If you are a parent of an infant or young child, you may want to consider bringing your baby to swimming classes. Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology found that babies under the age of one who participated in swimming classes ended up with better balance and motor skills than their peers who did not take swimming classes.

While your baby may not learn the front crawl during his or her first year of swimming classes, research shows that baby swimming lessons can help develop balance and grasping skills. Researchers studied babies who took swimming classes in Iceland and compared them to a control group of their peers, who did not take swimming lessons. The babies went to swimming classes for two hours a week, from the time they were two to three months old to the age of seven months. The researchers found that when all other factors were the same, babies who went to baby swim classes outperformed their peers in balance and grasping skills, even later in life at the age of five.

Swimming classes for babies are popular in Iceland, and involve developing motor skills and balance by having fun in the water. You might be surprised at the level of skill your baby displays during a swim class! Activities might include standing and balancing on the instructor or parent's hand while in the water, jumping into the water, grasping objects in the water, doing somersaults on a floating mat, and even diving under water. When these children underwent tests for balance and coordination later at the age of five (these tests included standing/walking on tiptoe, manipulating balls and ropes, and catching a beanbag), they clearly outperformed their peers.

Other research shows that teaching your baby to swim, even if they are as young as one year old, can reduce their risk of drowning. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health said that statistical evidence shows that teaching children to swim has a protective effect against drowning. They were careful to qualify that statement, however, and asserted that swimming lessons alone could not prevent drowning, and that parents should take other precautionary measures, such as fencing off the pool, supervising children, and learning how to do CPR. Children, even babies under the age of one, could learn how to hold their breath underwater, and to turn onto their back to breathe if they fell into the water.

Some parents may be concerned that bringing their child to a pool could expose him/her to more bacteria and leave the child at risk of contracting respiratory illnesses. Studies about this concern have led to contradictory results, with no conclusive answer about whether bringing your baby to a pool can make him/her sick, so parents should use their own judement on the matter.

All this goes to show that teaching your baby to swim can not only be a fun activity, but a beneficial one that strengthens your baby's body, develops coordination and balance, and reduces the risk of drowning. It can also be a great way to meet other parents, spend some quality time with your child, and get some exercise yourself.

This post was included in the Homesteading Carnival #148.