Lil’ Flippers: Teaching Your Kids to Swim

The earlier your little ones learn to swim, the better. But how young is too young? What are the proper steps – and safety precautions – you should take when introducing your kids to their first dip in the shallows? Let’s cover the best practices, tips, and tricks in teaching your kids to swim.

How Early Can Kids Learn to Swim?

The answer may surprise you: Children as young as one year old can safely learn to swim, including learning how to hold their breath and swim underwater. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting as early as possible, given that drowning is the leading cause of death in childhood, especially for children 1 to 4 years old.

It’s important to also note the AAP does not recommend infants under the age of one begin swim lessons – only because no data supports that infant swim lessons reduce drowning risks. Infants often struggle to raise their heads above the waterline, increasing the risk of injury or drowning while learning to swim.

Of course, it’s OK to let your infant into a pool with supervision, so long as they’re wearing an appropriately sized infant life jacket.

It’s also important to remember that every child will learn to swim at a different pace – and some kids may simply not be ready for lessons until they’re at least age 4. It’s best to introduce your young one to the idea of swimming and observe how well they handle simply being in the water. Let’s dive into the specifics of learning.

How Do You Teach Children To Swim?

Follow these best practices to make the process of learning to swim as safe, fun, and productive as possible.

First, Go Over Important Rules

Before your child enters the water for the first time, go over the most important safety rules with them:

·         Never swim alone

·         Follow all the pool rules, always

·         Always wear a life jacket in deep water

·         Stay away from pool drains and filters

·         Never run around or play near the pool’s edge

Always ask for your permission before getting in the water

Introduce Your Child to The Water at a Standing Depth

With the rules and safety bits covered, introduce your child to the shallowest part of the pool, ensuring they’re at a depth wherein they can stand comfortably with their head above the waterline.

Kiddie pools work best, but if one isn’t available, start at the steps of the shallow end of the pool. Encourage your child to splash, play, and get comfortable with water on their face and upper body. Once they’re comfortable in the water, encourage them to kneel and sit in the water, keeping their head above the water.

Have Your Child Blow Bubbles in the Water

Getting your child more comfortable with their face and head being submerged at the waterline is critically important before continuing further. Encourage them to hold their breath, submerge their mouth in the water, and blow bubbles just below the surface.

After practicing the activity and getting comfortable with partial submersion, explain to your child the concept of holding their breath and submerging their head under the water. Remember to make sure they’re comfortable and confident – and take a pause if they’re uncertain or apprehensive.

Once they’re ready, have your child practice holding their breath while their mouth and nose are just below the waterline. Slowly graduate to having them submerge their eyes and ears, and eventually their head, below the water. Your child should start off holding their breath for just a few seconds at a time, before increasing the length of time they remain submerged to a longer but comfortable limit.

Teach Your Child to Float on Their Back

Once they’ve mastered standing and sitting in the pool and holding their breath with their head below the water, support your child by the waist and encourage them to tuck their feet up and off the floor of the pool. You can now introduce them to the concept of floating and buoyancy.

Your child should first learn to float on their back. Support your child’s head with both hands while they learn to rotate their body onto their backside and float on the surface.

Encourage slow, steady breathing while they float, and get them used to having their ears submerged for longer periods of time. It’s always a good idea to have your child wear ear plugs; this will significantly reduce the chances of developing painful Swimmer’s ear.

(Take Breaks Between Practicing These Steps)

It’s important to keep the process of learning to swim fun for your child. Remember that it will take weeks to truly become confident swimming, so try not to push them too far, too fast. Take plenty of breaks between these different tasks. Once your child masters one step, give them a life jacket and let them have fun just paddling around the pool. Keeping things lighthearted and paced slowly will, in fact, get your kid swimming confidently, quicker.

Advance to Treading Water

It’s important your child masters being able to float on their back before advancing – it’s required for them to be able to safely rest in between bouts of practice during this next important step: Treading water.

Before allowing your child to practice treading water unassisted, have them learn to kick their legs and paddle with their hands while wearing a life jacket. They should get confident coordinating their limbs to generate enough lift in the water, without getting tired quickly.

Once they’ve gotten confident with kicking and paddling, remove the life jacket and simply hold your child by the waist while they get used to treading without a flotation device. For extra safety, have your child practice treading close to a depth where they can stand.

While they practice treading water, remind your child to occasionally hold their breath, submerge their head, and practice bobbing above and below the waterline. They should be confident occasionally doing this while treading water – otherwise, your child risks tiring themselves trying to keep their head above water too often, and they could inhale water.

Finally, Practice Basic Strokes

The last skill to build with your child is the classic doggie paddle – it’s finally time to get them moving confidently around the pool! The doggie paddle is the best swim stroke to teach first, because it requires relatively little extension and provides good stability. It’s also the least tiring stroke, and it requires a leg kick that’s similar to treading water.

Once your child is able to doggie paddle ‘round the pool, they will likely benefit most from taking lessons with an instructor to further hone their skills. An instructor’s recommended for learning more advanced swim strokes – but always remember to keep the art of swimming fun and paced appropriately, and don’t forget the safety tips and rules above.