Summer is but a memory now, but that doesn’t mean that you or your child might not come into contact with water at some point soon. The fact of the matter is that teaching your baby to hold their breath underwater can save their life.
Because the sad reality is that kids can (and do) drown. It’s truly a sobering statistic: About 350 people die each year from accidental drowning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. About one in five people who drown are kids ages 14 and under. And for every one child who dies, five others are treated in the emergency room for almost drowning.
Which is why you should teach your child to swim sooner rather than later. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children ages four and older learn how to swim. Although they have warned against trying to teach younger kids how to swim, they’ve eased up on their guidelines to now recommend that children ages 1-4 might benefit from taking a swim class — but only if they have frequent exposure to water, and possess the emotional and physical capabilities to be able to swim.
But swimming starts by learning how to hold your breath underwater. These tips can help teach your little guppy how to handle herself in the water — and allow you to take a deep sigh of relief, too.