Teaching a toddler to swim

[physmom]

We have access to a pool and have been taking DD.  She's starting to swim a bit or at least trying and we were wondering the best way to approach this?  Any tips/tricks/advice on how to teach a toddler to swim.  She LOVES the water (ironic because this is the same kid who HATES having her hair washed! ) and will even lay back sometimes and dip her hair in the water.  She's also started to work on blowing in the water and put her face into it some.  We might do swimming lessons eventually (they have some at her preschool starting at age 2.5 but she's still too young by some months) but in the meantime we want her to enjoy and just have some basic skills. 

[LeighPF]

I think you are on the right track. Play and play and introduce some really basic skills. Floating (including with her head on your shoulder), blowing bubbles, putting her face in. The Y lessons we did also worked on jumping in (count to three, jump from sitting on the edge of the pool), kicking while held by parents on front and back, and climbing out at the side of the pool deck.

[physmom]

Thanks!  I didn't think about the floating part so we'll try that out next time around.  DD's already VERY excited about jumping in the pool so maybe we'll try and encourage that more even though it freaks DH out!

BTW, do you guys use the floating things on the arms?  Is there any reason to use them or not to use them?

[heatheresc]

I'm somewhat opposed to floaties.  I grew up in Florida and my mom taught  my sibs and I to swim very young.  (I don't remember not being able to swim, from before a year.)  Anyways, she always said that they gave kids false confidence and were more of a hazard since children will rely on the floaties to keep them safe when they can't swim on their own...anyways, that's one perspective on the topic!  I've done one set of Y lessons with my 14 m.o. and plan to continue working this summer, with no floaties!

[sapphire_chan]

The floaties can also slip down on the wrists and force the child's hands up, which forces their head down. Very risky.

They also screw up the child's sensations of being in the water and make learning to swim more difficult, and after they come off, the child has to completely relearn everything.

(Information courtesy of a lifeguard mama here at MDC (I think her username is actually LifeguardMama or something =D ).)

[Zimbah]

We've got one of those swimming costumes with floats all round the middle for DD (2.5) - the kind where you can take out one or more floats as they get more confident.  We started off without, but I found as she's quite nervous in the water she found even walking in the shallow end of the baby pool difficult and would get upset.  Since we've had the costume it means she can walk around in the water feeling more secure.  On the down side, she really clings to me a lot in the pool and it's hard to hold on to her with this great big thing round her middle.

[brennan]

Right now we're working on confidence in the water mostly.  We get on those large floaty mats and she kicks and then blows bubbles in the water that's on the mat (she doesn't like putting her face in the full depth water, but is fine in the couple of inches on the mat).  We work on floating and getting in and out of the water.  

[lifeguard]

The best thing at this age is to play, play, play. Lots of splashing & jumping & enthusiasm.

Personally I feel that floaties, lifejackets, etc. are NOT helpful in the learning process. They tend to give the children a false sense of their abilities (meaning they can think they can swim when really they cannot) making them more dangerous around the water (more likely to take chances they shouldn't without them), they also give parents a false sense of security, they change how they float in the water that doesn't quite translate to swimming without & finally, many children become so attached to them that getting them to try anything in the water without them becomes very upsetting & difficult.

[JessieJune]

I agree that floaties aren't that helpful in learning to swim and like a PP said, can cause false confidence, etc.

That said, here's what I started doing with my DS when he was about 14 months:

holding him in the water on front and back,

encouraging kicking,

bubbles.

At 18 mo when he finally got the bubbles down:

started dunking him under the water

floating on back

He's 22 mo now and we are:

still working on kicking front and back,

floating on back with very little assistance

dunking his head under by himself

letting go of him when he can't touch and letting him kick to the surface

kicking to propel forwards (he can get maybe two feet before he starts sinking)

singing "wheels on the bus go round and round" while moving arms round and round ie doggy paddling

I would say the biggest thing is to keep it positive, take their lead (some days my son is very clear and says "no under" (meaning no underwater) and other days before we even get in the pool it's "more under!!"), and go with your gut about what is safe.

