Before you teach your child to glide through water, make sure she can put her face in the water for at least ten seconds, front float for at least five seconds independently, back float for at least ten seconds unaided, roll and retrieve objects from the bottom, before teaching her to propel or glide through the water.

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If she’s ready to propel through the water, you can start with floating face down in a streamlined position. Glide through water.

Floating face down in a streamlined position

It’s like jumping. Have your child stand on the bottom and then jump as high as she can. Now try from the wall.

Sometimes it’s easier to pick up your child and place her feet on the wall. Then tell her to put her face in and push off. Just like jumping off the bottom.

The duck, starfish, penguin stroke

What is the duck, starfish, penguin stroke? It’s a simultaneous arm action performed following a back glide.

To teach this, have your child stand up either on the pool deck or in very shallow water with her arms at her sides.

Tell her to drag her thumbs up against her sides to under her arms. As you demonstrate this, have her mirror your movements. It’s the duck position (duck wings, quack, quack).

Now have her form the letter “Y” with her arms. It’s the starfish position.

And finally, keeping her arms straight, instruct her to bring her arms back down to her sides, keeping in line with her body, more commonly known in my circles as the penguin position.

Repeat this sequence a few times, before having her try it from a back glide.

She might need a little assistance when first learning this. Support her head while she works out the movements.

She might lift her hands out of the water when transitioning from the duck to the starfish position. Encourage her to keep her hands submerged during the entire stroke.

The sweeping action that takes place from the starfish to the penguin position should be performed forcefully with straight arms.

The penguin position should be held for two or three seconds, before repeating the sequence.

This arm action is part of a formal swimming stroke called the elementary backstroke. The elementary backstroke is also known as a resting stroke since it takes minimal effort to cover tremendous distances.

Mastering this arm stroke is essential. It could potentially save your child’s life. Having the capability of propelling through the water with little to no effort and being able to breathe in the process is a life-saving skill and should always be the go-to stroke when fatigued, and breathing is necessary.

What’s next?

If your child can put her whole face in the water for at least 10 seconds, float on her front, float on her back, and has mastered various other rolls and floats, then she’s ready to learn basic breath control skills (blowing bubbles).

Don’t worry if your child hasn’t given up the nose clip yet. She can start by blowing bubbles with her mouth.

Ultimately, however, blowing bubbles with her nose is the better choice since this option is more efficient at keeping the water out of the nose.

If a swimming pool is not an option, your child can practice this in a bathtub.

Blowing bubbles through the mouth

Before putting her face in the water, have your child practice taking a deep breath in, then exhaling slowly through her mouth. Don’t let her hyperventilate.

To prepare to blow bubbles, have your child sit in a bathtub or on the steps of a swimming pool. Tell her to hold her breath, place her mouth in the water and blow bubbles at the surface.

Assuming that went well, have her do it again. This time with her whole face or head in the water.

Have fun Experimenting with blowing bubbles. Have an underwater birthday party with your child. Blow out the candles on the imaginary cake.

You can also have her start blowing bubbles for a second then stop, then begin again and so on. Or hold her breath for about ten seconds under water, then blow bubbles slowly until she needs to come up for air.

This new skill will enable her to keep her face in the water for longer. Many of my students can stay under the water for twenty to thirty seconds or more.

Blowing bubbles through the nose

Blowing bubbles through the nose can be more challenging for children than blowing bubbles through the mouth.

Demonstrate this first out of the water. Take a deep breath in through your mouth then exhale through your nose. Exhale forcefully enough to allow your child to hear the air pass through your nose.

Now it’s her turn to try it. You can tell her that it’s like blowing her nose with a tissue (watch the video for more specific instructions). And just in case your little one doesn’t know how to blow her nose with a tissue yet, here’s a great tip.

Now have her hum after inhaling through her mouth. Humming will automatically blow air through the nose. Humming is the preferred approach. Easier for young swimmers to grasp than just exhaling through the nose.

Time to try this in the water. Tell her to take a deep breath in through her mouth and start humming. Continue to hum then place her mouth and nose in the water.

The chances are that the bubbles she produces will come from her mouth the first few times. Stress to her that she needs to close her mouth tight to make the bubbles come from her nose.

It will take more practice to blow bubbles through the nose, but in the end, it will be worth it. It is the best way to keep the water out of the nose, especially when rolling over in the water.

More specifically, if she starts to exhale or hum before her nose hits the water, continues to blow bubbles through her nose or hum while under the water and keeps exhaling or humming until after she has safely emerged from the water, this will guarantee a happy nose.

Bobbing

Bobbing is rhythmic breathing while bouncing up and down in the water. Rhythmic breathing is essential when learning formal swimming strokes. It’s best to learn this skill in chest-deep water.

Demonstrate this first. Take a breath in through your mouth then squat down to submerge your whole head. Exhale slowly through your mouth or nose then come right back up for more air. Repeat this sequence three or four more times rhythmically.

Now it’s your child’s turn. See if she can do it on her own first. Some kids will stay under the water too long or end up floating because they don’t plant their feet. Some children wipe their face each time they come up for air.

If she needs help, hold her on your hip and take her down and up. Instructing her each time to take a breath then blow bubbles. Or you can face each other and try it while holding hands.

After some practice, she’ll get the hang of it. With a lot more practice and as long as she has an even exchange of air coming in and going out, she should be able to do this for a minute or more.

At first, however, start with more attainable goals, such as three or five bobs in a row.

What’s next?

