When and how to teach a child to swim? How to learn to swim for children: coach's advice When to teach a child to swim.

It is very difficult to find a child who does not like water. For 9 months, a little man swims in the amniotic fluid of his mother, they feed him, warm him, lull him to sleep, they are his natural environment, but after birth it is already difficult to cope with the familiar elements on his own, the help of an adult is needed. Then questions arise before each parent: how to teach a child to swim and from what age can a child be placed in the hands of a professional coach?

What age to start

It is believed that the best time to learn to swim is either infancy, the so-called when reflexes are preserved when in contact with water, or 5–7 years when the body is in the right physical shape. Children at this time already understand a lot, recognize causal relationships, but the sense of self-preservation is still lame. Therefore, small incidents, such as getting water in their mouths or eyes, do not frighten them enough to stop them from exercising.

At the age of seven, you can do without auxiliary equipment - armlets, vests, circles, they only give a false sense of security. If you could not do without armlets, then you need to gradually get rid of them, their abrupt cancellation will add stress and uncertainty. Each lesson, lower the tool used a little so that the child feels his strength, accepts his position and hopes only for himself.

Training

Children tend to experience fear when confronted with something unknown, the fear of water is no exception. In order to get acquainted with the water element for the first time without fear and stress, parents should be nearby, showing by example that there is nothing to be afraid of, the bathing process is very fun and enjoyable.

Any carelessly spoken word or inaccurate action can discourage the desire to swim for many years. Where to learn to swim, in the pool or on the river, it's up to you, it depends only on your capabilities and does not affect the result. First, read the basic rules:

• The child must be in a good mood and full otherwise, whims cannot be avoided, and training may end before it can begin.
• Conquest of open water should be gradual- first, offer to wet your hands and wash, then wet your legs, go into the water up to your knees, if there are no negative emotions, then you can start swimming lessons.
• Start learning with breathing techniques: a quick breath through the nose is replaced by a long smooth exhalation through the mouth. Have you learned to breathe properly? It's time to move on to the next step.

First lessons

"Hearts". This simple technique is analogous to the movement of the arms while swimming in the breaststroke style. The explanation of the technique, even in simple words, is not always clear, so just ask the child to draw a big heart on the water with his palms. This demand of yours will not only be understood, but also fulfilled with pleasure.

"Duck"- a method aimed at coordination, for him you can use armlets or ask for help from dad. The child holds on to his mother, with his feet shows the movements of duck legs in the water, as soon as this works out well, complicate the exercise. Put on the sleeves for the young swimmer, if he releases his hands, he will be able to stay on the surface. Or dad should stand side by side and, if necessary, insure and support the student.

You can easily teach swimming using the method "Frog". With his hands, the child depicts a heart, and with his feet he shows how a frog swims. In fact, this is a combination of the first and second combinations, only the movement of the legs changes. At the first trainings, you also cannot do without the help of armlets or an adult. The method is good because it includes fun elements of play and imitation.

Important! Training should bring joy, if at first the child is forced or allowed to be frightened when immersed in water, then there is no need to talk about any pleasure from swimming, and even more so the result.

To prepare for the fact that the face can be partially, and then completely immersed in water, the game will help "Behemoth". Inhale over the water, close your lips tightly. Slowly lower your chin into the water, then your mouth and nose, to eye level, invite the baby to imagine himself as a hippopotamus, who looks around with interest on a hot day.

After a while, exhale the air with your mouth under water. Repeat this game for several minutes in a row every day to bring the actions to automatism.

Once you complete the previous task, start playing. "Submariners": inhale deeply, hold your breath, close your nose, close your eyes and gently lower your face under the water.

On a note! Let the kid try to remember any picture or clip from the movie and try to make out all its details in his imagination. This technique will distract him, and he will last longer without a new breath of oxygen.

Repeat the exercise ten times. The more you exercise, the longer the child will be able to hold their breath.

"Float"- an exercise great for the pool. For greater clarity, the float pose should be shown first on land: inhale, squat down, hug your knees with your hands, press your chin to your chest, but do not strain your neck.

Repeat the same combination in the pool, first grouping, and then in the same position, gradually rising up.

Important! Do not forget about safety rules: all games and exercises must take place either in the children's pool or in an open pond, in the shallowest place. The ground under your feet must be stable, not slip.

Why do you want to teach your child to swim?

Poll Options are limited because JavaScript is disabled in your browser.

Learn to swim

If the child already knows how to stay on the water and hold his breath, then it's time to teach him to swim crawl. To master this method, you need to learn how to control your body, move your arms and legs synchronously, while not forgetting to hold your breath.

