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Time to Play! Blowing Bubbles

Kids learn by playing. The more you can make learning to swim fun for your kids, the more they’ll like it, the quicker they’ll learn, and the more fun you’ll have teaching them. One of the first steps of teaching your kids to swim is to help them learn to blow bubbles.

Blowing bubbles helps kids get used to having their faces in the water and learn to control and be aware of their breath. A game you’ve probably already played a million times can help your kids learn to blow bubbles, and you don’t need a pool to play it.

On land, practice blowing raspberries on each other’s tummies. It’s simple, it’s fun, and it helps kids who haven’t gotten used to putting their faces in the water get a good grasp of what they’ll be doing with their bodies. They’ll be able to practice the new thing—putting their faces in the water—after having mastered the blowing part.

Your ability, as a parent, to play games and practice skills on land that apply to swimming give you a huge advantage when you’re teaching your kids to swim. Your kids will be learning skills they’ll use in the pool without even realizing it, and you’ll all be getting tummy raspberries. What could be better than that?

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5 Common Feelings That Affect How Kids Learn to Swim

The sensory experience of being in the water, as well as emotional associations, leads to a range of feelings your child might have about swimming. Be on the lookout for emotional distress that you can soothe and for opportunities to motivate your child. What are the five most common feelings you can expect to crop up when you’re teaching your kids to swim?

5 Common Feelings That Affect How Kids Learn to Swim

Fear

It’s never too early to help your child feel comfortable in the water. Younger kids—three and four years old—are less fearful than older kids—seven or eight years old—who are being introduced to the water for the first time.

Where does the fear come from?

  • Fear of drowning can come from experience—like having slipped under the water in the tub for a moment—or from peers or the media.
  • Fear can come from feelings of being out of control, confused or uncertain, powerless, or unsupported in the water.
  • Fear can come from picking up parents’ own fear, worry or concerns.
  • For some kids, new things are scary.

Being afraid is reasonable. Until your child has the skills of water safety, the water is a dangerous place. That’s the whole point. That’s why he needs to learn to swim.

Many actors feel stage fright before a performance. A common tool for getting past this fear is to reframe it as excitement. You can help your child by using this technique. Understand the fear. Address it. Reframe it as excitement.

First, talk to your child to try to isolate the reason for the fear. Next, address his concerns. If he’s afraid that he’ll slip and swallow water, explain that you’ll be holding him and won’t let that happen. If he fears the unknown, explain to him what to expect once he’s in the water, from how it will feel to what you’ll be doing and how long you’ll do it.

Once you’ve addressed his concerns, point out the physical signs of fear that he might be experiencing: increased heart rate, fast or shallow breathing, shivers, tension, a rush of adrenaline. All of those are things that also happen when you’re excited. Have your child focus on what he’s feeling in his body and how he’s felt those same things when he’s been excited about something. Associate the two feelings. It’s hard to stay afraid when you’re aware that your body is responding the same way it does when you wake up on the morning of your birthday party.

Anger

Your child might be angry at being forced to do something he doesn’t want to do. He might feel anger about feeling afraid. He might feel anger in the form of frustration about not being able to physically control his body in the water as well as he’d like to be able to.

If he’s angry at being forced to do something he doesn’t want to do, give him as many choices as possible. “Would you like to go swimming and then to the park or to the park and then swimming?” or “Would you like to swim for fifteen minutes or for twenty minutes?”

If he’s angry about feeling afraid, help him to express the anger and then address the fear.

If he’s frustrated about not having the same degree of control over his movement in the water as he does on land, remind him that it took a lot of practice to learn to walk and to learn to run. Tell him funny stories about those early days. Scale back the skill you’re working on to give him a break from the frustration and an opportunity to enjoy practicing something that he’s already competent doing.

Happiness

Spending time playing in the water with your parents in the warm sun is fun. Don’t gloss over the joy you and your child can share because you’re in a rush to get to the next skill. The spaces between learning new things will be filled with the laughter that becomes memories your child will carry with him for the rest of his life.

Security

Your child will rely on you to set the tone for your time in the pool. If you feel confident and if you provide physical and emotional support, your child will feel secure. That sense of security will make him receptive to what you’re trying to teach and will color his longterm feelings about swimming and the water.

