Why and from when should your children learn to swim?
Water attracts many children like magic. The gentle feeling of waves on the skin and the splashing arouse the little ones' interest, so they can hardly wait to explore the world of water.
But this also contains sources of danger that are all too often underestimated by curious explorers. Drowning is one of the most common causes of death among children.
How can you best prevent that? Swimming is the best protection for your children. Because they learn certain 'self-rescue skills' that enable them to escape dangerous situations on their own and to keep themselves afloat independently for a while.
Last but not least, this also protects your kids' joints, strengthens their muscles, immune system and stamina. Postural problems and tension are also prevented.
The earlier your children learn to swim, the better. This not only helps to prevent swimming accidents, it also gives them a natural and fearless sense of security, independence and self-reliance.
Even babies and toddlers should regularly come into contact with water so that they can become familiar with the element.
Proper learning to swim can from about four or five years old be undertaken. Because only then do your children have sufficient motor skills that enable them to perform more complex swimming movements and to learn basic techniques.
They are also at that age large enough to stand in the non-swimmer pool and to concentrate on instructions.
As a rule of thumb: If your children can ride a bike safely and without training wheels, they are also capable of learning to swim.
In the best case, your children can before starting school swim or at least be well into the learning process. In primary schools, swimming is often only offered from the third grade onwards.
Furthermore, teachers cannot cater to every pupil and cannot devote enough attention to anxious non-swimmers. When your children actually learn to swim, however, also depends on their development, their interest and enthusiasm for the water.
Be good role models for your kids. If you show them that you are also not afraid of the water, the likelihood is high that they will eagerly throw themselves into the process of learning various swimming techniques.
Water familiarization: How to reduce your children's fear of water
To turn your children into enthusiastic swimmers, it is important that you familiarize them with water at a young age. For this, your little ones don't necessarily have to go fully underwater with their whole body. Especially water-shy children need time to warm up to the cool wetness. Your children's 'swimming career' starts with fun in the water and splashing around.
Already in the bathtub, the paddling pool, and the non-swimmer pool they get to know how to handle water, lose their fear, and discover pressure, resistance, and buoyancy as properties of this special element. Also with water games and splashy ideas for garden games, children can be enthused about splashing and eventually about swimming.
Through games, non-swimmers gain an easier access to the water. Sooner or later they lose the fear of moving in it. If you already start enjoying splashing moments with your babies, that is certainly helpful for every further step in the child's development. Your children are much more likely to enjoy learning to swim and do not perceive it as something unsafe.
However, do not try to pressure your children into it and persuade them of the fun of water. They have their own pace, which you should only accommodate with a lot of patience and understanding.
If you don't dare to do the water familiarization yourselves, swimming courses that are dedicated specifically to it are an option. Water familiarization courses are often offered from as early as one to three years old offered. There your children meet like-minded peers. It often seems even easier to learn that way and the shyness is unconsciously forgotten. We recommend these baby swim diapers for learning to swim for your little ones.
Baby swimming
Water familiarization courses for infants and toddlers are known as 'baby swimming'. This is not about learning specific swimming techniques, but rather about the first contact with the water.
Your children thus learn a certain sense of protection that in the future makes it possible for them to recognize dangerous situations instinctively and act accordingly.
Before baby swimming can begin, you should already prepare your children slowly for the water while bathing.
Familiarize your children with contact with the wet element during bath time using splash toys, rubber ducks, etc.
Only when your babies and toddlers have become familiar with this feeling on their own skin can baby swimming be considered.
The earliest time to enroll in baby swimming is your children's fourth month of life. From this age they can regulate their body temperature independently, which is essential for contact with water.
To find the right baby swimming course for you, you should attend multiple different trial sessions. A good course is characterized by age-appropriate, pedagogically sensible, and child-safe procedures.
The child's welfare is the focus and you as parents will clearly feel that. In addition, a suitable swimming course is characterized by not having too many people, so that the swim instructor can concentrate equally on all participants.
You can recognize a good swim teacher above all by their skills and transparency regarding existing qualifications. They give you the impression of being able to create safety and of taking the concerns and fears of parents seriously.