On a note! Purchase goggles for scuba diving, they will not only protect your eyes, but will also arouse additional interest in your child.

One of the most effective exercises are considered "Scissors". If you will practice in an open body of water, such as the sea or a lake, then stick to the shoreline, if in a pool, then use a side.

For a better understanding, not only explain, but also show all the movements. Take an emphasis lying down, arms half-bent at the elbows, back, legs and feet should be parallel to the water, the right and left legs make swings, alternately rising above each other. It is worth training until the legs get stronger, and the child can perform movements for 2-3 minutes without a break.

The next exercise is "Arrow". The effectiveness of its implementation depends on the strong muscles of the legs. This exercise will help you hone your ability to glide underwater. Raise your arms above your head, joining your palms with each other, inhale, push off the bottom, move forward as far as possible, while keeping your legs straight. Repeat 10 times.

It is better to train either from the depth to the shore, or along the shore. To complicate the task, you can combine the "Arrow" and "Scissors".

When there is no more fear of water, continue learning with methods : "From mom to dad" And "I myself". The essence of the first is that the parents become at some distance from each other, one of them sends the child to the other with a strong jerk, this movement can be compared with the launch of a rocket.

Initially, one parent literally passes the baby into the hands of the other, but each time the distance increases, and the child hangs in the water for a few seconds, then independently swims this distance, intensively working with his arms and legs. This method is good from a psychological point of view, it clearly shows the support of mom and dad, teaches you to trust them, follow the advice.

It will be very useful to teach the baby a pose "Star", she will teach you to relax and rest right afloat. Go waist-deep into the water, spread your arms to the sides and gently, holding your breath, lie on your back. Also spread your legs to the sides to make a real star. If the child succeeds in this technique, then we can say with confidence that the acquaintance with water has been passed by five plus.

Often, having barely learned to stay afloat, many children want to hone their skills on their own and away from their relatives. Approach this moment wisely. Let your independent baby swim on his own, but with one condition that you can go into the water no deeper than shoulder-length, and keep the course to the shore. So you give freedom of action, but at the same time you remain confident in safety, because if the child gets tired of swimming, he can always stand up and rest.

Let the child swim by holding him to practice the correct movements.

• Under no circumstances should the widely accepted manner of " throw into the water - immediately learn to swim". The one who came up with this definitely deserves such a punishment himself, because not everyone in such a stressful situation will be able to pack up and swim out. Naturally, you will save your child, but your authority will be undermined, how can you be trusted in the future, if now you are exposing him to mortal danger. Having received such a lesson only once, you can acquire a fear of water for life.
• When exercising with a child, make sure that your swimmer always turned to face the shore, the neck did not touch the water, so there is less chance of choking. Neglecting safety rules is endangering not only health, but also life. Consider whether the risk is appropriate here.
• Do not refer to maybe, the child will not be able to learn how to swim correctly on his own, the technique must be correct, starting from the first minutes. It doesn't take a lot of brains to learn how to doggystyle, but is there much use in this style?
• Gain experience: be interested in new teaching methods, watch video tutorials on the Internet, attend competitions, know the heroes by sight, show your interest, and your child will enthusiastically pick up your hobby.
• Do water gymnastics with your kids, get not only a charge of vivacity and positive, but also carry out the prevention of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, cardiovascular diseases, increase the protective properties of the immune system.

IMPORTANT! *when copying article materials, be sure to indicate an active link to the first

Because when he grows up, he will blame you for his “swimming with a hatchet”. “And my parents didn’t teach me how to swim normally. They probably didn’t care about me,” he will say someday in a bar to his thirty-year-old friends.

One of the first questions is where to start learning. “We need to put the child in an inflatable ring,” some say. “No, you have to support him by the sides,” others say. Professional swimming coach Irina Zaitseva said what parents do wrong when they teach their children to swim. She also helped me figure out how strict everything should be in the pool classes, and what a coach and a psychologist have in common.

Irina Zaitseva

swimming coach

What not to do in swimming lessons

Putting a rubber band on a child

The circle forms an incorrect position of the body. In it, the child hangs vertically, and the position in the water should be horizontal. At the initial stage, it is better to swim with armlets.

use fins

With fins, of course, it is much easier to swim, but at the beginning of training they spoil the kicking technique. Correct Technique: The kick in the water comes from the hip, with the toe extended, the movements should be smooth and fluttering.

Learn to swim on your stomach

First you need to learn to swim on your back. Lying on your back makes it easier to stay afloat. The child is not afraid that water will get into his mouth and nose. You can support him by the head, the stomach must be raised up, strive for a horizontal position in the water.
You can use a float board. Hold on to it with your hands, press your stomach to it and work with your feet correctly.
To make it clearer to children exactly how, we use the word "fountain" - we make a small fountain with our feet, but not with splashes up to the ceiling.

