10 Reasons You Should Teach Your Baby to Swim This Summer
I taught all four of my children to swim from the time they were babies, starting on the very first day they were born. For more than fifty years, I’ve also been teaching parents how to teach their babies to swim. Every experience has been pure joy — for the parents, for the baby, and for me.
If you’re thinking about how to teach your baby to swim, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Here’s why:
1. Teaching Your Baby How to Swim is Special
Teaching your baby to swim gives you meaningful one-on-one time together. For working parents especially, it’s a priceless chance to connect in a fun and important way. Every lesson becomes a moment to share, laugh, and celebrate progress.
2. Infant Swimming Strengthens Your Emotional Connection
When you’re in the water with your baby, you’re holding, cuddling, and reassuring them constantly. Your baby knows they are safe with you. Through touch, hugs, kisses, and praise, you build deep emotional trust.
3. Teaching Your Baby to Swim Builds an Essential Life Skill
We live on a planet covered mostly by water. Baby swimming isn’t just a fun activity — it’s an essential skill. Teaching your baby to swim early gives them confidence, strength, and a lifelong love for the water.
4. Baby Swimming Supports Early Brain Development
From our experience with thousands of babies, swimming helps stimulate brain growth right from the start. A strong brain drives every function in the body — and early stimulation builds a foundation for lifelong learning and physical development.
5. Teaching Your Infant to Swim Strengthens their Respiratory System
Babies quickly learn to hold their breath underwater. As they do, their brain and body demand more oxygen, encouraging deep, healthy breathing. Over time, this strengthens their lungs — and often leads to babies speaking their first words earlier and more clearly.
6. Infant Swimming Builds a Strong, Well-Rounded Body
We encourage parents to raise both “floor babies” (who crawl and creep) and “water babies” (who explore and move in the water). Baby swimming adds another layer of physical and neurological development, making babies stronger, more coordinated, and more confident.
7. The More Your Baby Swims, the Faster They Learn
The more chances your baby has to swim, the faster and happier their progress will be. Summer is the perfect time to start. Whether it’s a pool, lake, or ocean, try to give your baby as many days in the water as possible — the results will amaze you.
8) Breath-Holding is the Key to Baby Swimming Success
After a summer of regular baby swimming practice, most babies will naturally hold their breath underwater. Developing this reflex means your baby is 90% of the way to swimming independently. From there, it’s just about building distance and learning how to get in and out of the water safely.
9) Baby Swimming is Fun for the Whole Family
If you have older kids who already swim, invite them to join your baby’s swimming lessons. Babies naturally want to copy older brothers and sisters. Having siblings around not only makes teaching your baby to swim more fun — it speeds up your baby’s learning.
10) Teaching Your Baby to Swim Creates a Lifelong Love of the Water
Babies who start swimming early often develop a lifelong passion for the water. Few gifts you give your child will bring as much confidence, health, and joy for years to come.
My wife Rosalind and I learned how to teach babies to swim when we were in our early twenties. By the time we had our first baby at 30, we were excited and ready. We started teaching all four of our children to swim from the very first day they were born. Rosalind gave me the gift of leading our newborn son’s first swim — and it’s a gift I will always treasure. Mothers, don’t hesitate to pass that special opportunity to your husbands too. They will thank you for it forever.
Want to dive deeper into baby swimming? Check out our book, How To Teach Your Baby To Swim, available on Amazon.