Once you have decided on a baby swim course, you will from then on collect shared experiences that further strengthen your emotional bond.
Playfully, your babies and toddlers expand their range of movement, which at the same time trains their coordination skills. Step by step your water safety improves, which lead you toward a successful 'swimming career'.
Swimming rules for your swim training
Successful swim training is not only reflected in your children being able to keep themselves afloat independently. It already shows in the preparatory steps that include an explanation of your swimming rules. Only you yourselves ensure your safety when swimming and splashing. Therefore it is helpful if you keep reminding yourselves of the do's and don'ts for your swimming sessions.
Never enter the pool with a full or completely empty stomach.
Your children only enter the water when they have informed you or the swim instructor.
Non-swimmers should only enter the water up to their stomachs. They should also be able to stand in the non-swimmer pool.
Non-swimmers should remain only in the non-swimmer pool until they feel confident in their swimming attempts.
Do not run near the pools!
Keep in mind that (inflatable) swimming and flotation aids do not provide reliable safety and should really only be used as aids during swim training.
No one should dunk another person under or push them into the water.
Children are not forced to swim. They go at their own pace.
Always observe the age restrictions and safety instructions posted at the water slides.
Additionally, slide only one at a time and feet first.
As soon as you are in the water, leave the slide area immediately.
What your children learn in swimming lessons
Once your children have gained their first experiences in the water, it really gets going now. Swimming courses can already be taken between the ages of two and five be completed. However, note that they only learn the basic techniques from four or five years of age to learn. Before that, your kids can only to a limited extent keep themselves afloat for short periods using light crawl-like movements (similar to a dog paddling).
By the age of five their motor skills are developed enough that more complex movement sequences and basic swimming techniques come easier to them. As a rule you can consider the following criteria when choosing a swim course: In a good course there are no more than eight children per caregiver. The swim teachers do not rely on shock therapy; rather it is about empathy. Because: Swimming lessons should never primarily involve pressure or group coercion. Additionally, swim teachers should convey swimming movements in a child-appropriate way and in small, thoroughly explained steps.
To find a suitable offer for a children's swimming course, it's advisable to ask around among acquaintances about their experiences or attend several trial lessons at different swim clubs to attend. Your feelings and instincts will guide you. Let your kids have a say, after all, it's primarily about their well-being. Furthermore, parents may be present during trial lessons and in many clubs during lessons to accompany and even support their little swimmers during the swimming exercises.
The contents of swimming courses differ by age group. While at the beginning arm floats and other swimming and buoyancy aids are used as support in the water, gradually playfully, various exercises for independent swimming are added.Basic techniques of freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke to learn and later to work toward the swimming badge "Seepferdchen".
As a rule, children usually need about 15 to 20 practice sessions of 30 minutes each. How long your kids actually need to learn to swim, however, varies completely by individual. After all, every little swimmer has their own learning pace to earn their swimming badge.
The main steps of the course content, roughly summarized:
Kicking
Add the arms
Train coordination
Have fun doing iti
Teaching children to swim yourself – here's how
Besides swim classes, you parents can also teach your children aged four and up to swim – provided you are confident swimmers yourselves. Because only if you feel comfortable in the water and enjoy swimming yourselves can you give your little water mice a sense of security.
Especially toddlers pay close attention to how you parents feel about being in the water. Your enthusiasm practically rubs off on your kids.
It's also important that you radiate a certain calm and have time and patience. Especially at the beginning your children may be very hesitant about the swimming exercises. In order for them to really master the swimming techniques, a lot of practice and repetition is required. Your praise and understanding of their learning pace will affirm them in their development. That increases your children's motivation and leads to small and big successes in the long run.
Don't change your training location too often. That can really throw your children off. It's best to choose a place where you perform your swimming exercises each time. Whether public pools, your own garden pool, or outdoor pools – the decision is entirely up to you. Once your children are a bit more confident in swimming, you may change locations so that first swimming outings can be combined with swimming attempts. However, give your kids a bit of settling-in time. Here too: Be very patient.
It is important that you parents have all the knowledge about the proper approach. The learning methods should generally differ little from those in a swim club.
