If your child can float comfortably on his front for at least five seconds, then he’s ready to learn how to back float.

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If he cannot perform a front float yet, go to Help Your Child Learn How to Front Float.

April 2019 update: I made this video which is filled with awesome tips to ease your child into back floating.

To teach the back float, you’ll need access to a swimming pool, preferably one with wide shallow steps, but it’s not necessary.

Your child might need a swimming headband or a swim cap

Even though your child may be comfortable, he might still be averse to the water entering his ears when he attempts a back float. It’s nothing that a swimming headband or an ear cap (swim cap) can’t fix.

A swimming headband is a neoprene band that fits nicely over the ears from the hairline and fastens in the back of the neck with velcro.

If you choose a swim cap, I recommend a silicone ear swim cap. The design includes excess material that completely covers the ears. Both options do a great job of keeping the water from tickling the ears which are really what the issue is for most children.

What about earplugs?

In my opinion, earplugs are more of a hassle than a remedy. They continually fall out of the ears. Headbands are supposed to keep them in place, but in my experience, that wasn’t always the case.

The ear swim cap or the headband without earplugs have worked 100% of the time with all of my ear sensitive students.

 

The back float is easy for some and not so easy for others

How well you back float is determined by body composition. The more air in the lungs and the more body fat, the easier it is to float. Good news for those who like desserts.

Muscle and bone on the other hand sink. A very muscular person with very little body fat will have trouble back floating.

The actual definition of floating is to rest or remain on the surface of a liquid according to Dictionary.com. A very muscular person will need to maintain a constant arm and leg action to stay afloat.

Head position for a successful back float

With the head back and the chin tilted up slightly, your child will be well on his way to floating on his back.

When first learning the back float, however, your child will probably not tilt his chin up enough to achieve this. With a little practice, he will begin to relax, positioning his head correctly and allowing the water to support him.

The back float doesn’t need to be horizontal

Your child will probably kick his feet up toward the surface. Discourage this, because when he kicks his feet up, his hips will drop and so will he.

Encourage him to stick out his belly button, pressing it up toward the sky and let the feet be where they want to be.

With the arms extended out like airplane wings and the head back, he will float with ease.

For some children, the feet might hang down, touching or almost touching the bottom. That’s okay. For others, they may naturally float in a more horizontal position or somewhere in between. All of which are perfectly good back floats.

 

How to let the feet be where they want to be

This is easier said than done. As mentioned previously, your child will probably kick his feet up toward the surface.

Just telling your child, “let your feet be where they want to be” or “don’t do anything with your feet” may work for some grade school children, but not so much with preschoolers and then repeating it will just fall on deaf ears.

So, instead of telling him to do nothing with his feet, you can tell him to tuck his feet under his body, but make sure he still sticks out his belly button.

How to support your child in a back float

Position yourself so that your shoulders are in the water. The back of your child’s head rests on your shoulder. Support his lower back with one hand and place your other hand on his stomach.

If he’s comfortable with this, cradle his head in the hand that was on his stomach and hold him close, right under your chin.

If he’s relaxed in this position, extend your arms to separate his head from your body.

As long as he is still happy, you can remove your hand from his back, but hold it close just in case he loses control.

Motivate your child to back float

Some preschoolers will flat out refuse to try the back float. A little motivation goes a long way.

The Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Undersea Treasure Hunt is a big hit with my students as young as 15-months of age. It comes with an opening at the top for inserting coins. It includes four coins, which is the perfect amount for this motivational activity.

Tell your child that when you hold him in a back float to the count of three (3 seconds), then he can drop a coin into the treasure chest. He’ll want to do it.

Don’t push him to do more than four back floats if he doesn’t want to. If he wants to do more, then go for it.

 

Experiment with letting go

If he remains calm while just supporting his head, then pull him close and rest his head on your chest.

Gently place your fingertips on either side of his head. Before letting go, make sure his head is tilted back enough. If he keeps his head back when you let go, he will be back floating independently. You might need to adjust his arms, belly button, and feet.

For a successful back float always remember – head back, arms out like airplane wings, stick out the belly button and let the feet be where they want to be. You can also suggest that he take a deep breath and hold it for a few seconds to make him extra buoyant.

 

Feeling the water float you on the wide shallow steps of the swimming pool

If your child wants to try the back float all by himself, the shallow steps are a great place to practice. You will need to demonstrate this first, however.

Sit down on one of the lower steps, support yourself with your hands as you lean back and gently rest your head on the top step. Keep your hands on the step, do nothing with your feet and stick out your belly button, so that you’re no longer in contact with the surface.

After a few seconds, allow your hands to rise off the step no more than an inch or two. Feel the water float you. Instruct your child to do the same and assist him when placing his head on the step.

Don’t expect it to be perfect. Your child probably won’t reach out far enough with his arms to allow his head to touch the surface at first. As he gets more comfortable with this, he’ll be able to do it with ease.

 

The back float at the wall

Using the wall forces your body into the correct position for the back float.

Demonstrate this first. Hold onto the wall or gutter with both hands in about 4 feet of water. Lower yourself down and press your belly button against the wall. Lay your head back in the water as you extend your arms.

When you feel like you’re floating, drop your hands in the water. When it’s time to let go, make sure you drop your hands and let them submerge. Don’t lift your hands, because if you lift your hands above the water, the weight of them will push you under the water.

When it’s your child’s turn, support her if necessary. The wall forces the feet down. When your child drifts away from the wall, she’ll probably want to kick her feet up. Encourage her to let the feet be where they want to be.

