Teaching a kid basic swimming skills can save his life. The American Red Cross stresses the importance of learning swimming and states that nearly 50 percent of people surveyed said they had near-drowning experience in their lives. Introducing children to the water is important, but you always must supervise them at all times. Teaching your children the basic skills to give them confidence in the water is a first step to learning swimming. As kids mature, joining a swim team helps teach correct technique and build skills that they keep for life.
Step 1
Go to a local pool, and enter the shallow end with your kid. She might already be comfortable in the water, but encourage her if she is hesitant. Jump up and down in the water and tell your student to accompany you. Loosen up and get the feel of moving up and down. Walk across the width of the pool in water that is about waist deep for your kid. Repeat, increasing your stride and adding some bounce to your steps.
Step 2
Stand in water that is chest deep for your child. Put your face under the water and blow the air in your lungs out through your nose, making bubbles. Challenge your kid to do the same thing. Repeat the process, this time rotating your head so that you move your face from facing the bottom of the pool, to facing the side of the pool as you breath the air out. End up with your mouth above the surface of the water. Inhale. Challenge your kid to imitate you.
Step 3
Stand with your kid at the pool wall. Push off the wall forcefully and extend your body in a streamlined position, facing toward the bottom of the pool. Ask your kid to do the same, and to see how far he can go in one glide. Tell him to breathe in deeply, and blow the bubbles out slowly as he glides. Repeat the push off and glide trying to get as far as possible across the pool. Repeat the exercise, this time including the head rotation with the glide.
Step 4
Start at the pool wall again, and push off from the wall. Push off on to your side this time, though, and streamline or stretch out so that you body is perpendicular to the bottom of the pool. Watch your child perform the side push-off exercise. Supervise your kid and instruct him to perform the side push-off again, this time moving his above-water arm from its position at his side forward to take a stroke and propel himself. Repeat the exercise, switching sides.
Step 5
Combine the alternate-side push-offs and arm pulls to complete one full stroke cycle. Grab a kick board and perform a freestyle or scissors kick. Kick side by side with your kid. Repeat the glide exercise and include the kick. Continue the exercises until your kid feels comfortable with the basic stroke mechanics.
Tips and Warnings
- Visualizing moving through the water smoothly sometimes helps technique. Tell your kid to imagine that she is a shark or a torpedo. Talk with your child and determine his interest level. Seek out professional coaching and swim lessons if you are not an expert. Good technique is important to learn early.
- Never leave a child unsupervised in the pool, especially in deep water. Learning swimming should be a relaxed and fun experience. Never push your kid beyond his comfort zone, or make negative comments. Use nose clips and goggles if water causes irritation or discomfort.
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