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Part 2: Introducing Children Under Two to Swimming
1. Check the water temperature. Infants require warm water, ideally between 85 and 92 degrees. If your pool isn't heated, you can try using a solar cover, which absorbs heat from the sun, to warm the pool.
2. Enter the water slowly while holding your child. You should introduce your child to the water gradually. Many people, adults and children, drown because they panic in the water. By slowly exposing your child to the water, you're helping them overcome that fear. This will help them stay calm when learning more advanced swimming skills.
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3. Make the experience fun. An enjoyable first time in the water will teach your child the joy of swimming. Play together with toys, teach them to splash, sing songs, and be attentive to make sure they are enjoying himself.
4. Introduce your child to the motion of swimming. Lock their arms around your neck while they're facing you and start walking slowly backwards.
5. Use your hands to guide their feet in a kicking motion. With some practice, your child will learn to start kicking in the water by themselves.
6. Help your child to learn to float. They can best learn their own sense of buoyancy by remaining still in the water on his back, but at this stage they are sure to need your support. The most important part of learning this skill is getting them to relax.
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7. Play a game of “superhero” to show them they can float in the water. Carefully holding your child around the belly and being certain to keep their head above the water, you can both pretend they are a superhero flying.
8. Describe and demonstrate floating. Seeing that you can float will reassure your child that it is possible. You should take a moment to describe that different parts of the body float better than others. Deeper breaths will make the lungs more buoyant, and the lower body usually sinks.
9. Teach the principle of floating with balls and balloons. Now that your child understands a little bit more about floating, have him get a sense for the buoyancy of other objects. Have your child push toys and other floating objects under the water and laugh with him as he makes bubbles and splashes.
10. Practice the back-float on dry ground. Children are often uncomfortable with the sensation of the unsupported feeling of the back-float in water. A common reflex is to lift the head and bend at the waist, which will cause your child to sink.
11. Do a tandem floating trial run. By resting your child’s head on your shoulder and holding him carefully, you can practice floating together. Sing a relaxing song together can have a calming effect in addition to other positive benefits of being skin-to-skin with your child.
12. Take your child under the arms with both of your hands while in the water. He should be in front of you in case he panics. Count down from three, exhaling lightly to blow on his face on the count of one. This will serve as a signal to your child that you are about to turn him on his back and will help prevent panic.
13. Turn your child gently onto his back as you exhale. Use your non-dominant hand to support his head, keeping it above water. Use the other to touch him in a reassuring way and offer support as necessary. He may squirm when placed in this position. Keep supporting him until he settles down.
When he calms, little by little, stop supporting his body while still holding his head. Allow him to float.
14. Respond appropriately to panic. If you are emotional, it might appear you are validating your child’s panic response. Use positive affirmations to restore clarity, saying things like, “It’s OK. I’m here. You have nothing to worry about.” Smile and laugh to show him everything is alright.
15. Dip your child's head in the water carefully. This will familiarize him with being underwater and diminish his fear of it.
16. Place your dominant hand on the child's back and your other hand on his chest. Count to three and gently submerge his head. Bring it back up immediately.
Use smooth motions. Jerky motions can hurt your child's neck.
Allow your child to rest before doing this again.
17. Remain calm. If you are clearly nervous or scared, your child will believe the water is something to fear. At this stage, you want to stay positive and show him that he doesn't have to be afraid of the water.
18. Supervise your child at all times. At this early age, your child can't swim independently. You should always be in the pool with him at this
In this second part, I discussed how to motivate and introduce children under two years old to swimming. The steps to follow are as follows.
Artemus Vazhui