Swimming is a life skill that everyone should learn at some point in their life. I’m a private swimming instructor at the local YMCA. It’s something that truly enjoys doing even 10 years later and has been teaching my own son. He’s been in the water since he was 6 weeks old. You can sign up for lessons or teach your own child how to swim. Here’s everything you need to know about how to teach your toddler to swim.
Safety First!
Every child is different so check with your child’s pediatrician before you start teaching your child to swim. Especially before early swimming (zero to 2). I did, that’s why my son was in the water at 6 weeks old. That being said I’ve had over 10 years of experience as a swimming instructor and am a lifeguard with Red Cross certifications. That means I’ve been doing this for a long time but I am NOT present or able to help you in any physical way. YOU must be careful with your child. Take precautions to keep your child safe. Always swim in a pool or bodies of water with active lifeguards. Ask for help if you don’t know what to do. Never assume non-swimmers can help themselves. Even the strongest swimmer can drown.
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How to Teach Your Toddler to Swim
Have fun in the water. That’s the one thing you should do and remember no matter if you decide to use a swimming instructor or if you teach your toddler. No matter what you do, have fun. You’ll both benefit from it. Start with what makes your child happy in the water.
If you are having fun everyone is relaxed and will learn much easier. My son loves going underwater and grabbing rings or rockets. That’s what taught him to kick effectively.
There are three things you need to teach: floating, sinking, and moving. Showing, telling, and moving will help your child to help to learn. That means getting your hair wet. 🙂
Floating
Floating can be done on your back or belly. If you can float you can move. Think of it like laying down on your bed. Be relaxed. Everyone can float. Sometimes partially underwater, so be careful.
You are looking for a straight line from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet. Spreading out helps too. Think starfish with arms and legs out to the sides. Horizontal bodies float.
Sinking
Sinking is fun but also a little scary. It can also be the key to your child being able to swim. One of the most difficult parts swimming will be breathing. Sinking to the bottom and pushing off can help your child get a breath if they can’t lift their head high enough to breathe. Being able to grab toys off the bottom is a nice bonus too.
Sinking can be done with an exhale. Bubbles from nose or mouth and looking ahead. Some kids will need to use their arms to push up so they can go down. It can be head first or feet first. Vertical bodies sink.
Moving
Finally, you need to move. Arms and legs can move together or separately. Some swim with just kicking others, just arms. Strokes require both legs and arms movements. If you can’t swim well, teach as much as you know then look for a good instructor to help.
Most likely your child will start moving by “running” in the water. So use something to help the float. The sooner you can get them to lay down and float the better. Remember watch for signs that your child needs help once they try to put their face in the water. Many can’t come up on their own right away.
Remember
Try to avoid the scary moment. That’s the main reason I have adult students. Everyone I’ve had told me their horror story. It goes like this: “I was swimming in a family pool and went under. I couldn’t get to the surface. Someone had to rescue me.”
This one is on you as the parent. Don’t ignore your child. Ever. Don’t make the lifeguard jump in for your kid. Be close enough to help. Don’t ever think for a second that you can be on your phone, don’t assume your child will scream when they need help, and don’t ever believe that a noodle or kickboard will keep your child afloat.
All it takes is a few seconds underwater for your child to fear it some much that they don’t learn to swim until adulthood or never. You are the first line of defense when it comes to your child. Be there. Even good swimmers can drown.
Would You Like to Learn More About How to Teach Your Toddler to Swim?
Check out my Pinterest board on swimming and this book How to Teach Your Baby to Swim from Birth to Age Six by Douglas Doman. Look at the used books it’s really cheap and an absolute must buy if you’re going to do the teaching. I purchased this book when I had my son. Love it!
Some good advice there, thank you for sharing.
The younger the better to teach your child how to swim. Your child is gonna be a little merchild before you know it.
Great tips! I can’t swim well and I definitely want to change that. Part of the reason is the bad experience with my swimming teachers at school.
