ST. LOUIS — Summer may still be months away, but if you want your little one to be ready to make a splash when the pools open, you should start swim lessons now.
Today in St. Louis’ Allie Corey took her 9-month old son Kingston to his very first swim lesson at Little Fishes Swim School in Brentwood.
Casey Fogerty with Little Fishes Swim School said parents can start right away with getting their babies used to the water.
"Some kids just love it from the beginning. You can actually start at 2 months so you can start getting them used to having water poured over their ears over their face over their hair,” explained Fogerty.
Fogerty said 6 months is the common age to get started with swim lessons. The more practice, the better your little swimmer will be.
With the infant classes, parents are in the pool with their kids following along with the instructors techniques.
The babies will do a little floating and grab rubber ducks in the water with the help of mom or dad. The classes even encourage you dunk your little one to give them the real life experience of being in a body of water.
If your baby cries, it’s OK.
Fogerty smiled, "They may be crying not because of actual danger or discomfort but just because they don't like you right now."
Actually, a little tough love is encouraged. Parents shouldn't always catch their kids when they jump in because it gives them the false impression that their head will always stay above water.
"They don't realize that what actually happens is you go under the water. So what we do in a safe environment is have them practice falling in the water and actually going under for a moment and then we help them turn around and get back to the wall," explained Fogerty.
It’s important to note, no matter how confident your little swimmer becomes you should never take your eyes off your kids when they are in or near the water.