Bathing fun: How children learn to swim

Getting used to the water

First of all, the child should get used to the water. So it loses its fear of water. At the beginning, it is enough to simply put the child in the shower or in the bathtub and allow him to rinse himself off with the gently adjusted shower. Is the child already a little bigger? Then you can also go into the swimming pool together and walk through waist-high water. Splashing each other wet is not only twice as much fun – it also gets the child used to having water on their face.

Dive like a submarine

Once the fear of the water has been defeated, the diving training begins. When swimming, it will inevitably happen that the head gets under water. To ensure that the child does not panic in such a case, the Red Cross advises that it is essential to learn to dive before starting swimming. This works quite well at the beginning with the following exercise: The child looks at the surface of the water and looks at his face there. In the next step, the head goes closer and closer to the surface until finally the reflection has disappeared and the whole face is in the water. Another exercise suggested by the Red Cross is the submarine: First, everyone jumps on the spot until one gives the command and everyone jumps high into the air – before diving into the water. For example, by crouching down. The diving training can then be gradually expanded, up to diving for rings at the bottom of the pool.

Free floating

The water is no longer scary and diving is already working great? Wonderful! Then the next step is to float in the water. The purpose of the whole thing is basically to convey the property of water to the children, so that they get a feeling for buoyancy. To do this, the child lies stretched out in the water, face down, and mom or dad pulls it through the pool by the hands. Of course, it’s even funnier if you approach the exercise in a playful way and the parents mimic a tow boat, for example.

And now alone …

In the next step, we try the whole thing without the help of the parents: The child squats down with outstretched arms and pushes itself forward from the ground so that it floats over the surface of the water in a prone position. It’s fun, isn’t it?

How does the frog do?

Also done? Wow! Then we can now continue with the swimming movements. First of all, only the legs: They are stretched out in the starting position. Now the heels are pressed together and pulled up to the buttocks. In the next step, turn your feet outwards and stretch your legs to the side and back. You may have noticed that it looks a bit like a frog. Frogs, by the way, are excellent swimmers. Finally, bring the outstretched legs together again at the front and pull them towards the buttocks. In the beginning, you can also practice this while sitting. You don’t even need a swimming pool for that. This can also be done wonderfully in the evening in bed saying goodnight. Later, you can venture into the pool and repeat the exercise in the water while holding on to the edge of the pool.

The arm movement

What is still missing? That’s right, the poor ones. This can also be practiced comfortably in bed or standing in the water. The arms are fully extended and the palms of the hands touch. Next, the palms of the hands are folded outwards and the arms are spread apart as if to push the water away. Now: pull your elbows back and bring the palms of your hands together again in front of your chest. Finally, stretch out your arms again and repeat the whole thing.

Who is swimming like a fish?

Last but not least, now everything together. For the first attempts at swimming, an aid such as a swimming noodle can be quite useful. Simply place it on the flotation device and do exactly what you have learned. Congratulations, you’re swimming!