How to teach a child to swim?

If you want to teach a child to swim, you can send him to a professional course, or you can take matters into your own hands. Here are some tips on the topic.

Although infants are not yet sufficiently developed to learn how to swim, there are some rules of their being in the pool

• Always hold the child in your arms.
• Make sure that the baby wears a swimming diaper so that urine and feces do not get into the water, as this will harm all people in the pool.
• The baby can drown in 2.5 centimeters of water in less than 30 seconds, so always watch the water level.
• Next to the pool should always be a first aid kit, as well as professionals who are able to provide first aid.

If your child does not know how to swim, first you need to teach him to stay on the water

If your child does not know how to swim, or if it does not work out very well, it must be taught to stay on the water in case of an emergency. If you teach him this, he can remain calm, keep his head above water, and also breathe, until someone rescues him.

When a child learns to stay on the water, he must learn to move his legs and blow bubbles

After the child learns this skill, you need to think about the following steps:

• How to let bubbles - so that he could get used to the fact that his face is in the water, and also that he does not swallow the water.
• How to move your legs - always with your feet straight, moving them in turn.

The best way to teach this child is to tell him to grab the edge of the pool and start moving his feet, keeping his head under water.

Do not teach a child to swim using inflatable devices

Although the inflatable devices keep their shape and always stay afloat, they can be blown away or burst, which is why your child may start to sink. All these devices give a false sense of security, so they can do more harm than good.

The child must first get used to the shallow part of the pool

When your child learns to blow bubbles and move his legs, he can get a set of new useful skills in the shallow part of the pool. Try to teach him:

• Dive into the water. Teach your baby to hold his breath for 5-10 seconds.
• Move from vertical to horizontal position without assistance. To do this, the child needs to use the skill that he acquired to stay on the water.
• Sliding. The child should push off from one wall of the pool to slip through the water to the opposite wall.
• Use coordinated hand and foot movements. First, hold the baby's torso in his hands so that he can learn to move one by one with his hands and feet, and after that he should combine this step with the previous one.

When your child can stay on the water and hold his breath, you can teach him more advanced skills

Now that your child can keep his head under water if necessary and hold his breath so that water does not get into the lungs or stomach, when he slips, while working with his hands and feet, he has the opportunity to learn more skills. Older children can hold their breath longer, so you can teach them:

• Swim underwater, plunging into the water and using the foot traffic to get from one edge of the pool to the other.
• Collect items from the bottom of the pool.
• Jump to the depth from the edge of the pool and float to the surface.
• Use specific movements with your hands.

When your child has learned everything he needs, he can begin to learn how to make specific swimming movements

When you teach the child swimming movements, make sure that he alternately works with his hands and feet. In the case of movements, when his face is under water, advise him to inhale between movements. When he learns movements on his back, he can breathe freely, since his face is not under water, but you should teach him to take a deep breath before he wants to roll over and continue swimming. In the process of learning to turn over, you can ask the child to push off from the edge of the pool, and then gradually turn over until it loses its acceleration, and begin to work with hands and feet.

Always remind about safety in the pool

Even if your child begins to swim confidently, constantly remind him that he should notify the adult that he is going to swim. He should never swim on his own, nor should he run near the pool.