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Teaching Your Kids to Get into the Pool: Stage 1

Your goal for teaching your kids to get into the pool is for them to be able to get into the pool safely by themselves. It seems simple enough to sit on the edge and hop in when you’ve been doing it for years, but your approach to this first step in learning to swim will make a difference in how your kids view the whole process. Here are specific steps for teaching your kids.

Your kids will get into the pool either by using the stairs or pool ladder, by sitting on the edge of the pool and lowering themselves in, or by standing on the edge and jumping into the pool, assuming it’s at least five feet deep.

Initially, though, you’ll be providing lots of physical and emotional support. As your child becomes more comfortable, you’ll gradually remove that support and give him more independence.

Stage 1 of Teaching Kids How to Get into the Pool

Start by getting into the water with your child. You should work on this in water that’s shallow enough for you to feel securely balanced and not too buoyant when you stand, around three to four feet deep.

Have your child sit on the edge of the pool. Sit next to him. Keeping one hand on your child to make sure he’s secure, lower yourself into the water.

Turn to face him, move your body close to the edge of the pool so that your body is just touching his legs, and grasp his waist firmly but gently with your hands. Reassure him that you have a firm grip. Lift him and hold him against your body.

Initially, having lots of body contact will help your child feel secure. He’ll feel most secure if his whole body is touching yours. Eye contact will also help your child feel secure. Hold your child close to your body.

Practice the first stages of feeling the water and holding onto the wall and getting out before moving on to the next stage.

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Swimming Skills: What to Teach When

When you’re teaching your kids to swim, you need to start with the simple and work toward the complex. How do you break down the complex act of swimming into simple parts that build on each other?

Simple. Help your child to master the skills in this order. Each of the following skills provides a basis for the skills that follow it. Working through the skills in this order will allow your child to feel confident and achieve competence at each stage of the learning process. Starting with the next post, I’ll provide detailed how-to’s for teaching each skill.

Teach Swimming Skills in This Order

  • Getting into the pool
  • Feeling the water
  • Holding onto the wall and climbing out
  • Blowing bubbles
  • Putting his head under water
  • Kicking
  • Gliding in streamline or torpedo position
  • Popup breathing
  • Body shape and position
  • Treading water
  • Moving underwater
  • Back float
  • Rudimentary crawl and backstroke
  • Turning his head to breathe
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Time to Play! Kicking

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. Kicking is a critical swimming skill. Although it doesn’t provide much power, it’s important for stability. When you’re teaching your kids to kick, you can get a leg up by playing this game on land.

Have your child sit in a chair and hold onto the edge with his hands. Have him extend his legs and see how fast he can kick. How slow. How straight he can keep his legs. Are his ankles flexible? Is he flipping his feet like he’s trying to flick his shoes off?

Now try it in the water.

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9 Tips for Being Attuned to Your Kids When You’re Teaching Them to Swim

When you’re teaching your kids to swim, the most effective lessons will be the ones driven by their needs and readiness. Here are nine tips for being attuned to your kids and their needs when you’re teaching them to swim.

Tips for Staying Tuned into Your Kids in a Swimming Lesson

1.   Do check in frequently to see how your child feels.

2.   Do help your child reframe nervousness about the swimming lesson as excitement.

3.   Do watch your child practice swimming skills and respond to his needs.

4.   Do observe your child for signs of fatigue or cold.

5.   Do stop the swimming lesson if your child gets tired or cold.

6.   Do acknowledge it, empathize, and move on, if something scary—like swallowing water—happens.

7.   Do switch to a different approach or to a different swimming skill if your child gets frustrated.

8.   Do be aware of when your child needs you to give more support when you’re teaching or back off and let him try things independently.

9.   Do help, if you’re not sure whether your child needs help.