One of the most common questions we get asked is: “How can I teach my baby to close their mouth around water?” It’s a natural concern for parents, but here’s something surprising: we don’t actually encourage babies to close their mouths around water! Instead, we teach them to keep their mouths open. This is all due to one crucial aspect of water safety: breath control.

The Importance of Breath Control

At watermellow, breath control is a foundational skill in all our lessons. Babies are born with a natural reflex to hold their breath when submerged, but as they grow, they need guidance to develop controlled breathing. Teaching your baby to hold their breath underwater and then open their mouth when it’s safe to breathe is key.

Whenever we practice submersion with babies during lessons, we follow up by gently encouraging them to open their mouths. A simple trick we use is lightly placing a finger near their mouth to signal them to open it. This practice helps babies learn to use their mouths to breathe when they’re not submerged, creating a healthy balance between breath-holding and breathing at the right moments.

Why Keeping the Mouth Open Matters

While it’s important for your baby to know how to hold their breath during submersion, it’s equally important for them to understand when it’s safe to breathe—and that means keeping their mouth open and learning to breathe through it. Closing their mouth too early can confuse their body’s instinct and make it harder for them to establish proper breath control. By allowing babies to get used to opening their mouths after submersion, they learn to manage both holding their breath and taking breaths when needed.

Learning From Experience

If water gets into your baby’s mouth, it’s not the end of the world! Babies, like adults, will sometimes get water in their mouth while swimming or even during bath time. This is a natural part of learning how to interact with water, and through these experiences, babies develop a better understanding of when to hold their breath and when to breathe. Just think about your own swimming—every now and then, you probably get water in your mouth too!

Building Breath Control in Everyday Moments

You don’t need a pool to start teaching breath control. Bath time is the perfect opportunity to gently introduce these skills to your baby. You can start with simple cues like saying “1, 2, 3, take a breath” before pouring a small amount of water over their face or gently submerging them. Gradually, your baby will learn to associate these cues with the need to hold their breath and open their mouth once they come out of the water. It’s all about building confidence through gentle practice.

We’re here to support you and your baby every step of the way. Our online swim lessons focus on developing breath control in fun, safe, and engaging ways. Whether in the bathtub or the pool, you can guide your baby through these foundational skills with our expert advice and support.

So the next time you’re in the water, don’t worry about your baby closing their mouth—encourage them to embrace the experience, breathe through their mouth, and grow comfortable with water, just like we all have.