the tune of “This is the Way the Ladies Ride”), which allows us to “shower” our children’s body parts with water. We then practice paddling with a pool noodle, and kicking with a kickboard. We do laps around the pool in “Superman” and “banana” position (anyone who is a P90x alum– or, in my case, dropout–will know the positions I’m referring to!). We also practice jumping from the edge of the pool into the water. Kids who can climb and pull up also practice exiting the pool.  Each child takes a turn being submerged by the instructor. The facility has a large loopy water slide; bold parents can take their baby down the slide if they dare!

I honestly think that I’ve learned as much from our parent-tot class as Scribble has! In the beginning I was clutching onto him and found it difficult to handle him and the noodle or kickboard at the same time. Over the course of two weeks I’ve learned how to let loose a little so that Scribble can explore the water with more freedom.  Our instructor explained to us that parents telegraph their anxiety about the water to their children. So the tighter I cling, the more likely he is to fear water!

I think nine months is an ideal time to start swim lessons. Scribble is fearless around water; he frequently tries to get out of his float when we are in the pool, and often tries to put his head under the water when he is taking a bath.  Scheduling swim lessons for this time helps take advantage of his natural enthusiasm. Hopefully we’ll be able to maintain his excitement through the rest of this summer so that by next year he is ready to do something more intensive.

Is your infant taking swim lessons this year? Are you taking any other classes this year?