RumbleGrowing up with parents who were both lifeguards and who liked to spend time around the water, I learned to swim at an early age. Honestly, I don’t remember a time when I couldn’t swim. But, I’m sure that my parents spent plenty of time teaching my brother and me to swim and making sure we were completely safe.
According to BabyCenter, infants are not born with the ability to swim:
“‘It’s not true that babies are born with the ability to swim, though they have reflexes that make it look like they are.
A reflex called the bradycardic response makes babies hold their breath and open their eyes when submerged in water,’ says Jeffrey Wagener, a pediatric pulmonologist in Colorado. (Parents can cause this same reaction by blowing in their baby’s face, a response that disappears after about six months.)
Also, until around six months, babies placed in water tummy down reflexively move their arms and legs in a swimming motion, which makes them look like natural swimmers.
‘These reflexes don’t mean the baby can swim, though,’ says Wagener.
Babies aren’t old enough to hold their breath intentionally or strong enough to keep their head above water. In addition to the risk of drowning, it’s dangerous for an infant to swallow large amounts of pool water.”
This swimming or diving reflex is often used by instructors in infant swim classes. Any parent interested in teaching their baby to swim should consult with their pediatrician and research infant swim programs with qualified, professional instructors.
Even though it’s not possible, the little boy in this video looks like he was born knowing how to swim. I don’t know exactly how old he is, but he jumps into the pool and swims across like a pro! There are obviously adults nearby (and someone is in the pool with him recording this video), but he doesn’t need their help at all as he paddles his way across, swimming both under and on top of the water, all the way to the other side of the pool.
Watch the incredible swimming baby in the video right below!
