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How to Teach the Back Float: Mastery

If you’ve already read Stage 1 and Stage 2 of How to Teach the Back Float, you’ve almost finished teaching your kids this swimming skill. (If not, there’s no time like the present to check out those posts.) Here’s how to teach your kids to master floating on their backs.

Mastering the Back Float

As your child feels comfortable, gradually move your body so that you’re providing support only with your hands on his head. Don’t remove this support too fast. Your child’s first reaction to feeling insecure will be to try to sit up, which makes floating impossible.

The part of the face that should be sticking out during floating is really small. The water should come almost to the outer corners of the eyes. Once he feels comfortable floating without moving his body too much, have him focus on the position of his head and face. Ask him to concentrate on feeling the water lapping against his cheeks and touching his forehead and the outside corners of his eyes.

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How to Teach the Back Float: Stage 2

Once you’ve taught your kids the body position for the back float, you’re ready to move this swimming skill into the pool. Here’s how to teach the next stage of learning the back float.

The Second Stage of Teaching the Back Float

In the water, hold your child with his back to your chest, so that he feels strongly supported. Lower both of you into the water, keeping your child’s head touching your body his shoulders resting on your chest. Standing behind your child is useful, because his desire to see your face will help him to keep his head tilted back.

You can make your child more comfortable by using your shadow to cover his face while he’s learning to float. He won’t have to squint into a glare or turn to avoid it, and his tendency to try to see your face will help him to tilt his head back.

Often people tell kids to lift their bellies or hips when they’re trying to float. Instead, try telling your child to press his chest down. Make sure he keeps his head in line with his body. Lifting his head will make him sink.

Lifting any body part out of the water makes floating difficult or impossible. Try it yourself. Float on your back and see what happens if you lift your arm. It throws off your balance and decreases your buoyancy.

Have your child practice floating in the bathtub if he’s small enough.

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How to Teach the Back Float: Stage 1

People tend to think of floating as basic, but it takes a lot of practice. Even for adults, floating without moving is tough. Floating is about getting a feel for buoyancy and your body. For kids, who are less buoyant, it can be one of the hardest things to master. Here’s how to teach your kids to float on their backs.

First of all, remember that the back float can feel precarious for kids without much body fat. We’re most buoyant in the lungs, but even if the chest remains near the surface, the legs and lower body will tend to sink. The sinking feeling can cause kids to panic. It’s important to ease into teaching this swimming skill.

The First Stage of Teaching the Back Float

The back float is an ideal skill to practice on dry land. Most kids don’t like the feeling of being in the water on their backs. They tend to try to lift their heads and bend at the waist, which makes them sink. Practicing on land helps them to get a feel for what to expect of their bodies before they have to cope with the water. Have your child lie on his back on dry land and focus on keeping his shoulder blades and bottom touching the floor and his legs and arms relaxed. Have him tilt his head back so that his chin is pointing up.

Use the bathtub to help your child get used to the sensation of lying on his back in the water with the water over his ears. Have him lie on his back while the pool fills or drains and the water is just deep enough to cover his ears. Lie in the bath yourself with your child lying on top of you on his back. He’ll get used to the sensation of being buoyant and floating but feel completely supported by your body.

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Teaching Your Kids to Move Underwater

Once they have a feel for moving in the water and for breath control, most kids love to dive under the water. It’s fun and freeform and as close to being a fish as you can get. Here’s how to teach your kids to move underwater.

Moving Underwater: The first stage

Have your child stand in the pool in a spot where he can touch the bottom. Ask him to touch his toes. Next, drop sinking toys or coins and have him pick them up.

The Next Stage

Move to deeper water. Have your child hold onto the edge of the pool and try to pick up sinking toys or coins from the bottom.

Show him how to move his hands from his thighs into a palms-together position and then move them like an arrow into streamline position. Next, have him turn his hands so that his palms face away from each other, shape his palms into cups, and pull his arms out, with his elbows slightly bent, until his hands touch his thighs. Have him practice this motion out of the water and on the surface until he’s ready to use it to propel him to the bottom of the pool. At this stage, he can use a flutter kick.

Once he feels comfortable with his arm motions, have him try moving his legs like a frog to kick. He should bring his heels to his bottom and then kick both feet out to the sides with his ankles flexed. When his feet are extended to the sides, he can flick his feet like flippers to point his feet and bring the soles of his feet together, legs straight. Have him practice the movement while he’s lying on his stomach on dry land. The power of this kick comes from the flick of the ankles and the quickness of the return to straight legs.

And, Finally

Have him play with the movements. How would a fish move through the water? How about a frog? A dolphin? A whale? A shark?

Have him swim under water from one side of the pool to pick up a sinking toy or coin you’ve dropped on the bottom of the other side.