Great post. It's almost never too early to learn to swim. Both of my nephews were perfectly capable by age 3.
My father never learned to swim, in spite of being in the Navy in WWII. He insisted his children be comfortable in the water so we all took several seasons of swimming lessons. I didn't realize until I was an adult just how much of a PIA those lessons were for my parents. 5 children and 20 miles from the pool.
As a matter of pure fact, I loved it and still do.
Thanks for a terrific post!