Swim Lessons for 8 Month Old?

Yes, I started my son at 7 months and it was amazing to see what he could do. Please e-mail me back and I'll give you my phone number so we can chat about it. It'll be easier to talk about it that way. You can also look up the program at www.infantswim.com. I'll have some insight into it that isn't on the website. The teacher in Plano that we go to is Sheri Phillips and she's great!

I know of a great type of program.
It is called Infant Swim Resource
Here is a link
http://www.infantswim.com/about.htm

My son took these when we lived in Florida and I highly recommend these, especially if you have a pool. We felt so lucky to live in a place at the time that offered them, years ago before moving to Orlando, we lived in DFW and they had nothing for my daughter however they were ever popular in Florida and when we moved found them immediatly for my toddler son.
We were priveledged too to have Dr. Barnett who founded it swim my son once. My son's instructor happened to share the pool with Dr. Barnett at he local Y and one day he was helping her when he was through with his students.

There is a locator on the page I gave you and you can locate some instructors here. I checked prior to moving and found 2 in the area. I believe one is in Plano. I feel that if anyone has a pool, they should get these sort of lessons for their kids because they are life saving.

Good Luck

Sincerely,
R. P.

Yes, I took my baby to Waterbabies swim class offered by the City of Plano Parks and Recreation Dept. -- I took it once at the Plano Aquatic Center and then the next summer we went to the Oak Point Rec. Center. I definitely recommended going to Oak Point (near the Plano Centre on Spring Creek and Jupiter). The Plano Aquatic Center is smaller and it was too crowded when they were doing other child swim classes.

I started my son when he was about 9 months old and he had a fun time. They say that 6 months old is the earliest you should take the class. I wanted him to just get used to water and not be afraid of it. It's hard to "dunk" your child and know that they'll come up crying but the get used to it and need to learn some basic things like holding their breath while they're under water for that 1/2 second. Don't worry -- you don't have to dunk if you don't want to -- and they do it in the 2nd week of classes usually. But I loved taking the class and so does my son.

Go to this weblink to look up class times and locations .... it's very affordable compared to other private businesses like Emler's. I think it's $50 for 8 classes - 30 minutes each.

http://parks.planotx.org/econnect/Activities/ActivitiesDe...

Hi L.,

I don't know of any center where you could take your baby for swimming lessons, but I can tell you about my experience.

When my daughter wasn't even 6 months old, I enrolled us (my husband join us too) in a three month swimming program.
It was in a YMCA in New Jersey.

Parents and babies had a once a week 45 min session with a trainer.
We would sing songs while moving around in the water, play with floating toys, practise a few exercises and just enjoy some free time with our baby.

I was afraid of having to let go of my daughter and let her swim under the water (something that very young babies do naturally, they just block their breathing and enjoy the experience without fear) but I wasn't forced to do it.

Anyway, we had an amazing time, my daughter loved it just like any other baby in the group and we especially cherished our first real activity together.

One last thing, my daughter will soon turn 4. She is like a fish in water, has always been since the swimming lessons. Does it have something to do with the lessons? I have no doubt.
I can only encourage you to do the same, you will love it, it's very relaxing.

All the best,

F.

L.,

We live in Carrollton and took swim lessons through the recreation center. But there are other options out there like Swim Babies, Aquatots and private instructors. We have two that we gave lessons to last year when they were about 12mo. One loved it and the other hated it. We ended up pulling the one out because it was almost traumatizing for him. So, you may just have to try it to see if he is ready.

Sidenote - we have a pool at home and the one we have to really worry about watching is the one who loved the lessons and loves the water becuase he will just jump in. The other one that is deathly afraid of the water won't even go near the side.

I would definitely try Emler Swim School. They have several locations around the metroplex. We have been very pleased with them. Good luck!

I have a six month old and live in Carrollton, if you don't mind, could you forward some good info/advice you receive on your question?

Thanks,

Emler's swim school on Park and Ohio. For cheaper lessons, try Oak Point Center in Plano. We started at six months with my son and he loved it! Good luck!

- C.

Good morning, L.! We took our daughter to swim lessons at our local community aquatic center in Coppell last summer when she was 7 mos. She was perfectly fine with it! Better than any other kid in the class, in fact, and they were all quite a bit older so I recommend starting before they develop a fear of the water. She was too young to comprehend the idea of swimming but she tried to chase toys in the water and had no problem being dunked under the water. (We even have pictures of her under the water!) At 13 mos she just now really likes to kick and splash in the tub but we encourage her to put her head in the water and we hope she'll stay used to it so she can take more lessons this summer.

Hope this helps!