Ignore children's fears

A typical situation - dad teaches his son to swim and accompanies this business with the words: “Stop being a coward! What are you afraid of?! Everything will be fine with you! What are you like a girl? Parents think that children's fear is nonsense. But for a child, this is not the case at all. At first, almost everyone is afraid. And fear should not be ignored, but deceived.

When children come to us for training, for the first few lessons no one forces them to swim at all.

We let the children splash, play, get toys from the bottom of the pool, throw balls into the ring, practice stars, floats, learn to exhale into the water - who has more bubbles. And only when the child gets used to it and stops being afraid, they really begin to teach him how to swim.

What is the benefit of a coach

If a parent once went in for swimming himself, knows the basics, and the child adequately perceives him as a teacher, up to a certain stage, you can do it yourself. In the Internet many videos, which will help to cope with this task by borrowing some ideas.

But most often, if a child comes to the pool with mom or dad, he perceives it not as training, but as entertainment: “Hurrah! We'll swim!" Therefore, it is better to go to group or individual classes with a professional trainer.

Force or talk?

Many coaches and parents are convinced that rigor, toughness and discipline are needed in sports. The child is upset, and the coach says to him: “I don’t care that you cry there - swim on.” I don't like this approach.

Children's training very much depends on their mood, on how their day turned out.

It happens that the child behaves disgustingly in the pool. To fix this, you just need to ask: “What upset you?” Children need to be listened to.

There was a case, the boy came to training, standing in the water, he didn’t want to do anything. I ask him what’s the matter, he remains silent ... And then he blurts out: “Yes, today I wanted to sleep, and my mother woke me up in time to get ready for the pool, but I didn’t get enough sleep all week, I wanted to relax ...” He spoke out, I saw that they were listening to him, immediately calmed down and swam normally.

If the coach is on friendly terms with the children, training can be done even silently. One glance is enough, they immediately understand what you want from them. I never use screaming, what's the point of screaming? The guys with whom we have been working out for several years are almost like friends. They come to training, tell all sorts of funny nonsense, show sores, whose teeth fell out, who were bitten by a mosquito. Good trust relationship.

I advise parents to read the book How to talk to children so they learn by Adele Faber. They explain well how what happens at home affects learning.

The coach needs to be a psychologist

When I was a child, and my swimming career might have just begun, I was banned from swimming for medical reasons. Four years ago, I started from scratch and returned to this sport.

There is one important point that I noticed: in adulthood, having learned something, you can explain it to another much more effectively.

It is easier to teach someone who trains with you. The perception of the process, which captivates by 200%, becomes deeper. Children swim "superficially", and this has its advantages - there is a task, they complete it. The specifics of working with adults is different - most of them perform too many mental operations before swimming. So the coach is also a psychologist.

You can also teach your child to swim on their own, relying on the experience of professional coaches. The most difficult thing here is not to explain the technique, but to endure until the child succeeds. Without screams and reproaches. Because even in such a matter as swimming, it is important to monitor the mood of the child and listen to him.

Photos - from the personal archive of Irina Zaitseva.

Water procedures with a baby are undoubtedly useful, and you can teach a toddler to them from a very early age. However, they do not involve independent movement, which means they have nothing to do with swimming.

In addition, such exercises reinforce incorrect movements and body position. As a result, when later the child will master full-fledged swimming, he will have to be retrained for a long time. To lay the foundation for a young swimmer, you need to introduce him to the water element gradually and exclusively in a playful way.

How to prepare your baby

The main task of parents at this stage is to help the child overcome the fear of big water. Ideally, you can try to teach him to immerse his face in water, as well as blow bubbles with his mouth and nose. Then the skills will come in handy for proper breathing. To do this, do the following:

• Engage with the baby and toys in a shallow pool with warm clear water.
• Spray on each other. Do not be afraid to get water on your face and reassure the child so that he is not afraid of this.
• Blow bubbles together as you dip your face into the water. First with the mouth and then with the nose.
• Ask the little one to squat, plunging into the water, and immediately emerge.

How to teach a child to swim from 3 to 5 years old

Toddlers at this age can already be taught to swim freely without any style, if you show restraint. Young children are not able to concentrate for a long time and follow instructions, do things that are unusual for them, so learning should take place in a playful manner.

1. Choose the right place

It is best to teach your child to swim in a pool or large tub like a hot tub. The sea is much less suitable due to salty water and waves that interfere. A river or lake is also not ideal: the water in them is opaque and cold, so it will be difficult for the baby psychologically.