Good luck

[Mal85]

I was a lifeguard and taught swimming lessons for many years and I'm not completely opposed to floaties. It doesn't sound like your daughter really needs them though. She sounds very comfortable with the water and as long as you don't try to push her out of her comfort zone before she's ready, I would just run with what she's already doing. The floating thing can be scary for a lot of young ones, so I second the idea of letting her rest her head on her shoulder while the rest of her body floats up in the water. The important thing is for her to relax. You can't float when you're tense.

Personally, I think floaties can be great for kids are aren't comfortable in the water. With close supervision, of course. I wouldn't rely on the floaties to keep your kid safe, that's your job. My daughter loves the pool, but tenses up if she can't touch the bottom. So, the arm floaties have been great for her to learn how to trust the water. She totally relaxes when she's wearing them and actually swims quite well with them on... she could do it without them, but she doesn't trust herself that much yet, so I don't push it. I tried teaching a little boy one year who looooooved the pool, but for some reason he would totally tense up as soon as he was in the water. He'd jump in, he'd kick, he'd even go completely under the water. But when it came to floating, he'd sink like a bag of rocks he was so tense. He could have really benefited from some time with floaties to help him trust the water.

[physmom]

Thanks everyone for the responses and keep coming with those wonderful ideas of what to do with her in the water!  I think you guys have convinced me to drop the floaties. She's really comfortable in the water and always begging me to let her swim by herself so she definitely doesn't need it for confidence issues!  She can't actually touch the bottom in the pool because it's probably about 5 feet deep or even deeper all the way through.  There's a kids pool too but it's outdoors and not heated so it's too cold for that at the moment (we're approaching winter here). 

For those of you who helped your kids go underwater how did you do that?  I know if I just dunked her she would flip out.  But she's definitely curious about it and will talk about it a lot. I get the impression it's something she really wants to be able to do well but is also pretty nervous about.  We're working on blowing bubbles and remembering to keep her mouth closed...

[lifeguard]

For dunking some things to try:

-demonstrate going under yourself. Tell her how you are blowing bubbles while under the water. Make it a quick up & down but relaxed.

-create a routine for going under - I usually count to three & then under - again quick but relaxed. Remind her to blow bubbles.

-when she comes up be very positive. If she fusses some (& they often do the first few times) reassure her that it's ok, it's just water in her face. If she is sputtering some remind her she needs to blow bubbles.

It usually doesn't take too many tries before they start getting the idea of it.

You can also make jumping off the side (or going down a slide) progressively splashier until she is doing a brief under the water each time.

[missnoodlesmom]

My daughter (4.5) was such a quick learner when it came to swimming.  We would pass her easily 10 feet between my DH and I underwater at around 6ish months old.  It only went up from there - she could swim independently around 2 and at 4.5 is completely comfortable and confident in the water on her own.

My son (nearly 3) is having a lot more trouble getting comfortable and confident in the water.  He wants to wear his floaties all the time, although we only allow them when we are in deep water.  The YMCA that we go to has an olympic size baby pool that goes from 6 inches to 3.5 feet and we are going to work really hard on water confidence this summer.  He still hasn't mastered holding his breath when he goes under water either - some of this I think has to do with his adenoids being removed at 20 months - ever since then he chokes and splutters when he goes under water.  We aren't pushing him but I'm going to really focus on him this summer and hopefully it will get us somewhere.  My DD is in lessons this summer to learn all the strokes - I don't think lessons are worth the $$ until they are confident in the water because that part I can do myself!

[sapphire_chan]

My dd who hates having her hair washed because it gets her face wet, is fine with dunking with the ring around the rosy song. You go down and up on the "all fall down!" part. And you can go up to the chin first to see how your LO reacts.

