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Part 3: Teaching Children Ages 2-4
1. Introduce your child to the water if new to the experience. You can do this in the same fashion described for children under two. Help him overcome his initial fear and get him comfortable in the water. Once he is at ease, you can move on to some more advanced lessons.
2. Teach your child the rules of the pool. At this age, your child should be able to understand what is and isn't allowed in the pool. Generally accepted pool rules include:
No running on the pool deck.
No horseplay.
Always wear proper swimwear that is appropriate for a public pool setting, such as a one-piece swimsuit for girls or swim trunks for boys.
Swim with a buddy and immediately alert a lifeguard or another adult if one suspects that their buddy is having a problem.
No diving except where explicitly permitted with a lifeguard present and the divers are fully confident in their own swimming abilities.
Stay away from drain covers and filters.
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3. Be clear that your child has to ask your permission before going in the pool. Most drowning cases under five result from inadequate supervision.
4. Explain swimming activities clearly before practice. At this age, your child can understand descriptions of swimming activities. If he is ready for something new, he is more likely to absorb the lesson if he is given brief instruction ahead of time.
Show the motions for swimming activities outside the water before getting in. You might want to address new sensations, like the sense of buoyancy that can be felt in the chest when floating, pressure in the ears, or the muffled quality of sound beneath the water.
5. Blow bubbles in the water. Have your child submerge just his lips in the water and blow bubbles. This will help him with breath control and help prevent swallowing water as he starts learning to go underwater.
If your child is hesitant, demonstrate this first. When you take your mouth out of the water, make sure you have a smile on your face. This will help show your child that there is nothing to be afraid of.
6. Play a bubble blowing game. Tell your child to talk to the fish, make a noise like a tractor, or blow as many bubbles as he can in the water. This makes the lesson fun while you teach your child a valuable swimming skill.
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7. Teach your child to swim by kicking. Stand facing your child. Hold his arms out in front of him. Then start walking backwards, having your child kick his feet as you move. Verbal cues like "kick, kick, kick, kick" can help your child remember this motion.
8. Teach your child to swim with his arms. This is a simplified, arms-only version of the freestyle, which is where you paddle with your arms while kicking with your legs. Have your child start by sitting on a pool step or ladder so the water is roughly up to his chest.
9. Have him start with both hands under the water and on his hips. He should extend one arm straight out of the water and bring it above his head.
10. Have him keep his arm straight above his head. He should bring it back to the water in a downward slapping motion, making sure he keeps his fingers together as he drives his hand into and through the water.
11. Have him pull his hand back to his hip after his arm reenters the water. Repeat this motion with the other arm. Direct him to use his arms like he would if he were really swimming.
12. Practice swimming in this way by playing "Catch the Fishies.” Pretend that with the circular motion of his arm he is catching a fish with the down stroke and pulling it toward a basket on his hip. Make sure he keeps his fingers together, so the fish don't escape.
13. Guide your child to the steps or ladder. Standing a few feet into open water, hold your child with one hand on his chest and one around his waist. Count to three and glide him through the water towards the steps or ladder.
While doing this, have him combine blowing bubbles, kicking his legs, and swimming with his arms. This will help him start using all the motions necessary for independent swimming.
14. Encourage your child to use the wall. Holding onto the wall is a good way for him to make his way back to the shallows and also helps teach him to maneuver on his own. It shows him a safe place he can use to stay afloat if he falls in the water, gets tired, or is scared.
15. Take your child underwater. Instead of just dipping his head under, you can now try to keep him under for a few seconds. This will teach him to hold his breath underwater. Make sure you tell him to close his eyes and mouth and hold his breath.
Remember to explain what you're about to do to avoid scaring your child.
Never put your child underwater unexpectedly. This will scare him and could make him afraid of the water.
16. Count to three and smoothly submerge him in the water. After two or three seconds, bring him back up. You can increase this gradually as your child gets accustomed to it.
If he seems hesitant, try counting to two or three to show him that he'll only be under the water for a very short time.
It may make your child more comfortable if you go under first. Remember to smile and laugh when you come back up so he knows there's nothing to be afraid of.
17. Allow your child to start swimming independently with a life vest. At this point, he has all the basic skills needed to start swimming; he just needs practice putting it all together. A life vest will allow him the freedom he needs to start combining all these techniques and swimming on his own.
18. Continue supervising your child whenever he is in the pool. Remember that even if your child is capable of swimming without you holding him, he should still never be left alone.
In this third part, I talked about how to teach children aged two to four years to swim.I hope you found it interesting to learn a lot of new information.
Artemus Vazhui