Never too young ... to learn to swim

Survival Necessities 101 would definitely include a course on swimming.

If swimming lessons are at the top of your children's to-do list this summer, you can find lessons are available for your oldest, as well as your youngest, child.

And lessons are also available for mom and dad, too, if they need some help with their water moves.

Infants as young as 6 months can take lessons. Specially designed swim courses have been developed for infants, with many recreation centers and private instructors including infant courses on the class roster.

Jan Thomas Swim School, located in Clovis, Calif, led the way in developing infant swim instruction during the 1950s.

"Children are born with a natural instinct to kick. We just need to bring it out of them," said Kendra Oakden, a former instructor at Jan Thomas Swim School.

During infant classes, known as Mommy and Me or Patent Tot, babies learn to hold their breath underwater and kick.

By submersing the infants, a psychological light bulb turns on and the infant knows to kick, Oakden said.

A local swim school, Swim Kids, focuses on teaching kids water safety in addition to swimming.

Liz Walker, owner of Swim Kids, along with her son Lance Walker, stress the importance of starting swim classes early.

"It's critical to get them taught to have that line of defense," Liz Walker said.

"Emotionally, it can be tough, but parents understand that a few crying lessons is worth the skill and a respect for the water," Lance Walker said.

Swim Kids teaches nearly 800 kids each summer, employing about 20 instructors from Bluffdale to Farmington. Peak season for lessons is July, but spots are still available due to the rainy June weather.

The first few lessons focus on breath control, submersion and floating.

Allowing a 6-month-old child to submerse underwater is not the most pleasant experience, yet submersion presents no serious risk, even in the child's young age, the instructors said.

"We see more risk with children falling into the water. If you don't teach them, it is a greater risk," Lance Walker said.

For kids unable to swim on their own yet most often rely on flotation devices to keep them above water. But those floaties may be doing more damage than they are helping.

The biggest error in the usage of floaties is the false sense of security the parents and the young swimmer have when the youngster is using them.

The body position of the child using the flotation devices is not conducive to learning to swim, Oakden said. The head is up, out of the water, which makes being afraid of water in a young swimmer's face more common.

Children may also grow dependent on floaties to feel comfortable in the water, making learning to swim less of a necessity.