[youngspiritmom]

My 26 month DS is in parent-child classes right now. We hold him and the class generally includes floating with his head on my shoulder, kicking, practicing his "scoopers" (arms), jumping in from the side on the count of three, and blowing bubbles and singing songs. He is doing pretty good but struggles with blowing bubbles. He makes an O with his mouth and INhales instead of blowing out. He doesn't drink the water, he just inhales it, holds it in his mouth for a sec, then blows the water out like a fountain. He thinks that is the point.

I want to dunk him but I am so afraid. He needs to master bubbles first, but even then...will he know to blow bubbles the whole time while he is under?

Also I feel bad that he's not a better swimmer. There is another girl in the class who is swimming basically on her own from one end of the pool to the other. I am shocked about people on this thread with two years olds who can swim. Should I have started sooner? What do I need to be doing?

[LeighPF]

Life jackets are a totally different category than floaties (which are toys). I think there is value in getting kids comfortable wearing a life jacket both in and out of the water and getting them to trust that it does work if they ever fell out of a boat etc. I grew up canoeing and we spent a lot of time playing around in life jackets.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by youngspiritmom 

My 26 month DS is in parent-child classes right now. We hold him and the class generally includes floating with his head on my shoulder, kicking, practicing his "scoopers" (arms), jumping in from the side on the count of three, and blowing bubbles and singing songs. He is doing pretty good but struggles with blowing bubbles. He makes an O with his mouth and INhales instead of blowing out. He doesn't drink the water, he just inhales it, holds it in his mouth for a sec, then blows the water out like a fountain. He thinks that is the point.

I want to dunk him but I am so afraid. He needs to master bubbles first, but even then...will he know to blow bubbles the whole time while he is under?

Why does he need to blow bubbles the whole time? The dunking is for getting used to being underwater. Blowing bubbles is primarily for getting his face wet in a more comfortable fashion and secondarily for preparing for the breathing patterns of facedown strokes like the crawl strokes.

Also, dunking starts out with going under for less than a second. =D Letting air out slowly is a skill after just holding his breath and going under until he was ready to come up for air.

As for kids swimming young, some kids just do. I think part of it is how the kid is balanced. DD can't do a doggy paddle because her head is on the large size and she has a really buoyant tushie so she tips right over like a duck going for a snack if I don't support her shoulders.

[physmom]

Ok, I seriously need to brag here!!  Last night after we went swimming we gave DD a shower as usual and for the first time EVER in her life she didn't throw a huge, massive tantrum when we washed her hair.  I really think swimming has been helping her get more used to the water and this was just so amazing.  I have to admit we really laid on the praise thick (I'm sure the authors of Nurtureshock probably were cringing and didn't even know why ) but we were just so happy to get through a shower+hair wash without so much as a tear, I can't believe this was my kid!!!

Oh, and we also went minus the floaties yesterday and she did great!  She seemed just as confident in the water, although she couldn't really swim by herself without them, which is fine.  She did work a lot on putting her head in the water and blowing bubbles and also jumped in for awhile too.  One thing we did was jumping up and down in the water (and when I landed  with her in my arms, I'd dunk her a bit) that way it was fun, she felt secure being close to me but she also got some water in her face too. 

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan 

As for kids swimming young, some kids just do. I think part of it is how the kid is balanced. DD can't do a doggy paddle because her head is on the large size and she has a really buoyant tushie so she tips right over like a duck going for a snack if I don't support her shoulders.

I think DD's body type is making it difficult for her too.  She also has a huge head but she's all muscle so she just is not a natural floater.  Her little legs sink right down and it's hard for her to get the idea that she needs to lay down in the water rather than stand up.  She also has a tendency to roll over on her back at times (not that we got ride of the floaties) so I think another thing for her to learn is how to stabilize herself more. 
 

[missnoodlesmom]

We use puddle jumper floaties.  They are coast-guard approved, foam, and they can't fall off the arms.  They have been GREAT because they aren't so big that they hinder the child, but they do keep them upright which is great for playing - we take them off when we actually WORK on swimming but with a 3 and a 4 year old, sometimes it's just all about playing :)

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