Time to Play! Treading Water

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. Treading water can be tiring and boring. Once your kids have got the idea, they’ll still need to practice. Here’s a simple game that turns treading water into fun for everyone.

When your kids are solid water-treaders, play catch while you’re all treading water. Don’t try this until they’re comfortable treading water for a minute or two without distraction. Take breaks whenever somebody gets tired or has a giggle fit.

This game is simple, but it’s challenging. It forces your kids (and you) to do the work with their legs. It distracts them from the boring part, because they’ll have to focus on the ball. It challenges you to make the game work: you need to throw the ball right to them, and you need to catch the ball no matter how far away from you they throw it. Not only is playing catch while treading water a great way for your kids to learn to be comfortable with the skill, but it’s also guaranteed to give you newfound appreciation for water polo players.

5 Ways You’ll Know Your Kids Are Water-Safe

Your goal is to teach your kids to be safe in the water. What exactly does that mean, though? How will you know that your kids are water safe?

What Water Safety Means

Being water safe means your kids have the skills they need to maneuver in the water with control and confidence. It’s not a guarantee that an accident couldn’t happen. Neither is having a driver’s license. It is a foundation that gives your kids what they need to swim with appropriate supervision in safe conditions.

Good indicators that your kids have gotten to this point are:

1. They can swim the width or length of the pool.

It’s easy for them to take breaths along the way whenever they need them.

2. They can tread water for at least three minutes in any depth.

Three minutes might not sound like very long, but give it a try yourself. If you haven’t mastered the fine art and form of treading, you’re likely to tire yourself out.

If your kids are good at treading water, though, their boundless energy will let them keep going a lot longer than you’d think possible—much longer than minimum of three minutes.

3. They can get into the pool by themselves easily.

Your kids should be able to get into the pool, either by jumping in from the side or from sitting on the edge. (Once your kids are swimming, the real trick is to keep them from soaking you with a cannonball every chance they get.)

4. They can get out of the pool by themselves easily.

This is a big one, because while even a great swimmer can’t tread water forever, it doesn’t take a great swimmer to get to the edge of the pool and get out. Your kids should be able to get out of the pool by grabbing the side and pulling themselves out or by swimming to the stairs or ladder and climbing out.

5. They can pick things up from the bottom of the pool.

This one indicator (that’s coincidentally a lot of fun) shows that your kids have mastered several critical swimming skills, including holding their breath underwater, moving effectively through the water, and surfacing.

    Celebrate water safety when you get there, but don’t ever underestimate the power of the water or let your kids swim without supervision.