Kids love water! They will not only splash the water around, but they will also fall in love with swimming! To be a perfect swimmer, there are different lessons you can teach your kids including water safety, basic swimming skills and a passion for all aquatic animals. Below are some of the simple and fun activities that will help your child take the first independent strokes in water. They are helpful to teach kids as young as 18 months how to swim. Now, let us get started!
1. Talk to the fishes
This is done by allowing your child blow bubbles in the water. After this, ask your kid to listen to the pretend response by placing his ear in the water. This great course will allow your child to control his breath. It is the first step to teach swimming to your kid independently. Encourage your kid to be perfect as swallowing water accidentally can be a frightening setback.
Tip: To do this easily, make sure your child come up with a smile on the face when your child submerges his or her face and blows bubbles in water. You must do this too to show your child the fun part of it.
2. Motorboat front float
This should be done by holding the arms of your child securely, facing you. When this is done, start walking backward through the water. As you are walking backward with a little speed, the water will push your child into a front float position. Whirl slowly in a circle and chant “Motorboat, Go So Fast – Motorboat, Go Slow.” Lastly, chant “Motorboat, Step on the Gas!” You can either encourage your child to kick his or her feet or blow bubbles. This is done to make your kid comfortable in a horizontal swimming position.
Tip: Hold your child fast as he gets accustomed to the front float position so that his or her extended hands are around the back of your neck. In addition to this, help your child stretch his or her legs. This will make your child look as if they are taking a nap on the surface of the water.
3. Catch the fishes
Before you get started, make sure the pool you are using is at your child’s waist to chest, and both of you should stand to face each other or sit next to each other. After this, ask your child to try to catch fishes with his hands. Ask your child to perform a front-crawl-like arm stroke. This can be done by reaching their arms up in the air and inserting it into the water, pulling the water toward them as if there are fishes in the water that your child is drawing toward their body. This will teach your child to get used to arm action, which is important in swimming.
Tip: This must be done with both fingers together to prevent the fishes from escaping between his fingers.
4. Red light, green light
Sit beside your child on a shallow step of the pool. However, if your child is old enough, ask him or her to hold onto the side of the pool while facing the wall. The colours of these lights give different orders. While the green light will make your child kick as if crazy, red light means stop and the yellow light means kick slowly. This will teach them kicking and propulsion.
Tip: Allow your kid to make use of their toes – this will help propel them through the water.
To be safe, make sure your child always ask for permission before entering the water. They should not go to the pool when it is restricted and not when in use. Some rules like no running on the deck and no horseplay should be taught to your child. You should always hire a professional lifeguard if you are hosting a pool party.