Depth - to the waist or a little higher, so that the swimmer feels safe. The water temperature is preferably higher - 25–28 ° С. At the same time, until the baby gets used to swimming goggles, moisture should not cause burning if you open them at a depth.

2. Remove armlets and vest

Discard any equipment designed to keep you afloat. Circles, boards and other devices disrupt the balance of the body and prevent the baby from learning to float on their own.

When using a vest or sleeves, the child is pressed into the supports and raises his head high, straining his neck. You can really learn to swim only by diving under water, so it is important to immediately remove all watercraft.

3. Get your child used to glasses

Like all subsequent steps, this one must be performed exclusively in a playful way, and even better, showing by personal example. Most likely, there will be no problems with five-year-olds, but younger children can be capricious.

Try on your child's glasses and see how they fit. Constantly praise and admire him, even if you managed only to put the protection to his face and not put the elastic on the back of his head. Click on the glasses and show what a funny grunting sound they make, and offer the child to try it. If the glasses are not fixed on the face, say "The eye is peeled off."

If the baby is afraid and does not want to wear an accessory, be friendly, do not push and be patient. Switch to fussing with toys and try again a little later. Little by little, after 5-10 fittings, he will give in, especially when he realizes how well he can see underwater with glasses.

4. Let your baby get used to the water

Before training, the child needs to be liberated and stop being afraid of water. To do this, fool around a bit with him.

• Splash in shallow water, splashing hands and feet.
• Hold hands and, lowering your face into the water, blow bubbles with your mouth and nose.
• Show each other tongues and make faces underwater.

5. Practice putting your face in the water

Swimming training is based on immersion of the face in water. It's not natural for a child, so you can't just tell him, "Do it like this." And this is where games come in.

• First, spray so that moisture gets on the baby's face. You can water it little by little, showing that it is not scary and fun.
• Squat and jump at different depths so that when diving, the water reaches the child's lips, then to the eyes, and so gradually ask him to plunge for a second with his head. There is no need to close your eyes.
• Scatter toys at a shallow depth so that they cannot be reached by hand without plunging headlong, and ask the baby to conduct a rescue operation or collect treasures.
• When the child takes a sip of water and coughs, react calmly and cheerfully, making it clear that nothing bad has happened. Ask to exhale sharply through the nose, as if blowing your nose, and the remaining water will easily leave the nasopharynx, and with them the discomfort.

6. Learn to exhale into the water

The next stage is the development of exhalation into the water. It is used in all strokes and is key to proper swimming technique. In part, the child is already familiar with this technique, blowing bubbles is exhalation.

• Continue to consolidate the skill by blowing bubbles at the side. The baby must certainly do this with the nose, since the mouth is inhaled.
• The jumps and squats from the previous step will also help. Add to them exhalations into the water at the moment of immersion.
• For proper exhalation, ask the child to take in air, close his mouth with his hand and make a lingering sound “mmm” with his nose.

7. Practice staying afloat

For this, there are simple exercises - “jellyfish” and “asterisk”, which children really like. Their essence lies in hanging in the water while holding the breath and relaxing the neck.

How to do the jellyfish exercise

• Ask the baby to lie down on the water and lightly support him under the chest. The whole body and, most importantly, the neck are in a relaxed state, reminiscent of a jellyfish. You need to look at the bottom, not in front of you.
• To get your child to act like this, come up with a treasure hunt game or something like that.

How to do the star exercise

• Put the young swimmer on the water and support under the chest with your hands. Ask him to spread his arms and legs, depicting a star.
• As in the previous exercise, you need to lower your face into the water and relax your neck. Use to motivate the game.
• Another option that can be performed for a change is the "asterisk" on the back.

8. Try gliding in the water

Now it's time to start moving. For this, there is a special “arrow” exercise, which is the basic pose in many swimming styles.

• Support the baby under the chest and ask him to raise his arms above his head, and then gently lie down on the water, straightening his body and relaxing his neck.
• Once you have established this technique, have your child try to do all of the above on their own. Step back a couple of meters from the edge of the pool and tell them to push off with their feet from the side and move towards you.

9. Practice your leg movements

There are two options here: movements when the legs alternately move up and down, or in the breaststroke style - the legs are bent at the knees and the swimmer is repelled from the water in the manner of a frog.

For kids at this age, both options are correct. And it’s easy to understand which one is more suitable for a child if you ask him to swim a short distance and check which movements he will make intuitively - swings or pushes.

The essence of the exercise is to make an “arrow” and, when sliding, include the legs in the work. Both options, if possible, are best performed in the correct technique. See how it's done and demonstrate to your child on land or in shallow water.

