Fact or Fiction:  My child must wait 30 minutes after eating before swimming?

Fiction! This is an old familiar rule, but there is very little evidence it is unsafe for children to swim right after eating.

According to BabyCenter.com, the American Red Cross says there’s no specific amount of time your child needs to wait before heading for the water after eating, but the organization does suggest waiting until he’s comfortable before engaging in any strenuous activity. If he’s sluggish or tired after chowing down, let him rest first. And, of course, children should be supervised whenever they’re in or around water.

Even though there’s no basis for the idea that swimming on a full stomach makes people sink like the proverbial stone, the myth is extraordinarily persistent. In BabyCenter’s 2009 Summer Survey, the website asked more than 1,300 moms about it, 58 percent said they think it’s unsafe to let children swim right after eating. To read more on this topic and the BabyCenter study visit:

http://www.babycenter.com/404_is-it-true-that-its-not-safe-for-children-to-swim-right-afte_10304428.bc?scid=adhoc_20100604_cobrand_neutrogena:5&pe=2UuiqSl