Pride

As your child’s efforts pay off and he learns new things and masters new skills, he’s likely to feel proud. Help to encourage and validate that feeling. Talk about how well he’s doing to other adults in front of him. Give him a forum for sharing that pride.

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3 Critical Ways to Use Your Awareness of Your Kids’ Bodies When You’re Teaching Them to Swim

Understanding your kids’ bodies and how they experience the water is one thing. How do you put that knowledge to use? Here are three critical ways to use your awareness of your child’s body and sensory experience to fulfill his physical needs.

3 Critical Ways to Use Your Awareness of Your Kids’ Bodies When You’re Teaching Them to Swim

Be on the Lookout for Physical Discomfort

Physical discomfort can crop up quickly. Remember that your child’s body composition makes him more susceptible to cold. He’ll be less likely to pace himself and may suddenly be very tired. Watch for signs that he’s hungry, thirsty, or has an upset stomach from swallowing water or air. Give him frequent opportunities to burp if he needs to. Be aware of possible discomfort in his ears, and be sure to dry them thoroughly when he gets out of the water.

Deal with Hunger after Swimming

If you haven’t already, read the post on why swimming makes you hungry and how to deal with it.

Give Your Child Plenty of Recovery Time

It’s important for your child’s body and mind. Make sure your child gets rest—whether he wants it or not—after a strenuous session in the pool.

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    The 6th Sense You Need When You Teach Your Kids to Swim

    All five of your kids’ physical senses are being bombarded while they’re learning to swim. In order to help them understand their physical experience, you’ll need a sixth sense. ESP? Nope. Something you already have.

    Empathy. Imagine your child’s experience of the water. It’s different from his experience on the land in almost every way.

    Kids’ Sensory Experience of Swimming

    The experience of swimming is dramatically different than the experience of being on dry land for all five senses.

    Sight

    Things look weird underwater, and the water feels strange on your eyes. Goggles help if your child is uncomfortable with these sensations.

    Hearing

    Your child can’t hear well underwater. Sound is muted. The feeling of water getting into his ears and draining out is strange.

    Smell

    Chemicals that keep the water in the pool fit for swimming can also be hard on kids’ noses. For the first ten minutes in the pool, until the awareness of the smell fades, a strong smell of chlorine can be distracting and unpleasant.

    Taste

    Swallowed pool water won’t taste like the water your kids are used to drinking at home.

    Touch

    The impact of the water on the other four senses is nothing compared to its impact on touch. It’s a bit of a cheat to call touch the fifth sense, because it’s much more than just the feel of the water on skin.

    • Weight: The feel of the water on his body is much heavier than the air he’s used to. The extra pressure on his body can feel confining.
    • Balance: The way his body balances in the water is different than it is on the land. It will make him feel less coordinated than he does on land.
    • Body Position: His body position is different in the water. On land, we’re used to aiming for an upright orientation. In water, horizontal is ideal. You can practice the idea of horizontal on land by having your child crawl or roll on the ground, just to remind him that he’s experienced this position and what it feels like.
    • Movement: Moving through the water feels different. The water resists more than air, so it’s harder to move through it. On land, our legs do most of the work moving our bodies around. In the water, our arms and torsos do most of the work.
    • Breathing: Breathing in the water is different. On land, your child doesn’t have to pay attention to the position of his head or the timing of his breathing. He just breathes whenever he needs to. In the water, he has to be aware of timing and position or risk getting a big gulp or snort of water.
    • Metabolism and heat loss: His body will lose heat faster—up to 25 times faster—in the water than it does on land. Even if he’s wearing a wet suit, he’ll be starting to cool off from the moment he gets into the water.

    How Your Kids’ Sensory Experience Affects How You Teach Them to Swim

    Pay attention while you’re teaching them. If it looks like they’re experiencing sensory overload, give them a break.

    After they get out of the water, their brains will still be analyzing and creating a cohesive understanding of their time swimming. Rest and recovery time are important for your kids’ sensory and mental processing of their experiences in the water. Make sure to give them plenty of unstructured play and rest time out of the pool to process. Even when you’re not in the pool, they’re working on learning to swim.