• Crawl: the legs almost do not bend at the knees, but move from the hip, the feet are maximally extended back. The movements are more like working scissors than riding a bicycle.

• : the legs are bent at the knees and slightly pulled towards themselves, the feet are pressed forward. Then they are bred to the sides and there is a sharp push.

10. Connect hands

For a small child, the easiest way to move is the breaststroke, when the strokes are made with both hands at the same time.

However, it is not necessary to demand from the baby their impeccable performance. If it is too difficult for him, dog-like movements are allowed, when the strokes are made alternately and the hands, as it were, cling to the water.

The principle is the same. The movement starts from the “arrow” position, then the arms and legs are included in the work.

11. Teach your baby to breathe

All previous exercises are performed while holding the breath, but you won’t swim that far. Therefore, when the child has mastered all the basic movements, you need to teach him to raise his head and inhale and not stop at the same time.

This should be done only through the mouth, because when breathing through the nose, drops of water can enter the nasopharynx and cause discomfort. Improve your breathing skills with fish games.

• “Thoughtful fish” - at a depth where the child does not reach the bottom, ask to push off from the side and slowly swim towards you, lowering your face into the water.

• “Curious fish” - have the child complete the previous exercise, and then, at your command, simply raise his head without inhaling. At this point, he must help himself by pushing off the water with his feet.

• “Amazing fish” - this time the baby needs to do the same, only when raising his head, quickly inhale air through his mouth. You can first practice a sharp breath when diving in the shallower part of the pool, where the water is up to the baby's chest.

How to teach a child to swim 5-6 years and older

Older children perceive the learning process more effectively. They consciously complete tasks and practice exercises, so at this age you can teach a child to swim like an adult.

This is done according to the standard algorithm, which is described in detail in ours, or using express methods. For example, the system of trainer Denis Tarakanov allows you to learn how to swim in one or two lessons. Just ask your child to do the following exercises in order. Each about 10 times.

1. On the steps by the pool or in the children's pond, where the depth reaches 30-40 cm, ask the child to rest his hands on the bottom and stretch to his full height. The whole body is submerged, only the head is above the water, the neck is relaxed. The swimmer should hold his breath and lie like this for 5-10 seconds, and then gently raise his face, inhale through his mouth and repeat the exercise.

2. Let the child do the same, but lower his face into the water and raise one of his hands, relying only on the second.

3. Repeat the learned technique again, but now explain to the baby that he must remove both hands and hang like this in the water, counting to five to himself.

4. Ask the child to stretch his arms in front of him at the moment of hovering and stay in this position for 5-10 seconds while holding his breath. After that, let him rest his hands on the bottom, raise his head to inhale through his mouth and repeat the exercise.

5. Let the baby move away from the edge of the pool by 50–70 cm and, turning around to face him, perform a new variation of the exercise. After inhaling, you need to gently push off from the bottom and slide with your arms outstretched forward, without lifting your face from the water.

6. Connect the legs: after the push, the child should gently dangle the legs without pulling the feet out of the water.

7. Now the hands are included in the work: let the baby row them like a dog or breaststroke. The main thing is to move them under water at the level of the face, but not under the stomach.

8. Ask the baby to repeat the previous exercise, but when moving, gently raise his head above the water for a couple of seconds. It is not necessary to inhale, just fix the action to understand that it is not difficult.

9. Finally, let the baby push off and swim, moving his legs and arms, and then try to raise his head above the water and breathe in through his mouth.

Details on how to properly perform each exercise can be found in the video:

Childhood opens up many prospects, because this period a person still does not know how to do a lot. Of all the sports that are more or less easily and quickly mastered, swimming is one of the last places, if not the last. Even adults, not everyone knows how to swim, but this is a safety issue - everyone in life has to ride a boat, a catamaran, or just go to the beach. It is optimal to find out how to teach a child to swim, in advance, in the first years of his life. Here are some tips and videos for better preparation.

What are swimming lessons

Any movement and physical activity are beneficial, if there are no contraindications for it. However, during swimming there is close contact of the body with water. The body sinks and experiences external pressure, the organs work differently and the sensations are somewhat different from those that are during running or.

