How to Return Infants to the Swim Wall

Teaching your infant to swim can be a bonding activity with your baby, but proper instruction and techniques can also be a life-saving gift to your child. Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death among children ages 1-3, and up to 90 percent of all drownings in this age group occur in residential swimming pools. Teaching children how to return to the swim wall is an important technique your entire family needs to know.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Have your child sit on the edge of the pool and hold on to his wrists; you want to hold on to your child, but you don't want him holding on to you. Place your hands over his wrists, not under. Be sure to attempt this only when he's comfortable going underwater.

2. Count to three and bring her slowly into the water. Once she's submerged, turn her around under the water and tap her back to the swim wall. Place her hands on the edge of the wall.

3. Teach your child to hold on tight to the wall once he's there. Next, you want your child to know how to climb out of the pool.

4. Show your child how to put one elbow up onto the pool deck, followed by the other. Next, push her up onto her stomach so that the majority of her body weight is out of the water.

5. Swing one leg up and roll up onto the pool deck, removing the entire body from the water. Teach your child to move far enough away from the edge of the pool that he doesn't accidentally fall back in.

Tips & Warnings

• Never leave a child unattended near any body of water, including bathtubs, toilets or buckets of water.
• Always make sure your residential pool is fenced with a closed gate or that you have a child-proof pool cover.
• Don't assume that because your child has had swim lessons she doesn't need supervision.
• Always take swim lessons from a certified child or infant swim instructor.

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