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You mean throwing him over the edge and seeing if he comes back up isnt the right way to do it? Thats what my mom did....
Heh that's pretty much how I learned too, once I was ready to learn how to do it on my own. It started with me being an infant and mom and dad floating me over the water in their arms so my toes would splash the surface.
But once I was old enough to stand in the shallow end (when I was like - three), over the edge I went!
Heh that's pretty much how I learned too, once I was ready to learn how to do it on my own. It started with me being an infant and mom and dad floating me over the water in their arms so my toes would splash the surface.
But once I was old enough to stand in the shallow end (when I was like - three), over the edge I went!
I did it to myself - I always wanted to do what my older sister was doing, so one summer she was in the 'deep end' (5 feet) and so I jumped in and swam to her. I was 3.
My kids were afraid of the water, even though I was a strong swimmer and dh swam before he could walk (he grew up in Hawaii), so we worked with them for years before they would even consider swim lessons. They were 6 and 8 the summer they finally relaxed enough to take lessons at the Y.
The Y near us allows them to be 'unsupervised' (only by lifeguards)at age 9, as long as an adult is in the facility, but they have to pass a short swimming test each time we go there, even if I'm in the pool, before they're allowed in.
It ought to be a standard element in every well-baby followup. When the baby is two weeks old and taken back to the doctor for a checkup, they take the kids diaper off and toss him into a livestock tank full of warm water, and then pull him out and hold him by the ankles and let him cough up the water. The baby will have no fear or panic, and automatically knows what to do to avoid drowning. Put any baby animal into water and it will swim. Giraffe, mouse, anything. It's why you have to put rocks in the bag with the kittens.
Simply make sure that every baby acquires his natural sense of comfort in in an aquatic environment at the age of a couple of weeks, and all the swimming lesson courses will be out of business forever, and there will be zero drowning deaths from not knowing how to swim.
It ought to be a standard element in every well-baby followup. When the baby is two weeks old and taken back to the doctor for a checkup, they take the kids diaper off and toss him into a livestock tank full of warm water, and then pull him out and hold him by the ankles and let him cough up the water. The baby will have no fear or panic, and automatically knows what to do to avoid drowning. Put any baby animal into water and it will swim. Giraffe, mouse, anything. It's why you have to put rocks in the bag with the kittens.
Simply make sure that every baby acquires his natural sense of comfort in in an aquatic environment at the age of a couple of weeks, and all the swimming lesson courses will be out of business forever, and there will be zero drowning deaths from not knowing how to swim.
Keeping it classy! You just can't make this stuff up.
Let's start with one of our favorite water creatures, the river otter. (Babies aren't strong enough to swim at two weeks. Mom begins swimming lessons when they are about two months old.)
I'll not get into what I think of tossing a two week old infant into a livestock tank.
Let's start with one of our favorite water creatures, the river otter. (Babies aren't strong enough to swim at two weeks. Mom begins swimming lessons when they are about two months old.)
I'll not get into what I think of tossing a two week old infant into a livestock tank.
Baby animals have a natural reflex to keep their heads above water and not take in any water, even if they don't yet have the motor control to be competent swimmers. Since babies, including humans, will reflexively protect themselves from drowning, the purpose of the early exposure is to acclimate them to immersion before they rationalize a fear of water, which must then be overcome by "swimming lessons".
Baby animals have a natural reflex to keep their heads above water and not take in any water, even if they don't yet have the motor control to be competent swimmers. Since babies, including humans, will reflexively protect themselves from drowning, the purpose of the early exposure is to acclimate them to immersion before they rationalize a fear of water, which must then be overcome by "swimming lessons".
Acclimation to water does not teach a person to swim. A drowning person will reflexively do everything to keep his head above water, as you said. That will not save him. A baby might be fairly buoyant due to a higher fat ratio, but children and adults will have a more difficult time. Besides, common reasons for adult drowning are fatigue and distress, and even competent swimmers can drown.
Let's start with one of our favorite water creatures, the river otter. (Babies aren't strong enough to swim at two weeks. Mom begins swimming lessons when they are about two months old.)
I'll not get into what I think of tossing a two week old infant into a livestock tank.
Technically correct,perhaps, but misleading in the context of my remarks:
"Young otters swim naturally, but the mother must coax them into the water for their first swim."
Just as human babies can swim naturally, but their mother must coax them into the water for their first swim.
Really?
I've been around water my whole life and have yet to see one human baby who can swim naturally.
I've edited the joke out of my post. The idea of throwing a baby into the water (or in your words, toss into a livestock tank full of warm water) and saying it can swim is so irresponsible I can barely see straight. It takes a lot to make me loose my sense of humor but..... SMDH.
Last edited by DewDropInn; 06-19-2012 at 08:24 PM..
I've been around water my whole life and have yet to see one human baby who can swim naturally.
I've edited the joke out of my post. The idea of throwing a baby into the water (or in your words, toss into a livestock tank full of warm water) and saying it can swim is so irresponsible I can barely see straight. It takes a lot to make me loose my sense of humor but..... SMDH.
Babies have a pair of reflexes that can make them appear to be good swimmers: the dive reflex and the swimming reflex.
This does not mean they can swim, but it does mean that they can learn more than we give them credit for.
Quote:
Swedish researchers studying the dive reflex in 21 infants between 4 to 12 months old found that none of them inhaled water or choked during "diving" (being pulled underwater). They also noted that the babies didn't seem apprehensive about the next dive. In fact, some seemed eager to dive again!
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You just can't make this stuff up.