The benefits of swimming for a child

The benefits are:

• The spine becomes flexible with a low load on it, the joints are strengthened, the muscles of all groups are pumped. You should think about how to teach your child to swim if you feel that he is starting to slouch or move reluctantly.
• The heart begins to work better, the blood supply also returns to normal.
• There is no place for sweaty T-shirts and exhausting workouts in swimming - everything is done in pleasure, so this is a very comfortable sport.
• The tension of the body from proper exercises in the water is much higher than from exercises on land. And this allows you to quickly lose weight in a child, if necessary, and strengthen his muscle mass.
• During swimming, the constant movement of water on the surface of the body contributes to its massaging. Another benefit for the muscles and spine.
• Swimming at an early age helps the child to sit and walk earlier. The entire musculoskeletal system is involved, especially since water is a completely native environment for the baby.
• The lungs breathe deeper when the body is in water, so the child's breathing apparatus functions better.
• Swimming - improves immunity.
• It's just interesting and fun for kids of all ages!

"Pitfalls" of water activities for a child

Among the disadvantages of swimming as a sport, the existing contraindications can be noted, which include: heart disease, various skin diseases, colds, allergies, and so on. In addition, when deciding where to teach a child to swim, you will most likely consider two options: a pool and a body of water (for example, the sea or a local lake).

In the pool, you should be careful about the compliance of water, showers, floors with sanitary standards. The danger is the excessive content of chlorine in the water, and the floor, walls, faucets and other surfaces can not be processed often enough and diligently - different people come to the pools (fungus, scabies, lice - it can be anything). Where is the best and fastest way to teach a child to swim? In modern, children's institutions with an optimal depth and size of the pool, where special attention is paid to the safety and quality of staff selection.

If it’s summer outside, warm weather and the sea / lake seems like an ideal platform for learning to swim, then remember about the safety for your baby’s health. Specify whether the water was tested in the city, what are its results. In any case, after the water procedure, it is necessary to completely and thoroughly wash the child. Quite a crumb can be taught to swim right in the bathroom, especially if its dimensions allow you to “roam around”. On the benefits of water procedures, see the video.

How to teach a child to swim - exercises by age

After you have chosen a pool or decided on a body of water, it's time to think about whether to teach your child to swim on your own or seek help from a specialist. To begin with, decide how well you yourself own this skill and whether you can convey the information correctly. Competence is not the only criterion, because you need to understand whether you are able to guarantee the child complete safety during classes.

If you yourself learned to swim a long time ago and not very effectively, and the baby is still small for experiments, then it is better to find an experienced coach. Swimming pools often offer sectional classes for children of different ages: under 1 year old, 2 to 3 years old, 4 to 5 years old, 6-7 or 7-8 years old and older. An individual approach to your child is needed when he is still a baby - is in infancy or he is not yet six months old. Be sure to read the reviews about the teacher, ask to come for free to look at classes with other guys.

Self-learning is also possible. To do this, you can sign up for the pool and come to it at a time when there are almost no other visitors. There are special exercises that will help the child learn to swim faster and more correctly.

Children under 1 year old

It is literally difficult to teach a one-year-old child to swim. He does not yet understand your words and is not able to respond to amendments. At this age, all exercises come down to healing the body and getting pleasure. Babies still subconsciously remember the technique of holding their breath and swimming, so they can swim under water in a few months faster than they can walk on dry land for up to a year.

Breathing exercises. Her baby involuntarily performs while in the water. The chest under pressure experiences additional tension, which makes the inhalations and exhalations deeper.

Steps. The exercise is performed either in the bathroom or in a very shallow part of the pool. The baby must be held under the arms and led in the water so that the legs touch the bottom of the pool. Your child will feel that he needs to walk and will begin to move his legs. Don't forget that little swimmers need to rest often.

Backstroke. You need to hold the child so that everything is covered with water, except for the face. Bring the baby to the side of the pool so that she feels it herself and tries to push off. Then gently carry him on the surface of the water, and he will flounder on his own. If the child is not yet 3 months old, remember that he still cannot hold his head.

Swimming on your stomach. The right hand should be placed under the child's left armpit, and the left should support the back of the head. Lead the child on the water, "drawing" eights.

Children from 1.5 to 3 years

The musculoskeletal system at this age is already sufficiently developed to move on to more complex exercises.

For footwork. A child can feel the resistance of the water with his feet if he sits on the side of the pool and starts to create splashes, simply by moving the games back and forth. Another option - you support the baby by the armpits either in front or behind, and he flounders with his feet.

To work the torso. An important skill in swimming is the ability to keep yourself on the water. To begin with, you will need to hold the child with both hands so that he can feel how the water is able to hold on to the surface. Try it on your back and stomach. In both cases, it is recommended to add the above exercise to the legs.

To the work of the hands. The child walks along the bottom, and with his hands pushes the water away, as if raking it with oars. After performing this exercise alone, you must perform it in combination with the other two. Your help is needed here.

For breath. When figuring out how to teach a child to swim, the question of how to teach him to breathe will be equally important.

