Toddlers may benefit from swimming instruction

Q. I heard there's a new recommendation from American Academy of Pediatrics about swimming lessons for young children. What is the new policy, and why have things changed?

A. Up until last month, the academy had discouraged lessons for children ages 1-4 because of a concern parents might be less vigilant about supervising a young child who had some swimming lessons. However, the academy cites "new evidence" that while those children may not actually master swimming yet, they may be less likely to drown if they have had swim instruction.

The AAP still doesn't recommend swimming lessons for children younger than 1 because no scientific study has demonstrated the classes are effective in teaching an infant to swim. And it emphasizes that parents should "never - not even for a moment" leave small children alone or in the care of another young child near water, even if the child has had lessons. Lessons should be one more layer of protection, the academy says.

The Great South Bay YMCA in Bay Shore offers classes for children 6 months to 3 years and 3- to 5-year-olds, says aquatic director Maureen Kiernan, as do other swim instruction facilities across Long Island. "First and foremost, children are taught how to be safe in and around the water," she says. They are taught never to swim without an adult present, and how to swim to the side of a pool if they accidentally fall in, Kiernan says.