02/22/2026
Trigger warning: photo of a child who died from drowning.
“But isn’t letting your baby cry in the water traumatizing to them? “
“I won’t get survival swim lessons for my child because I can’t watch my baby cry.”
The reality of this is that babies are going to cry. It’s how they communicate. They do it when they are mad, sad, not sure what you want them to do, hungry, when they have soiled themselves and yes, when they are scared too.
Toddlers have separation anxiety as a normal phase of development and will scream and cry if you leave them with anyone, regardless of if that person is in water or not.
Just because your baby may cry during (usually only the initial few sessions of) survival swim lessons (they would cry during any lessons), it does not mean that they are being traumatized. It means that they are being a normal, baby human.
Reputable survival swim instructors know how to teach your children without traumatizing them. They are trained not only in teaching water survival techniques but also in psychology of learning and child development. They know the stages and phases and what kids can and can’t do at specific ages. They know how to teach each age and stage appropriately.
Trust them.
Take it from a momma who knows what real trauma is and wishes she could hear her child cry just one more time….
Drowning is the most likely reason a child under 5 in the United States will die. You wanna talk trauma? THAT is trauma.
Get your children skilled in the water.