There is a rule: you need to inhale sharply with your mouth, and exhale slowly with your nose.

In order for the baby to learn what is required of him, you can play the game. You collect some water in a bucket or palms and pour it on the child's head. At the same time, he should close his eyes, sharply take a sip of air through his mouth and gently exhale it through his nose.

Children from 4 to 6 years old

A grown-up preschooler already understands everything you say to him, so he can repeat and perform the given exercises in the pool or in the sea.

Holding the breath and exhaling. You need to take a breath and not breathe. Then sit down on the bottom of the pool and grab your legs with both hands. According to the law of physics, the water itself will push the child up, and he will emerge on his back to the surface, like a float. To prevent inhalation of water, play with your child in a submarine, where he will blow air with his mouth and create bubbles when immersed.

Water retention. On inspiration, the child lies on the surface of the water and learns to stay on it, stretching his legs and arms in different directions. Breathing must be even, otherwise you can go to the bottom.

Diving. It is done on the exhale and with arms extended upwards. The future swimmer pushes off from the bottom of the pool and tries to jump as far as possible to the free side, plunging headlong. When everything is going well, suggest adding movement with the legs and measuring how far the child swims out each time.

Children over 6 years old

All those exercises that were described above are also appropriate for a completely adult child. It is important to remember the sequence: first they learn to slide on the water, then to hold and work with their hands and feet on it, and only then to breathe correctly. If the question is how to teach a child to swim at 6-7 years old, the section in the swimming pool will be the best solution. Perhaps he will grow up and become an Olympic champion. An excellent video about swimming lessons is presented below.

How to teach a child to swim - a few rules

Even if you have your own idea of ​​how to properly teach a child to swim, it is still worth following some rules.

	"Not!" - unnecessary accessories	If a child does not know how to swim, or even more so if he sees water in a large volume for the first time, there is no need to attach fins and a mask with a snorkel to him. Set aside all kinds of circles and armlets for regular bathing. They will only hinder the development of the necessary skills. How to teach a child to swim with the help of additional means? Buy a swim board. This is the only, and at the same time very effective, assistant.
	Correct sequence	If it seems to you that the child urgently needs to learn not to breathe underwater, just do not allow him to dive. First, he must feel confident on the surface, and this is called sliding. Then it should become clear to him how to move his legs, what to swim. The next step is learning to move with your hands. And now it's time to learn to inhale and exhale.
	Choice of children's pool	Its characteristics: Safe levels of chlorine in water and air. Safe water and air temperature. Availability of comfortable and safe lifts and bumpers. Non-slip floors. The length of the pool is at least 5 meters. The depth of the pool is no higher than to the lower level of the child's chest. Qualified and experienced trainers.
	No high expectations	Most often, before the age of 4, a child cannot learn to swim crawl and breaststroke, maximum on his back. Do not swear and expect that the baby will be happy to continue classes if they involve negative emotions. Let your child enjoy water procedures. The more often he stays in the water, the more he gets used to it.
	No contraindications	Before taking your child to the pool or to the river, find out if he has any contraindications for this. In a good, proper institution, you should be required to provide a medical certificate.
	Swimming compliance	In the water, a small child should not be in the water for more than half an hour. If it is cold outside, make sure that your baby is completely dry and warm, otherwise he may get sick. After swimming, you need to swim or wash in the shower, and then smear with a moisturizer.

Classes in the pool are useful for children of all ages - whether it is a very small child of 3-4 months or an adult student of 10 years old. How to teach a child to swim? With the help of special exercises, but it is better to entrust this issue to a professional. Choose groups where classes are held for children of the same age and level of training so that assimilation takes place quickly and correctly. Everyone needs to be able to swim, because the safety of a person for the rest of his life depends on it to some extent.

Guys, we put our soul into the site. Thanks for that
for discovering this beauty. Thanks for the inspiration and goosebumps.
Join us at Facebook And In contact with

In summer, many people go to the sea or to the river, including those with children. In order not to worry about your baby, it is better to teach him to swim in advance. This is not as difficult as it might seem: after 3-4 lessons, the child will be able to confidently stay on the water, dive and even swim underwater.

We are in website collected advice from professional coaches and athletes. They will help the child learn to swim, and you can spend your vacation calmly without worrying about the safety of the baby.

1. Before entering the water, you need to work out the movements on land

Swimming is not just randomly moving your arms and legs in the water. Even if you do not think about swimming styles and other nuances, you need to know the technique that makes it possible to stay afloat. Before diving into a pond, the child needs to learn how to properly push off the water, breathe and hold his breath.

