What Every Child Should Know How to Do in the Water

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singing during swim lessons

It is important for all children to know how to do some very basic things in the water and around the pool. These are the five at the top of the list:

  1. Safely get in and out of the pool
    This may “loosen up” a bit when they are older, but when they are very young, it is very important that they know the safest ways to get in and out of the pool. Sitting down to get in and using the easy elbow-elbow-belly-knee method for getting out are the best ways for the littlest swimmers to enter and exit the pool. They can do these things confidently without your help.
  2. Float on their backs
    Because it can be life-saving, this is a critical skill for a young swimmer to learn. If a young swimmer tires, they need to know how to keep their faces out of the water and get to the side of the pool by doing a back float. If they have this skill, they will be more confident about being away from the side of the pool.
  3. Tread water
    Treading water is not only important to know because it can save your life, but it is also a convenient skill to use when water gets too deep for standing. When children first venture far enough from the pool’s side to get into deep water and can’t touch the bottom, they feel like they’ve lost control. But not if they know how to tread water!
  4. Swim forward
    Even if a child knows how to do the dog paddle, it is important to teach them a “real” swim stroke that actually helps them to move themselves forward in the water. Once learned, moving forward with strokes in the water are skills that stick and provide the child’s foundation for learning other strokes.
  5. Go underwater
    This may be the most gradually learned of these skills because it takes some children time to get comfortable with it. But be persistent because it is critical that they learn to put their heads in the water. As they learn this, they become safer and safer in the water because their risk of swallowing water is greatly reduced. It actually becomes second nature for them to close their mouths when they go underwater. Being able to do this is a confidence builder too.

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