Experts Discourage Swim Lessons For Children Under 4 Because Kids Might Develop False Sense Of Security Around Water

Jet, May 15, 2000

The American Academy of Pediatrics is warning against swim lessons for children under 4, saying such training may give youngsters a false sense of security around the water.

"We're discouraging lessons for children under 4 if parents' idea is that teaching their baby to swim makes them safer," said Dr. Barb Smith, a pediatrician who helped write the policy statement, published in the April issue of the academy's journal Pediatrics.

Kids under 4 are not ready physically or intellectually for lessons in how to swim, the academy said.

The academy is not discouraging programs that get children accustomed to the water and teach safety tips, such as those developed by the YMCA and the American Red Cross.

But some aquatics programs try to develop water survival skills and even tell parents that their kids can be taught to swim, the authors said.

Such training "can make the parents less vigilant and the baby more interested in going into the pool alone," Smith said.

Whenever an infant or a toddler is in or around water, an adult should be within arm's length, providing "touch supervision," the academy said.

Drowning is one of the leading causes of unintentional injury and death among children nationally, and it is the leading cause of unintentional injury and death among 1- and 2-year-olds in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas, according to the academy.