If you are not a professional swimmer yourself, you can help your child learn videos from trainers, of which there are a great many on the Internet. After the child has worked out the technique several times on land, you can let him go into the water. In this case, he will not be confused and will not panic if the water suddenly knocks him down, gets into his eyes, or he accidentally swims a little deeper than he wanted.

2. Opt for a swimboard instead of armlets and vests

Sleeves and swimming vests are filled with air, and due to this they keep the body on the surface. But swimming in these protective equipment is inconvenient: they are needed in order not to simply go under water. With them, the child will not be able to move normally and most of the time will “hang” in the water or splash in shallow water, or you will have to move him in the water yourself.

If the baby is interested in swimming, then a board would be a more logical solution. It is much more convenient, it also does not allow you to go under water, but at the same time it does not restrict your movements. It gives a foothold and makes the child move their legs to move. With it, he will learn not to be afraid of water and control his movements.

3. Foot movements need to be worked out in shallow water

The legs are the "motor" that allows a person to move in the water. Of course, swimming without using your arms is also difficult, but if you do not use your legs, the chance of sinking is much higher.

Therefore, the first thing to do is to teach the child to move with the help of his legs. There is nothing complicated here: you can either move your legs like a frog, bending them at the knees and pulling them up to the buttocks, or swimming with outstretched legs, moving your feet. Usually people do it intuitively.

But practicing movements is needed not only in order to master them. It also helps to develop leg endurance and stretch the muscles. For example, when jumping into the water, people often cramp their calves. Such training will help prevent this.

4. Do not teach your child to hold his nose with his hand while diving

Many children, and even adults, pinch their nose when falling into the water. No one is taught this in swimming lessons. First, you can't swim with one hand. Secondly, there is a risk of reflexively sighing and taking water into your nose if you remove your hand.

Therefore, it is better to immediately teach the child to hold his breath correctly. To do this, you need to take a deep breath and, without exhaling, plunge into the water. Some people think that if the nose is opened, water will pour into it, but physiologically this is impossible.

The only exception when you need to pinch your nose with your hand is if a person jumps into the water from a great height feet first. In this case, a pinched nose prevents us from becoming deaf.

5. Hold your baby under your back or belly to teach you to float

Most children who are afraid of water simply do not know how to control their bodies, so they are afraid of drowning. Because of this, they tense up, the muscles become even heavier, and the person really goes under water faster.

So that the child is not afraid of water, go into the pond with him. First, practice the movements at a shallow depth, supporting the child under the belly or back. If the child already knows how to move his arms and legs correctly, it will not be difficult for him to repeat this in the water. As soon as you notice that the baby has become more confident, you can increase the depth.

After a few lessons, the child will learn to hold on and move on the water on his own and will no longer be afraid of it.

6. To move, you need to push off the water, and not hit it with your hands

Many children and non-swimmers thrash the water with their hands and feet. So they create a sea of ​​splashes, spend energy, but practically do not move from their place. If you look at professional swimmers, you will notice that they move almost imperceptibly in the water, like dolphins. They create a minimum of splashes, but swim much faster.

The whole secret of movement under water lies in the fact that from it push off. A person does this with the help of feet and palms. We need to push off the water just like any other surface, because when we are under it, it becomes elastic. That is why it is important to work out the correct movements before you start swimming.

7. Drag your child half a meter underwater and bring them to the surface to learn how to swim at depth.

To learn how to swim under water, you need to be able to hold your breath and push off from it correctly. But the child still does not know how to calculate his strength, so you should not allow him to swim to the depths on his own.

To help your child master scuba diving, ask him to dive under water, then drag him a short distance, supporting waist or hands, and pull out of the water. You can repeat this exercise several times, increasing the distance. After that, the baby, most likely, will be able to swim under water on their own.

To control the distance, swim away and ask the child to swim to you underwater. If everything goes well, you can offer him to swim to you and back. Before diving, make sure that the child has learned how to move correctly and is not afraid of the depth.

There is nothing particularly difficult in swimming, and it will not be difficult to teach another to the correct movements - however, provided that you yourself already know how to swim. If you move in the water "like a dog" or use an air mattress for this, it is unlikely that you will be able to teach your child to move correctly.

Can be used video lessons, but if the kid is determined to spend a lot of time in the water, it is better to take a few lessons from the trainer before the trip. A child will not become a super swimmer in 3-4 lessons, but he will learn to stay on the water, dive, hold his breath and control his body in a new environment.

So the trip for the baby will be more pleasant and safer, and you do not have to worry about him.

These tips are also suitable for adults who do not know how to swim, but want to learn how to swim. How do you feel about open water? Do you like to swim or do you prefer to spend time on land?