Infant swimming

Most infants, though not all, will reflexively hold their breath when submerged to protect their airway and are able to survive immersion in water for short periods of time.

[1] The glottis is spontaneously sealed off and the water entering the upper respiratory tract is diverted down the esophagus into the stomach.

[9][10] A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study in 2012 of United States data from 2005 to 2009 indicated that each year an average of 513 children aged 0–4 years were victims of fatal drowning and a further 3,057 of that age range were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments for non-fatal drowning.

[9][10] Traditionally, swimming lessons started at age four years or later, as children under four were not considered developmentally ready.

[15] Children can be taught, through a series of "prompts and procedures," to float on their backs to breathe, and then to flip over and swim toward a wall or other safe area.

[21] Others have indicated concerns that the lessons might be traumatic, that the parents will have a false sense of security and not supervise young children adequately around pools, or that the infant could experience hypothermia, suffer from water intoxication after swallowing water, or develop gastrointestinal or skin infections.

However, the AAP stated that it found the evidence at that time insufficient to support a recommendation that all 1- to 4-year-old children receive swimming lessons.

The AAP indicated its position that the possible benefit of early swimming instruction must be weighed against the potential risks (e.g., hypothermia, hyponatremia, infectious illness, and lung damage from pool chemicals).

They also recommend, for all children less than 4 years, constant arms-length supervision for toddlers near any body of water (including bathtubs) and that infants be held at all times.