Water baby - and bragging granny, I'm afraid!

Witzend
If you can't be a bragging Granny here, then where can you?
It's great to see them water confident at such a young age isn't it? Swimming is definitely a life skill, and can be a life saving skill too!
Our DDiL is like a mermaid, as at home in the water as out of it, in fact she's clumsy on land, but used to swim competitively for Cheshire!
Whilst she was pregnant she booked 'baby' into swimming classes to start at the age of two weeks. DGS was then born by C section, so she couldn't get in the pool with him, so DS went in instead!
We went with them for their first session when DGS was just sixteen days old. It was amazing to see how unafraid the babes are at that age, although I suppose they've been floating about for nine months previously, so perhaps that's why.
DGS will be two in late August, has been swimming independently since he was less than eighteen months, and can hold his breath and swim underwater, with his eyes wide open. He's only staying under for about ten seconds at the moment (it terrifies me), but he's totally confident,
I'm afraid of water (can swim, but hate it, so I don't) and am delighted that he's so sure of himself in and around water.
We last went with them two weeks ago, he came out of the changing room with DS, walked (no running allowed) to the side of the pool, took a deep breath and flung himself in...I nearly had a fit!
He just bobbed back up like a cork and swam to the side where he held onto the bar and waited for his dad to join him!
As far as I'm concerned, the sooner they're in a pool, the better!

He is certainly better learning to swim at 2 years old than at 42. Well done him.

I taught both my children (now 39 and 41) to swim before they could walk and both developed a lifetime love of swimming. At 9 years old my daughter swum a mile. Now parents themselves they have taught their own children to swim at a very young age. Such an important skill for pleasure, for its health benefits and it can save lives.

Yay! How lovely for you all. It’s a granny’s privilege to boast - I do it all the time!

Witzend Great!!! Super bragging! Well done!! I also congratulate the parents. Most are so scared that the small child will drown they hold on to them and won't let them go under. They pass on fear of the water by their anxiety and being so cautious. It takes very good and sensible parents to enable their little ones to find their own way under the water and then learn to come up for air.

Carry on bragging, about your children and grand children!!!

Like music lessons, swimming lessons seem to have been sidelined in primary schools due to lack of funding. At GS’s school, they had three sessions in a local private school’s swimming facility last year, and that was it. I said to DD that I felt sorry for the ones who couldn’t swim as they weren’t going to learn a lot in three sessions! We had a lesson every week when I was at school (not that it did me any good except to scare the living daylights out of me when I was pushed off the side!), and so did my children.

excellent
we start all ours at 6 months
no fear -some say they remember swimming in moms belly
and most naturally hold breath or figure it out right away.
baby bro and one son diving by age 3
keep going ,it is so good for them

Boast away its what we are good at . I think there are a lot of children not being able to swim is cost if pool isn't near bye then this causes more expense my freinds daughter as to take hers on public transport so when she takes her three it costs more than she can afford every week .

Yes, of course money and having a pool close by, or not, are factors for many parents.

We were taken swimming only very rarely when I was small - no car and precious little spare cash! - and no lessons at school. However I still remember the first time I managed a very messy breaststroke for a width of the pool. I was 6, and never looked back. Always loved the water, dh ditto - we still love swimming in the sea - preferably warm! though UK sea dips are not unknown.

The GC went with a friend [aged 7] to another friend's swimming pool + DH and the parents. The child said he could swim in spite of his mother saying he wasn't a strong swimmer and pootled off to the deep end when he started to panic. The adults were around the pool and without hesitation DH dived in and grabbed him!! Hero of the hour. The mother, I think was suitably embarrassed and hopefully the child learned a lesson! All the other children could swim [ages 5-11]. Children should perhaps learn life saving too!!!