Many people ask us: what age is it best to send my child to swimming lessons?
In Australia, being able to swim is undoubtedly one of the most important skills children can have.
Despite a national decrease of 8% in overall drowning deaths compared to the previous year, tragically 248 people drowned across Australia from July 2019 to June 2020, with men aged 25-34 years the most at risk demographic.
Royal Life Saving National Drowning Report 2020
It's clear that water safety skills can be the difference between life and death. Naturally, a lot of parents want to send their children to swimming lessons as early as possible, and often we are asked how young kids should be when they start.
The best age to teach swimming is at 4 years of age. By the age of 4, children are physically and mentally mature enough to make good progress. Most have learnt to work as a group and to follow instructions through their experiences in pre-school.
A comprehensive study of the starting age and aquatic skill learning in young children revealed:
The benefits of early introduction to swimming lessons did not translate to a more rapid, early mastery of basic Aquatic Skills for the very young starters. It was 4-year-old starters who demonstrated relatively rapid progress in learning early aquatic motor skills.
Parker HE, Blanksby BA (1997)
The Australian Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport
For this reason, Rice's Swimming School caters to children aged 4 to 12.
What about the babies and toddlers who are too young to attend our lessons? It doesn't mean they should be kept away from water. Quite the opposite, actually. During these early years, it's important for children to grow their confidence in the water. During their infant years, children should learn through play in still, shallow water. Ideal places include the bath at home, shallow paddle pools or places where the depth of the water starts at zero and gradually and evenly gets deeper. Let your child find the depth at which they are comfortable.
It's important that your child feels comfortable, and not frightened. One bad fright can delay their progress for years to come. We encourage you to use play to help your child feel comfortable with water on their face. Buckets and watering cans can be used in this water familiarisation process, rather than forcing a child to submerge their head. This can be a traumatic experience for a young child.
Of course, close and vigilant supervision is a must – always ensure your child is not left alone near any body of water.
Swimming can be a life saving skill – but for the younger years, playing in and getting familiar with water is just as important in starting to build those skills.
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