What is the best age to teach my child to swim?
A great age to start swimming lessons is around 3 years old. At that age, children have developed enough strength and coordination to be successful. They also are better able to understand and retain instruction. Don’t wait too long because the older the child, the harder it is to learn— it is not as natural for them.

If you have a pool or body of water near your home, for safety, you might consider lessons or a class as early as 18 months. The most important reason for learning to swim of course is for safety. Children need to learn survival skills so that if they fall into the water, they will just react by turning around, grabbing the side of the pool and getting out.

What should I look for when choosing a class?
Options for lessons are a public facility like the YMCA or lessons taught by a private instructor. Some programs are geared to introduce your child to the water versus teaching them to swim – survival skills. Make sure you look into the program thoroughly before signing your child up so you know exactly what the goals of the class are and specifically what and how your child will be taught.

When looking for a program or teacher, you should match the personality of the child with the personality of the teacher to create the best learning environment for your child. A high- energy child may respond better to a high-energy teacher, but a shy or quiet child may respond better to a more nurturing instructor.

Another thing to look for in a swimming program or instructor is the class size. An optimal group would include 4–6 children per instructor. The fewer children in the class, the more individual attention your child will receive. Too many children per adult will lessen the quality of instruction your child receives and could become a safety issue.

Swimming lessons are great because they provide children with skills to keep them safe and offer countless hours of childhood fun!

Source: Local swim instructors