Set lesson sessions
Similar to swim clubs, you should create a sort of schedule. In advance, jointly set fixed days and times that you want to use for your swim lessons. Fixed and agreed training times allow you to focus your concentration and attention on learning to swim – without distractions from everyday stress.
A practice session should last half an hour and be scheduled at least twice a week – this will quickly lead to great results that encourage you to continue.
Do dry exercises first
The swimming movements to be learned should always be rehearsed on dry land first . Starting with the leg work and then the arm work, these routines solidify in your children's minds. Also, the movements will be much easier for them in the water – they will simply be familiar with them.
Leg movements can be practiced, for example, on a chair. The goal is to combine leg and arm work. Once the basic movements are rehearsed, continue in the water.
Practice kicking – the first leg work
Now the leg work is performed in the water first. Encourage your children to kick with their legs in the water.
To do this they hold on to the pool edge, the body lies on the water surface and the legs are moved evenly like frog legs toward and away from the body.
Many children tend to let their legs sink downwards. Help them trust buoyancy and balance their body.
Practice proper breathing
If the kicking works, show your children how proper breathing works: This way they stay calm even during brief underwater moments.
Teach your little water mice how they can make bubbles in the water. Hold the breath, dip the mouth and then the nose under water – this helps build confidence.
Not all children dare to tackle the exercises right away. It's best to show them first. That way they see that nothing can happen to them.
Practice paddling (arm work)
You have learned leg work and breathing, now the arms are added. To be able to move independently, first practice only the arm work in the water. The sequence of movements is already familiar to you from the dry exercises. Only after that can you slowly work your way toward the combination of all movements.
For toddlers it will probably be easier at first to a kind of paddling motion to attempt before they have enough strength for precise execution. So let them alternately kick with both legs while paddling with their arms. Now it's practice, practice, practice until they perform confident swimming movements .
Incorporate fun play
Boredom should not arise in your swim training at all. Always combine learning with fun water games and short splash breaks. This way your children perceive the learning process as something positive. Motivation increases and they'll want to learn more and more on their own.
Water toys or items like a hula hoop turn dry learning sessions into modern teaching methods that are taken up by your children with great joy. A big dose of fun is appreciated not only by the youngest. Surely you parents will also enjoy your swim lessons.
Swimming aids to support learning to swim
Swimming aids such as swim armbands, pool noodles, and kickboardsThey are helpful for learning swimming movements. However, they should not be used for long. Keep the following in mind:
Swimming aids are used when learning to swimonly as aids for learning the individual movement sequences. They should never be regarded as reliable safety aidsbecause they can sometimes even hinder rescue efforts in emergencies or even be responsible for swimming accidents.
So, see swimming aids primarily asa kind of 'water toy', which make the first attempts at swimming easier but do not replace your helping hands. In general, you should also ensure that the buoyancy aids meet a certain testing standard before you use them for learning to swim.The designation EN 13138-1 indicates a 'safe' swimming aid that you can use for your training sessions. Also the GS seal should be on the packaging or the swimming aid.
If you use swim armbands etc., they should consist oftwo or more separate air chambersconsist of. It is important that the aids have no Velcro fasteners or sharp edges have - this only causes discomfort for your children and they can also come off by themselves.
Seahorse & Co.: When are children considered safe swimmers?
If your children have the crawl and breaststroke down that well, they may earn the Seahorse badge.
They receive the swimming badge if they manage to swim a 25-meter lane, jump into water of swimming depth, and retrieve an object from the bottom in chest-deep water.
However, this is basically only a motivational badge.
After the Seahorse, your children are by no means immediately safe swimmers. It doesn't say much about their actual swimming ability, so children are often overestimated or even overestimate themselves. Dangerous situations can therefore still arise. Especially because they already tire very quickly over longer distances after a short time.
In order for your children to be water-safe and be regarded as safer swimmers, you should keep at it. Continue to practice swimming regularly. Only with the Bronze Youth Swimming Badge are your children considered safe swimmers. The swimming badge indicates that they can also swim several short distances and orient themselves both on and under water.
We wish you and your children lots of fun and success in learning to swim.
