I am a mother of five who runs a successful swim school and am certified to teach babies from six months old how to save themselves should they fall in a body of water. They can swim, roll on their backs and float then roll back on their stomachs and swim.
Swimming is serious business and as an instructor, I treat it as such. As a parent, it also allows me to be able to go to the beach or pool with my children and not sit on the edge of my chair holding my breath worrying about their swimming skills.
How did we as parents make our kids enjoy the water so much?
Here are a few tips I have learned over my eighteen years running the Oakville Swim Academy:
Make It Positive
Your main teaching tool is positive reinforcement. Applaud your kids and tell them what a great job they are doing. Incorporate Hi 5’s and hugs whenever they’re in the water or learning a new skill.
Make Swimming Fun
Not all kids like the water and will show their displeasure by screaming and crying. But that can change with how a parent reacts to the behaviour. When a child is attending their swim lesson and looks to mom and dad for reassurance, have a smile on your face and tell them what a great job they are doing and how proud you are of them. They will feed off your positive energy and be willing to do more.
Invest In A Good Pair Of Goggles
Most children don’t like to get their face wet. Kids that wear goggles learn to swim sooner and better than kids that don’t. Putting their face in the water is a needed step to swim efficiently with proper body position. Plus they can look at everyone’s toes (and everything else under the water) making the lesson fun.
Get Comfortable
Try to get kids comfortable on their backs as early as possible. As a Pediaswim Instructor, I teach babies how to roll over onto their backs and float. They learn to relax and trust that the water will support them. Children that can float have a better sense of the water and how they move in it making them very comfortable and confident.
Learn The Skills
Lifejacket and floaters teach improper body position but even worse, give kids a false sense of security. Remember, if a child falls in the water unattended, they don’t have a lifejacket on. Stay close to your child in the water but let them learn to develop their skills.
The Sooner The Better
Swimming is a fun activity that promotes good health but always remember, it is also a life skill. Don’t wait too long to introduce your kids to water.
This article is proudly sponsored by our friends at Huggies® Little Swimmers®. With Huggies® Little Swimmers® Disposable Swimpants your little one won’t swell up like a beach ball in the water! They make it easy to make any day a pool day.
Printer-friendly version