Propulsion. Teach your child to propel through the water if you haven’t already covered this. Otherwise, if there doesn’t appear to be any trace of fear in your child when she plays around in the shallow end of a swimming pool, she is ready to be introduced to the deep end.

If your child can front float independently for at least five seconds and back float unaided for at least fifteen seconds consistently, then she’s ready to learn how to roll and experiment with other ways of floating.

Not there yet? Go to Help Your Child Learn How to Front Float or Back Float.

Going from horizontal to vertical

Make sure your child can stand up after floating.

From a front float, have her lift her head out of the water, forcing the arms down, bring her knees under her body then place her feet on the bottom and stand up.

Discover how hard it is to sink

It’s a lot of fun to try to sit on the bottom of the pool. Challenge your child to try it. She might get obsessed with this. It’s happened with a few of my students. Don’t discourage her; it’s a great learning opportunity.

She’ll discover that even if she wants to sink, it’s next to impossible. Her body will just float right back up to the surface. If she’s not already convinced that the water floats her, this will make her a believer.

Diving for objects

Diving for objects is a favorite activity among my students. After learning how hard it is to sink, your child will find this to be an enjoyable challenge.

Start by dropping a few sinkable objects, such as rings, torpedoes or treasure in two to three feet of water. Go deeper for bigger kids. It’s best to start with rings as they’re easier to grasp.

Let your child try to figure out how to get down far enough to reach for the object. After a few attempts, you can give her a little push towards the bottom, if she needs help. Eventually, she’ll figure it out.

To teach her how to get to the bottom: she will start in a front float, then bend forcefully at the waist, which will drive her hips up and her torso down, which will put her in reaching distance of the object.

To explain this in a way for her to understand, you might say, “kick your feet down” or “stick your bottom up in the air or up to the sky” after she’s in her front float.

Tuck float

Have a ball becoming a ball. A tuck float is when you float while you hug your knees and tuck your chin to your chest, forming the shape of a ball.

I don’t know what it is about the tuck float, but my students love doing it repeatedly.

In chest-deep water, instruct your child to take a breath, put his face in the water and tuck his chin to his chest, bring his knees up to his chest and wrap his arms around his legs, just below his knees then allow his body to rise to the surface. Have him hold this position for at least five seconds.

Jellyfish float

Pretend to be a jellyfish. Imagine that your limbs and your head are the tentacles of a jellyfish.

Now, in chest-deep water have your child hold his breath, put his face in the water and let his arms, legs, and head hang, relaxing as much as possible. Try to be a jellyfish for at least five seconds.

Some younger children find this to be a challenge. Others have a hard time relaxing in this position. Their arms and legs are straight and stiff.

Discover more with the back float

If your child is completely comfortable and relaxed with the back float and can do it independently every time for at least fifteen seconds, then he’s ready to experiment with it.

It’s a good idea to use a nose clip for this activity since his face may go under the water without warning. You don’t want water entering your child’s nose when he is face up in a supine position. It is most unpleasant to the say the least.

Once he’s in a back float, have him play around with the position of his arms. Keeping his arms just below the surface, have him sweep his arms slowly around and up to above his head (arms remain under the water).

Try to sink from a back float

Now, see if he can figure out how to sink from a back float.

If he brings his chin to his chest, if he kicks his feet up toward the surface and if he reaches with his arms out of the water and up toward the sky, he will sink.

Roll over

Rolling over is an essential safety skill. When learning how to swim on your front, first you must learn how to swim with your face in the water. Being able to roll over on to your back to rest and catch your breath comes in very handy when you get tired from swimming.

When first learning how to roll, most children will have a difficult time keeping the water out of their nose. A nose clip comes highly recommended at this point, especially when rolling from their front to their back. Not the case when rolling from their back to their front.

Have your child perform a back float for a couple of seconds, then hold their breath, roll over and stand up.

Now try from a front float. Have your child hold their breath, execute a front float for at least a couple of seconds, roll to their back and float for a few seconds, then stand up.

Your child might need some help with this one. When attempting to roll over, they may wind up in a sitting position. To fix this, tell your child to “first look at the bottom of the pool, then look at the sky or ceiling, not the walls.” Also, remind them to stick out their belly button to complete the back float.

Otter rolls

Another critical safety skill is the otter roll. It starts in a back float and ends in a front float. In this instance, however, you roll forward rather than sideways.

Have your child perform a back float for a few seconds, then hold his breath and tuck his chin to his chest and then continue to press his chin against his chest. If he maintains this position without using his arms or legs, he will end up in a front float.

If your child is pressing his chin against his chest and doesn’t appear to be rolling forward, it’s likely because he is holding his back straight. Encourage him to relax and round his back (like a tuck float).

After he gets the hang of it, have him do a back float at the wall. Once he starts floating and drifting away from the wall for a few seconds; have him perform an otter roll to get back to the wall.

Jumping in

Start by having your child jump into chest or shoulder-deep water. Any more shallow is discouraged as it’s not safe.

To prepare for the jump, have her put her toes over the edge, give her a point of entry, which should be about a foot from the side.

Now have her jump in on your cue of “1,2,3”. To keep her from possibly hitting the wall on her way in, stand in the pool at her side and place your hand behind her back and be ready to give her a little shove if it appears that she’s about to hit the edge.

If she’s not comfortable with jumping, you can have her take a big step in or enter from a sitting or squatting position. Remind her that after she jumps in, that she can stand up and her head will be out of the water.

Also, make it a habit to have her always get back to the wall after jumping in. Even if all she’s doing at this point is standing up, turning around and stepping back to the wall, it’s ultimately teaching her to swim to safety.

What comes next?