You’ll have a head start when you’re teaching your kids to swim if you understand some underlying ideas about how kids learn in general. First, consider the four things that contribute to how fast and how well your kids learn to swim.

Learning a skill has several stages. First, you have to think about it, or get the idea of what you’re learning. Next, you have to practice it until you can do it. Finally, you have to master it to the extent that you can not only do it without thinking but also adapt it to other situations. This process isn’t always smooth or sequential. Understanding each of these pieces can help you make the process effective, though.

Technique

Make sure your kids really understand what you’re teaching before they start to practice. Practicing something incorrectly is counterproductive. It pays to spend extra time on understanding how to do something right upfront, even if it means not practicing the skill. The right things done consistently and carefully are cumulative. It’s better not to practice than to drill doing the skill wrong.

Amount of practice

The more practice they get, the more quickly your kids will learn. They should practice only as long in one session as they’re able to perform the skill they’re working on correctly, as far as their physical development allows.

Consistency of practice

Frequent, short practice sessions yield better, more lasting results than infrequent marathon sessions.

Attitude

If your kids are having fun and looking forward to each lesson, they’ll learn faster and better.