I want to teach my four year old to swim. I need to know the basics of teaching her to swim?

Question

I want to teach my four year old to swim. I need to know the basics of teaching her to swim?

Answer 1

Hold the child beneath the armpits and walk him around in the water to develop a feeling of comfort in an aquatic environment. Smile and talk to demonstrate that this new place is fun and interesting.

Step2 Get the child to kick his legs. Have him hold onto the side of the pool so you can guide his legs. Then do it with your hands beneath his armpits to develop the feeling of motion. With older children, use a kickboard.

Step3Blow bubbles in the water with the child as he kicks to get him used to putting his face in the water. Gradually begin dunking him down to practice holding his breath. Accompany the child underwater and play underwater games to get him/her to open his/her eyes.

Step4 Support the child around his waist or chest and begin having him stroke with his arms. Demonstrate the motion yourself, and then guide the child's arms. Then let him do it on his own while you support him in the water. Have him keep kicking.

Step5Have the child swim a short distance from the wall to you. Begin at a very short distance, so that he can almost jump the span at first. Gradually increase the distance.

Step6Demonstrate to the child how to breathe by lifting or turning his head as the distance from you to him gets far enough to necessitate this.

Step7 Instruct the child to jump into the pool from the side with you there to catch him at first, and then increase the distance so that he must jump and swim.

And finally you can use floaties(blow ups that go on the arms) do not leave them unattended and sometimes they get very dependent on them so try the other techniques first

Answer 2

Call your local YMCA or YWCA and sign him up for swimming classes that you can participate in.   It is less stressful for him because he is around others that are learning and is a great experience for the two of you.  And they are reasonable.

Answer 3

You know i found taking them to a local swimming club and joining with your child together and learn together even if you know how to swim it will be something you can do together.

Answer 4

Assuming you are already able to swim the breast-stroke and front-crawl yourself over a distance of 20laps, the following basics and precautions of teaching are worth noting::

1...Ensure your kid learns in a shallow pool where water level

      reaches her tummy or waist

2...Never rush her during the first few sessions. Limit each

      session to 45mins or an hour

3... Get her comfortable during the 1st session by letting her

      to play in the water. Ensure she always wears a pair of   goggles.Do blowing of bubbles first and holding the breath for 5-10

counts. Increase this as she grows more confident.

4...Do frontal float; teach her to recover to a standing position.Hold her hands to comfort her.

5...Learn arm movements for the breast-stroke first, before proceeding to the

      leg movements, and a combination of both arms and legs later.

6...Do the movements accurately and slowly. Then the rest is

      just practice, and more practice.If she doesnt pick up much after 4 sessions, your instruction may not be effective, and it is best to sign her up with a coach.

Best of luck!