Swimming is an art. It is one of the most famous sports in the world. However, it is never easier to learn this art. As with most of the sports, learning swimming is much easier for the children than to try it in relatively older age. Children have more flexibility in their muscles and bones that make it easier for them to adapt to any style.
Best age for teaching swimming to a child is between four to six years. It is not possible for a child to swim before the age of three years and it will be harder for him to learn swimming after the age of six years. So, if you aim to groom your child as a professional swimmer, start the teaching between four to six year so age.
However, making a child acquainted with water from very early age helps to build confidence in them. They will feel comfortable with the water and will never be afraid of it in their coming age. The aim is to get the fear of water out of them. So, try to dip a child in the water, drunk his head in water, splash water around him; all these practices will get him familiarized with the water and he will not feel scared.
Fear results in tension thus preventing the muscles from normal functioning. Enhanced rate of breathing is also a caused by fear. A child who is familiar with the water will learn swimming with more comfort and ease than for a child who is not familiar with a water pool. Here we are giving you tips on how to teach swimming to a child.
Make The Swimming Enjoyable For The Child
Don’t press him for swimming. A child not willing to swim or enter the pool may face a horrible situation if you force him to do so. It may cause total failure. So, make swimming enjoyable for him. Develop a sense of amusement and joy in your child while swimming, instead of forcing it.
Take your child to the swimming pool and provide him the option to see people, especially children of his age group, swimming around in the pool. Once your child is familiar with the environment of swimming pool and enjoys it, start putting him in the pool. In the first instance, it is normally observed, that children have the tendency of crying, so don’t panic; it’s just a normal behavior.
However, if they are scared of water and keep on crying pull them out of the pool. Remain in the water yourself and try to attract the child by way of toys floating in the water. Slowly and steadily, your child will get out of fear and start enjoying in water.
Training a child should be consistent enough, without a long break. However, if after 4-5 sessions, he still feels scared, give him a break for 3-4 months. But keep him close to this environment and see other children swim around. This will help him overcome his fear.
Use Of Gadgets
After the child, has got familiarized with the water, he should be able to move in the water with the help of some training devices and floating supports, such as rubber rings, tubes or foam pads. This will give confidence to the child to stay inside the water.
Art Of Breathing Under Water
Breathing underwater is something very important in learning the art of swimming. Children normally get scared of going underwater with a fear in their mind, how I will breathe? So, it is necessary to get the child learn how to breathe underwater.
Get him acquainted with this by ducking him into the water and ask him to blow while under water. In the next phase, teach him to use his nose and mouth to blow under water. In the last phase, teach them to blow with entire head under water.
Swimming Techniques
Once your child has learned how to breathe underwater, basic has been done. Now it’s time to develop his swimming techniques. You can do so as under:
- Teach him to start paddling by using his legs.
- Teach him to dive straight.
- Discourage use of arms by your child for swimming, at this point of time; instead, teach him to kick with legs. Practice leg kicking by holding railing of the swimming pool with his arms and kick with his legs as much as he can.
- Once he develops proper leg kicking technique, now it’s time for him to start developing arms movement.
- Arms movement is the most important part of developing swimming techniques in a child. Once he adopts proper arms movement techniques, he can then be trained for all other swimming techniques with the help of a professional trainer/coach.
- When going to buy some swimming material or devices for him, take him you to the market. This will develop interest and excitement in him.
If you like my article about, ‘How To Teach Swimming To A Child?’ and you’re interested in reading more related articles you may visit the ‘fitness‘ category at TryArticles. Please leave a comment below that how much you find this article helpful. You may also hit your queries in the comment section below if any.
