Posted on

Time to Play! Popup Breathing

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. Here’s a game that will help you teach your kids to breathe when they’re in the pool.

Sing “Pop Goes the Weasel” and have your kids pop up on the word “Pop.” Make sure to emphasize that their arms have to push down to make them pop up. Support your kids loosely around the waist between pops, and let them sing along or just listen to you. Really belt it out. Singing in the swimming pool is almost like swimming in the shower. Be loud!

Posted on

Teaching Popup Breathing: Stage 1

Being able to breathe at will in the water is a huge step toward water safety for kids. Until your child starts working on keeping his head in the water and turning it slightly to the side to take a breath, he’ll lift his whole head out of the water when he needs to breathe. Here’s how to teach your kids popup breathing.

Teaching Your Kids to Breathe in the Pool

In order to do popup breathing, your kids need to understand that to lift up out of the water they’ll push down with their arms.

Have your child sit on the steps so that the water is up to the tops of his shoulders. If this won’t work with the steps of your pool, hold your child gently around the waist and lower both of you so that the water reaches the tops of his shoulders.

Have him extend his arms in front of him and press down, cupping his hands. He should feel his body rise up while he’s pushing down and sink back down when he’s finished. Have him try doing it with his arms bent at different angles and with his fingers spread apart instead of closed. Discuss with him the effect the different ways he moves his arms and hands have on whether or how much his body moves up in the water.

Have your child practice pushing down with his arms, bringing his arms close to his body and lifting them up like arrows through the water, and pushing them down again. Discuss how making his arms like arrows going straight up through the water feels compared to the pushing down he’s been practicing. He should notice that it’s easier to move his arms through the water when they’re slicing through it like an arrow, and that his body barely moves when he uses his arms this way.

Have him practice this sequence repeatedly, so that he’s maximizing resistance while he pushes down and minimizing resistance while he brings his arms back to the surface. Have him push down, bring his arms to the surface, push down, and bring his arms to the surface several times without stopping. Discuss how that keeps his body lifted in the water.

Posted on

Time to Play! Gliding

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. This way of practicing gliding in the streamline or torpedo position is sure to make the whole family giggle.

Play catch with your gliding child as the ball. (You’ll need another adult for this one.) How far can the ball go? What kind of ball is he? Maybe he’s an arrow instead, or a javelin. Let him choose. Make a big deal out of the catch. Try not to tickle him too much, unless he likes it.

Posted on

Teaching Kids to Glide in the Pool: Mastery

Gliding in the pool in the streamline or torpedo position, your kids will learn to move through the water in a shape that makes their swimming most effective. Here’s how to teach the skill once you’re in the pool.

Teaching Your Kids to Glide in the Pool

First, practice the position on dry land. Now it’s time to get wet.

In the pool, have your child get into streamline position and then put his face into the water. Help him glide through the water by holding both of his hands and walking backwards.

Getting started moving is the hardest part. When your child is comfortable with having you tow him while he’s in streamline position, have him push off from the step or the side and glide into your arms. Gradually increase the distance of the glide.

Even when your child starts doing glides by himself, stay close, both for his safety and to make him feel secure and confident. Don’t have him try incorporating the kick yet.

Once he’s really comfortable gliding without moving his body, have your child push off from the edge in streamline position and begin to kick. Have him practice until he can move the width of the pool this way.

This skill is gratifying to teach and to learn. It’s the first swimming lesson that starts to look like real swimming, and it’s a huge step toward teaching your kids to be water safe.