The American Academy of Pediatrics is relaxing its stance against swimming lessons for children younger than 4. In the past, the AAP advised against swimming lessons for children ages 1 to 3 because there was little evidence that lessons prevented drowning or resulted in better swim skills. Now the group says it’s fine to enroll children as young as 1.
“This is a big step for swim lessons programs across the nation", said SafeSplash Team Member Jaime Zilverberg. “Having the AAP recommend lessons for children as young as one is a huge win for our industry.”
New evidence shows that children ages 1 to 4 may be less likely to drown if they have had formal swimming instruction. The studies are small, and they don't define what type of lessons work best, so the AAP is not recommending mandatory swim lessons for all children ages 1 to 4 at this time. Instead, the new guidance recommends that parents should decide whether to enroll an individual child in swim lessons based on the child's frequency of exposure to water, emotional development, physical abilities, and certain health concerns related to pool water infections and pool chemicals.
To read more about the AAP’s new recommendation visit.
Also, visit the below sites to read more about the importance of water safety for children visit
