Teaching your baby how to swim

[KL]

Glad you joined this discussion! It's amazing what Matteson can do now!! 

What was it like in the beginning though? Was there lots of crying, and if so, was that hard to bear?

[Redheaded1]

I had done some research on it and the company does a great job at educating parents on how the program works and what you can expect from the lessons and they do warn you that there WILL be crying.     So I really went into the first lesson knowing she was going to cry and not like it.  I kept telling myself that the people who developed this 40 some years ago have probably perfected this by now and if it wasn't a proven method, people wouldn't keep doing it, so just stick it out; it's for Matteson's own good!  It really helped and by the middle of the first week I could tell that her crying wasn't really panic but more of "complaining".  Truthfully, I'm glad that she cries when she is floating because if she ever did fall in while I wasn't right there, I would hear her; if she wasn't crying I'd never know anything was wrong! 

I do have to admit that it is definatley a commitment.  It is 5 days a week and you have to monitor your childs eating, sleeping and bowel movements every day and there are certain foods that are no-no's for the duration of the course (like apples; apparently they cause bloating and no dariy 2 hrs before lessons, ect.) but like I said before, I put my trust in the fact that they have been doing this for 40 yrs and have a proven track record, there must be a pretty darn good reason to do all these things.   

I am sooooo glad that we did this probably would have done it at double the cost.  Just last year our family lost a little one to drowning and I swore then that my little one would know how to swim as early as possible!

[littlemamapuz]

Ayden cried/complained during every session too.  There were a couple days that were hard for me as well.  But when you actually see them roll over and floating on their back, it's just amazing and worth the tears.  I've been working with Ayden myself on getting him to enjoy the water and float him on his back.  We will do the re-fresher classes next year. 

[karli]

 Well this is a difficult post for me but I really felt I had to put it up.

 Firstly let me say that I think teaching babies to swim is very important, and I took Ashley to classes when he was 6 months.
 
 However.... My Nan's neighbour's 2 year old daughter drowned last year in a very small amount of water in a paddling pool on their back deck. The mother is a swimming instructor, they live on the beach in Australia, the child was very comfortable in the water. I guess the point that I am making is that NOTHING beats constant supervision when it comes to safety around water.
 I believe that any skill that gives a child a better chance if they fall in the water is TOTALLY worth it. So I do think the swimming classes are a positive thing. BUT... if they give the caregivers a false sense of security, this could be a negative thing. A child can drown in literally a few inches of water.
 Sorry if I to bring the conversation down but this was a subject close to my heart so.... please dont take offense.    

[nhockaday]

There was a local child who drowned like 8 hours after swimming. They said he must have swallowed a lot of water while swimming. He was fine all day, just complained of a headache. Then later that night he died. So yes, constant supervision is important, even for older children.

[Redheaded1]

I totally agree that constant supervison is necessary, and I also caution about a false sense of security.  But I do feel better that Matteson is equipped with skills that could save her life should something horrible happen.

[KL]

Sorry to hear that, Karli. I can imagine how you must feel...

Totally agreed about constant supervision!

[Nanayaya]

Yes constant supervision is a MUST for children this young.

I started my girl on swimming classes this Summer at 2 different places and I must say that the instructor and their methods is very important. With one class, she did not really learn a thing and actually got scared of water after 3 classes! Then I went to another one, which was a swimming camp for 5 days in a row. At the first class, she was crying nonstop and my husband kept shaking his head (he was in the water with her) as he couldn't do anything to stop her. The second day, I took her in and again she cried, but was slightly better but I had to constantly sing to her to make her happy (she loves music). By the third class, she was much better and only cried to complain but at least she did most of the exercises. The method they used was excellent and I managed to get her to go underwater without drinking any in the 3rd class.

Unfortunately, my daughter fell sick the 4th and 5th day, so we missed those, but I am sure that if we went, she would have been much better! I really think that they can swim very young because in the same class, there were babies as young as 6 months and he was doing very well (his dad told me, that was his 5th week, so he has had 20+ classes already).

[kmum]

I'm curious about the child who drowned hours later.  I hope you don't mind sharing a little more info. about how that could happen.I am not trying to be skeptical at all - just trying to understand how it could happen in order to prevent it.  That's a very scary scenario.

thanks

[nhockaday]

Here is the story from our local news station. Thanks for asking; I think every parent should read it! http://www.live5news.com/Global/story.asp?s=8415097

[kmum]

Thanks! That article helped me to understand it a little better.   It's still a scary thought, but at least they gave a few warning signs to watch for.

I appreciate the info.

[Nanayaya]

Thanks for the link. It is really useful to know that this can happen. Really scary!

[Nikita]

In australia they have pool fencing regulations but still we have tragic drownings, like in dams (they cant be fenced), in water collection towers (3 year-old twins died last year climbing up one at their grandparents), in jogger prams which go downhill into rivers the moment a mum loses concentration answering a monile phone (this has hsppened a couple of times last year). I always check if people have little fish ponds... they can be lethal.  Even a bucket of water for the dog can drown a baby.

Speaking of jogger prams, our maternal health nurse says DONT USE THEM for jogging, they cause shaken baby syndrome and brain damage!

[Nikita]

actually a friend of mine had a bad experience with her kids at a lesson at the pool...they were 3 or 4 years old and the instructor didnt seem to notice they were drowning...mum had to jump in and rescue them! and at a local pool with life guards someone yelled out "oh my god they're drowning, and sure enough right near me there were 2 kids under water at the side of the pool... their mums at the very opposite side. so even lifeguards dont make a pool safe, and when watch0ing your own kids you can have blind spots where you can have 2 children underwater drowning right near you and you cant see, and over all the noise, cant hear. Just near the edge is not a very visible spot.

[Nikita]

In australia you can buy or borrow from the library videos "teach your baby to swim" by Laurie lawrence, who coaches the olympic swim team.

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