Need tips on teaching kids to swim

[tigerlily]

Talk about off topic.

Anyway, I am hoping to teach my children (4 and 6 yrs) to swim this year, but I have little idea about how to go about it. I have these flotation devices that you can make less bouyant, and goes around the body so the arms are free. My daughter is kinda getting the hang of it, but my son is a bit fearful.

I'm going to look into swim classes, but we will be away for the 2 weeks in June. *sigh* UGH.

If anyone has any ideas please let me know.

[4Khan]

show them the motions out of water first.
keep em in the shallow end so they can always touch the ground with their feet. if they feel the need to spring up out of water in a panic they wont feel so overhwhelmed.

just keep going through the motion with them. practice showing them how to float by supporting them. each time you guys go in the water support them less and less when they feel comfortable.

Remind them that if they panic and splash about wildly that will help them sink. staying clam and focusing (hard as it is for little kids) is going to help their head stay out of the water...the rest should flow!

good luck! It took me a while to get the hand of swimming. I needed to work on my form...I bet your kids will do great!

[mlededee]

floaties!!!

or you can always use the technique my dad used to teach me. this involved him taking me into water too deep for me to stand in but that he could stand in, tossing me out away from him, holding his arms out and yelling, "SWIM!" and then as i would get closer to him he would keep backing up so i had to keep swimming/thrashing/drowning myself. wow was that fun--but i sure did learn how to swim in a hurry.

[tigerlily]

My son is waaayyyyy too hesitant in the water, although he's doing better. Neither one likes getting their face wet, much less going under water. *sigh* It's extremely frustrating.

Thanks gals for the help. I'm desperate at this point and willing to try ANYTHING!! As long as I don't let the little boogers drown, I'm good right?!

[wolfy-hound]

Generally 99% of mammals can swim. Take off the flotation that inhibits movement and let them play in the shallow end. Get them to race from one end of the shallow end to the other, being sure that the water is chest deep. They will begin to swim without realizing it and then you have swimming children.
Babies swim without much training, it is a natural movement. Dog paddling around is what they should do on instinct.
I never remember learning to swim. I just swam from a very very early age.
Also you can try using a floating ball to let them chase it around. A pool with a shallow and deep end would be ideal, sooner or later the toy will get out farther than one of them can stand.
Wolfy(I live on a pennisula, you gotta swim unless you go due north! LOL)

[ivylea77]

I used to teach swim lessons all throughout college and I don't plan on teaching my kids. They don't listen because its mom telling them what to do. However, if your kids are not as stubborn as mine then try these things:


1. they need to like getting their face wet. Have them blow bubbles in the pool or pretend they are making a speed boat noise. Practice going under then back up. Try hard not to let them wipe their eyes with a towel, just hands.

Play simple games in the shallow end getting used to getting wet. Wheels on the bus. Ring around the rosie etc...

2. Use a noodle. To many swim devices inhibit a child from doing a natural motion. A noodle or a mini board allow the child to float more freely and allow more natural motion. Hold the noodle under the arms to try doggie paddle or front stroke. Hold the kickboard straight out to practice kicking.

3. Make sure they practice floating. This is a life saving thing to know.

Anymore just PM me. I teach health and PE and have taught swim lessons forever

[Ironhead]

floaties!!!

or you can always use the technique my dad used to teach me. this involved him taking me into water too deep for me to stand in but that he could stand in, tossing me out away from him, holding his arms out and yelling, "SWIM!" and then as i would get closer to him he would keep backing up so i had to keep swimming/thrashing/drowning myself. wow was that fun--but i sure did learn how to swim in a hurry.

Im not so sure that I would use this tecnique myself, but it is basically the same way that myself and two brothers were taught how to swim. Only difference is my dad would be standing up on the pier and would toss us in and yell, "Now Swim back, your not gonna drown". Well, we are all alive to talk about it. lol My kid's pretty much taught themselves how to swim while we would be somewhere fishing. I would just keep an eye on them while they were at the shallow end of the pond thrashing around until they were swimming on their own. Worked for them.

[tigerlily]

Thank you everyone. I am going to try some of this today. I just mentioned no floaties and my son freaked, so I will try and make his floatie as useless as possible. That way he still has it, but it's not doing the work for him. We'll also try the noodle thing too. I'll let you know how it goes, and any other hints/tips are WELCOMED!!

[CTReptileRescue]

Swimming is the best, I have always been in the water, last week when the weather broke we hit the rope swing after mountain biking.
Griffin (soon to be seven at the end of June) has been learning slowly but does pretty well. We never took him to lessons as we are always in a pond or river instead of a pool. I think the first thing I taught him was about undercrrents and not panicking. When he was five we floated together on our backs through some pretty rough water. (not deadly but strong enough currents to teach a child what to do in a bind). He learned about undertoes at a large waterfall, and is now loving the water. Might not have been the safest way to teach a child to swim, but Griffin has always had a way of rollig with the punches in his life.
Don't know if that helps, but let us know how they do.
Thanks
Rusty

[cornyballpython]

wich one is older? when my moms friend came over to our house to swim with her 3 and 6 y/old the older one was scared to go past the shalow line with a life jacket on haha and when his little brother when in the deep end with me it mad him get the corage to "beat" his brother