Every year we hear of a baby or child who slips into a pool or a lake and drowns before help can arrive. This can happen regardless of the family’s wealth or status. While it’s devastating for the families involved, it should provide a wake-up call to any parent with a young child. One of the most important things you can do for your child, other than providing a roof over their heads and food for their bellies, is to teach them to swim while they’re young. Luckily, there are a number of facilities that offer infant swimming classes in the Los Angeles area.

Why Start So Young?

Babies are born without the fear of water that is sometimes experienced by an older child. It’s best to start swimming classes while the child is still an infant, since much of the movement is innate. Other than having a focus on the child’s safety, it’s a great bonding experience for parent and child, and the parent often learns as much as the child, since there is a proper way to hold the child in the water. The first lesson to learn is how to float on the child’s back, and then how to flip over and swim for a bit before flipping back over onto the back to breathe. This swim-float-swim technique is vital to a child’s survival if and when he slips into the deep end of a pool or gets caught up in a rip tide. Knowing how to flip onto the child’s back can save a life.

What Kind of Facility is Best?

You want to do business with a company whose major focus is to teach and inspire children, with a major emphasis on safety. Look for instructors who are certified to teach swimming, and who are dedicated and caring. Warm water is important, especially for young children. 90 degree water, and saline rather than chlorine is best for children of any age. Begin with private lessons while the child is still an infant and advance into group lessons once the child is a bit more confident in the water. The facility you choose should have classes available for every level of learning, from basic to advanced. These are all things to consider when searching for infant swimming classes in Los Angeles and the nearby areas.