Teach Your Child(2)

Teach Your Child to Swim

I believe that children learning to swim should always start with a buoyancy aid. Rubber rings are fine for small children; They must not fit tightly but should support the child under the armpits. Armbands, which should be fitted as high as possible on the arm, are better for older children.

When dealing with young non-swimmers it's best for the teacher to be in the water. Ideally the water should be at chest height for the child but if this isn't possible, particularly for smaller children, it's Ok for them to float in their buoyancy aid. Non-swimming children should never be left alone, not even for a few seconds.

Initially children must be encouraged to get their feet off the bottom and use their arms to move about until they're able to move forward and back and to turn around. Encourage them to kick down with the feet to bring the body up to the surface of the water. Don't try to push children too far outside their comfort zone, but work with the child on different ways of moving about. The accent must always be on fun.

Children are individuals and no two react in the same way. Some are venturesome, some are timid. Some listen, some don't. Some ask for help, others want to do their own thing. You'll not change a child's character; just work with it. By being in too much of a hurry, showing impatience or anxiety at this stage may, in fact, hinder progress. If you feel there's a deadline, maybe before going on holiday, the way forward is to give your child more exposure; take them swimming more often.

Children, in general, get along better in a group. When my two children were learning to swim I used to take some of their friends with us to the local swimming pool. Immediately, whether the children realise it themselves, they will begin to interact, make up impromptu games and generally forget any fears they may have. Peer pressure even among very young children is a factor in development, even in learning to swim. In this case your task is to encourage the whole group, not just your child. But if they're playing productively leave them alone!

When your child becomes used to the swimming environment it's the time to start the child on 'dog-paddle'. This stroke involves the hands moving down alternately under the chin, with the accent on 'down' The hands are spread slightly with small gaps between the fingers so that the hands are relaxed. The legs can move up and down alternately; straight (but not stiff)or use a cycling movement. But nothing should be forced; it should all be in the spirit of play. Move away backwards from the child and invite them to follow you.

It's never too soon to introduce your child to ducking under water. Some children will do this spontaneously while others will absolutely refuse. Don't make a big thing of it but go underwater yourself now and again. It should be completely natural without any fuss. Your child will notice and try to copy you.

Going under water is an important part of swimming and essential for safety in the water. If a competent swimmer falls or is pushed into the water, it is a split-second reflex action to close mouth and nose. I meet many adults who can only swim with their heads above water. Faced with sudden submersion they might panic and get into difficulties.

In my experience the younger the child the easier it is to persuade them to submerge. Older children are sometimes frightened by their peers and you then have to fight an uphill battle on this front. Your job is to convince your child by example that going under water is good fun.

Another problem with some children is when water gets choppy it upsets them, so gentle splashing should be brought into play quite early as part of the fun. Hard splashing in the face isn't pleasant for anyone and should be discouraged, but playful splashing is an essential part of conditioning the child to enjoy water play.

If you have a private pool, making splashing and choppy water is important. It's preferable to get your child's friends involved, as I know from experience. Some years ago a child of about 8 years of age joined my class and her father said that she could swim quite well, which I verified before the class started. A short time into the class another child swam close to her. She panicked, started to thrash about and went under. I went into the water immediately and pulled her out.

On conducting an enquiry into the incident it turned out that the child had learned to swim in their private pool, where the water was always like a millpond. Just the fact of another child swimming close and causing a splash was outside her experience, causing the upset.

At some time the buoyancy aids will have to be discarded, and one way is to inflate them a little less each time you put them on. The child must be shown how to push down harder and faster in the dogpaddle stroke. Water should be at about chest height.

I hope I've put over the idea that for a child, learning to swim should be an enjoyable adventure, and you as a parent are privileged if you are able to take part in that adventure. The principles I've tried to put over aren't cast in stone. If you don't feel able to teach your own children, then put them with a local swimming school.

Please don't push your child faster than it wants to go. Some children seem fearless and start swimming quite quickly. Others take longer, but it's been shown that if swimming is defined as swimming, say 100 metres in a reasonable time, then the majority of children perform similarly.