Loved reading this as I am about to start teaching my youngest to swim and he loves the water which really helps
Laura x
Thanks for the great tips. I am trying to teach my toddler to swim too getting her ready for a formal swimming lesson next year.
It is so important to teach little ones to swim and water safety. It’s something that’s hella pushed here in Australia which is awesome.
My kids loved swimming a lot around that age. Its a great bonding experience.
The younger the better! The younger they learn how to swim the better they will have this skill for life.
My older two love swimming and took off like fishes. We’ve have a more difficult time with our youngest living the water. These are great tips for him.
I’ve been on a hunt for activites to help my neighbors child use up his energy. She’s fixing to get a pool so I’m going to send her your post. My grandkids all took swimming lessons but she wants to teach her kids to swim and this post will help a lot.
Looks like you have a tough and brave kid outta there. By the sound of it, it might not be too easy to teach toddlers to swim. The video looks great.
I love seeing the joy on kids’ faces when they learn to swim. These are some great tips!
I wish I would have worked more with my little one when he was younger. We had access to a pool but never really put the effort that I should have. I did end up paying for lessons when he got older.
We have been working with our toddler on swimming. It is so important for every child to know what to do when they are in and around water!
We need to get our daughter in some lessons this summer. She’s been loving the beach more and more.
* With summer it’s so important to teach the kiddos to swim to stay safe. When our boys were little we took them to lessons.
I love this! It is so important for your children to know how to swim. the younger the better too!
Water safety is so so important! We take swim lessons weekly and love it so much!
Whew! I am so glad that both my children know how to swim and they are excellent swimmers. That was the first set of lessons they got when they were small. The next big one on the list is driving lessons.
I have a 2 year old, and teaching him to swim has been our main focus this summer. Especially living in Florida, water safety is so important.
These sound like some great tips for getting your child to swim! I think it helps with teaching them the dangers of water as well.
Great tips! My toddlers learned to swim too. I think it’s important. You just never know.
We have a pool and I am so psyched about teaching my nephew how to swim. I hope we get lots of time in this summer.
Essential to use in the summer not only at home, but also at the sea, for a shiny look!
We did swim lessons with the kids when they were little, because we wanted them to have swimming skills. At one point one of my daughters regressed – she was so scared of the deep end of the pool. So we changed things up, got a pool membership and made it fun – just splashing around in the pool. Then we joined a pool in the summer, and they had a swim team. My daughter joined when she was 6 and the rest is history! Both kids are on the swim team and spend a lot of time swimming.
I love play-based learning. It’s honestly the best way to learn things we’re scared of.
I’m 22 and I’m ashamed to say I can’t swim! I will try to find a pool nearby this summer and try to learn
You’re not alone. You’d be surprised how many people learn how to swim as adults. The oldest person I’ve ever taught was 95 years old and he wanted to go swimming with his kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. You can do it. 🙂
Very informative here! We’ll be sure to mark it down when the little ones come of “swimming” age!
I am actually to excited to teach my baby to swim. he is still 5 months old, and I wonder when can he start to swim? Though I am kind of scared on the sinking part. Thanks for the tips and infos!
You can start whenever you are ready. My son was in the water at 6 weeks old but didn’t go underwater until he was 6 months old. The more comfortable you are in the water with your child the better. You can try out a parent-child class at your local YMCA and some outdoor pools and get a little more comfortable. Don’t put your baby underwater until you are comfortable and get a little help. 🙂
This is the perfect guide for summer-time since most children will be in the swimming pools, at water parks, and visiting beaches and lakes. You are so right, safety is number one. And it is so important to let our kids know we are right there watching over them.
My daughter is a water baby and I enrolled her on swimming lessons. Your post is such a good read and informational. Indeed, swimming is a life skills that every child needs to have. Thanks for sharing!
I really need to teach my toddler to swim, he LOVES the water…just doesn’t know the logistics of swimming 🙂 Thanks for sharing this resource!
Love this, I’m just teaching my son to
Swim now as I don’t want him to be scared of water like I was. Great post