[KR258]

How old does a baby need to be to go in a pool or lake or ocean? and.....why? Anyone have any good answers with good reasons???

[LeanyBean]

I would say as soon as they can be submerged after birth (aka after the umbilical cord falls off and is fully healed). It is just water after all.

[purelegance]

i heard they should wait until 4 or 6 months (i forget which) for chlorinated pools. but tbh, i'm not sure if that's just an old wives tale or what. salt & fresh water are fine once the cord falls off

[purelegance]

i just did a quick google search and couldn't find any age restrictions

[wanna be a young mother]

This was posted on Nevy's Dr.'s website. We were told at least 9 months old.

Swimming for Young Children.

Every summer we get asked at what age can my child go swimming? I belong to club that has one or we own a pool and I love to swim. Here are some things to think about for your child's health.
1. Swimming pools can be dangerous for many reasons and taking precautions make sense. In the water may be water borne germs that can make your child very ill. These include intestinal infections that cause diarrhea caused by viruses that chlorine may not even try to kill. There are some parasites that chlorine even at appropriate levels may not kill. Bacteria which are supposed to be killed by chlorine are now resistant for some bacteria. You get the picture that even your pool may really be a cesspool. So when your youngster drinks pool water it may be harmful, especially for infants and young children where their immune system is not fully developed. The stool that leaks from another child's diaper can be the source but it can be another child's upper respiratory illness when they sneeze that can cause your child to be sick with a cold too.
2. Hypothermia can be a problem for young children or thin older kids too. A pool temperature of 80 degrees may be fine for older children but this can be cool enough to cause hypothermia for infants and toddlers. Remember when your mother yelled at you to get out because your lips were blue? That meant you're your core body temperature was too cool. This can be in less than a minute with infants! Hyperthermia can be a problem with hot tubs too in less than a minute. This is why the hot tubs have warning for young children and pregnant women.
3. Drowning can occur very quickly. I suggest that an adult who is supervising a young child should be CPR trained and also life guard safety instructed for infants prior to going swimming with an infant.
Basically you get the points that swimming is more often a question for their parents fun rather than a request from an infant. It is safer to be on deck than in the water. When the child is old enough to follow instructions and can obey simple safety instructions they will be far better off. This may not be until 3 or 4 or 5 years of age. Lots of parents say that is too old. I suggest that your child's well being may be at stake here. Is it worth the risk?

We have no problem with an outdoor minipool ( a few feet in diameter) that is filled with warm water and only 2-3 inches of water like the bath in your home might be. Never leave a child unattended in a pool or bath for any reason. Drowning can happen very quickly even in a bathtub. Be sure to make the water fresh before each use. Animals can visit in the day or night and leave illnesses in the water. Mosquitoes can also breed in standing water so it is also good to dump out the water each night. Mosquitoes can carry West Nile Virus and who needs that either?

[LovingJesusinAZ]

Both of my kids are summer babies (an August and September) and they both went in once the water had warmed up enough to go swimming in the spring. My daughter is 9 months now, but was 7 mo when she first went in the pool. In fact, her first time in the water wasn't with Mommy and Daddy--it was at swim lessons! She started taking lessons at 7mo and can float and is working on rolling herself over. She can do it--she just needs to learn to keep her mouth shut so she doesn't drink the water (silly girl!)

Some places around here start swim lessons as young as 10 weeks! Can you tell I live in the desert and swimming is a huge part of the lifestyle here?

[abrahamalegre]

Parents used to be advised to wait until their baby had had their immunizations at two, four and six months before they took their babies swimming. But health experts no longer believe this is necessary, so it's really up to you when you start taking your baby to the pool. "There are no medical grounds for waiting until your baby is immunized. However, most pools start classes at around 12 weeks," says Libby Tucker, a swimming teacher who specialises in parent and child courses. Remember too, that a noisy public swimming pool could be daunting for your newborn, so it may be worth waiting until he's a bit older. You will probably have to wait until you've had your six-week check before you can go yourself, anyway.

[Samual]

As soon as the cord has fully fallen off and healed, where we used to live the town had a swimming pool, a baby could have lessons from 6 weeks onwards, all of our children have swam from 6 weeks.

[twinzplus3]

Ditto to what most people are saying--when the cord is fallen off. You are not letting your baby have at it in the pool by themselves...you are holding them and chances are you are holding them very close. If you're careful, they are not going to drink pool water...and your body temp will help regulate theirs. What I would worry about would be the sun...but common sense would tell you that babies should have hats in the sun and that your baby shouldn't spend hours upon hours in the pool.

Furthermore, I would say that the earlier you can get your kids used to swimming, the better it is for them.

[kalhayd2]

Kenzie has been in the water since about 5 months old. She was born in the winter so that was as soon as we could get her in without her freezing her tooshy off.

I've NEVER heard of any restrictions for water. Ever.