Teaching A Child To Swim - Day 4

by Chante

Welcome to Day 4 of this 5 Day series of posts entitled "5 Days of Teaching Your Child To Swim".

After your child learns to float on their front as well as their back, they are ready to try kicking.

My son started experiments with kicking very early in his learning. He would try to get from one side to the other any way he could. He realized early on that moving forward in the water wasn’t too hard. It did take him a while to get the hang of alternating his kicking, but once he got moving with it, he was so happy!

Teaching kicking may seem like it’s not so hard, but it can be challenging to the child that doesn’t feel comfortable in the water. The child may be so concerned about going under the water that he can’t focus properly on how to move his legs effectively in the water.

You can first try to have your child simply sit on the edge of the pool and let their legs dangle in the water. Then just tell your child to move their legs up and down, in and out of the water. You can do this movement as a drill and increase the time you have your child kick.

After getting used to kicking while sitting, your child can get in the water and hold onto something and practice kicking. The edge of the pool was a favorite place for my more anxious son to practice. This is where a kick board is perfect as a teaching aid. Your child can get used to propelling themselves around the pool all on their own! You should stay close by just in case they need you to help in any way.

The goal is to work with your child at their pace so they can get used to moving themselves around the pool.




Tomorrow we will talk about teaching your child to Doggie Paddle.

Teaching A Child To Swim - Day 5

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