 

For a totally independent back float

The next step is to be able to back float without your assistance.

Have your child continue to practice at the wall until he can do it independently. Once he’s comfortable with this, have him try it without the wall. At this point, suggest that your child uses a nose clip.

I have my students imagine that the wall is right in front of them, then get them to put their belly button against the pretend wall. If they’re struggling with this, I’ll put my hand out and have them pretend that my hand is the wall.

After they put their belly button against my hand, they’ll attempt a back float. At this point, they usually need to be reminded of all of the components of a back float.

Remember – head back, arms out like airplane wings, stick out the belly button and let the feet be where they want to be. You can also suggest that he take a deep breath and hold it for a few seconds to make him extra buoyant.

 

How long will it take my child to learn to back float?

As long as he can front float independently for at least five seconds, he will probably acquire the skills to back float within two to three practice sessions with your assistance.

It might take a little longer if he’s under five years old. A totally independent back float will take a few more practice sessions.

Once he can do it unaided for at least fifteen seconds consistently, then it’s time to play with his newly acquired skills.

Help your child eliminate the need for goggles, a nose clip, and ear protection.

Is your child comfortable in the shallow end of a swimming pool? Can he easily put his face in the water for at least ten seconds, front float for at least five seconds independently, back float for at least fifteen seconds unaided, roll and retrieve objects from the bottom?

If he can perform all of these skills with the aid of a nose clip, goggles, and/or ear protection, it’s time to wean him off these crutches.

If your child feels that he’s not ready to give up this protection yet, don’t force it (especially if he’s only four years old). But there’s no harm in a little encouragement.

Sometimes ending up in the water is out of our control. To avoid a panicked situation, your child must learn how to perform all of these skills without the added gear.

You can start the weaning process in a bathtub or on the steps of a swimming pool.

How to wean your child from the nose clip

Demonstrate this first. While sitting in a bathtub or on the steps of a swimming pool, hold your nose closed with your thumb and index finger.

Now take a breath and hold it (when demonstrating this, fill your cheeks with air. You can say, “look at my balloon face.”) put your face in the water, let go of your nose for a couple of seconds or more, hold your nose again, then take your face out of the water.

Now have your child try it with his “balloon face.” (If he’s not willing to try, these games might motivate him) Even if it’s just for a split second. As long as he doesn’t panic, he will probably be okay with this.

See if he can lengthen the time. Challenge him to do it for two or three or more seconds.

If water is going up his nose, have him blow bubbles with his nose or hum when his face is in the water. Humming will automatically cause the air to exit the nose.

Blowing bubbles with the nose

Blowing bubbles with the nose takes a little practice. As mentioned above, humming will automatically cause the air to exit the nose.

Try this above the water first. Have your child close his mouth and hum.

Make sure that he begins to hum before he puts his face in the water. Continue to hum while his face is in the water AKA blow bubbles with his nose and don’t stop humming until his face is safely out of the water.

Even though this seems like a  simple exercise, I still see bubbles being produced from the mouths of some of my students, since they’re not closing their mouths tightly enough.

It’s a challenge for some, but many children can hold their breath or just blow bubbles with their mouth, not their nose and still keep their noses happy. There’s no one right way; it’s just a personal preference.

But ultimately learning how to blow bubbles with the nose is necessary when learning formal swimming strokes.

Once your child gets the hang of putting his face in the water without a nose clip, have him practice all of his newly acquired skills without the nose clip.

He may still find it to be a challenge to roll over without a nose clip. Even I get a little water up my nose sometimes when I roll over or swim on my back. There will be times where it just can’t be avoided.

Freedom from the goggles

Your child doesn’t have to give up goggles altogether. It is a good idea, however, to learn to be comfortable in the water without them.

It’s comforting to know that if your child ended up in the water without warning, that he wouldn’t panic.

In a bathtub or on the steps of a swimming pool, have your child practice putting his face in the water with his eyes closed, but without goggles.

When he’s ready, have him close his eyes, put his face in the water, then just open and close his eyes, like a blink. He’ll probably feel a slight stinging sensation, but it disappears soon after.

Encourage him to try it again and open his eyes for a couple of seconds, unless he doesn’t want to, then don’t force it. Just try it again another day and set goals to lengthen the time.

To be independent of the goggles will ultimately give him more freedom in the water. He’ll be able to enjoy a day of recreational swimming with family and friends and not be the least bit concerned about his eyes.

Goggles certainly have their place. In addition to being able to see more clearly underwater, some swim schools require that their students wear them.

Time to eliminate the ear protection

You might not even need to help your child with this. He may simply forget about it one day and start swimming without it. I’ve seen it happen with some of my students.

Let your child decide when he’s ready to give up the ear protection, whether it’s an ear swim cap (a swim cap that covers the ears), a swimming headband or even ear plugs.

Check in with him now and then to see if he’s willing to put an ear lobe in the water. If he is, that’s great.

You could encourage him to place one whole ear in the water with motivational games.

Have him hold on to the edge of the pool, turn his head to one side and lower it into the water. If he’s still happy, have him try the other ear. If he’s not happy, don’t force it. Suggest that he try again on another day.

If all goes well, encourage him to submerge his whole head. Most of my ear sensitive students only need ear protection when they swim or float on their back. They don’t like how the water tickles their ears.

One of my students helped me understand that for him, once his ears filled with water, he was okay. This discovery helped him realize that he no longer needed the ear protection.

There are no other positions in the water that have the same effect on the ears. Reassure your child that it’s okay to have water in his ears while swimming. It won’t hurt him. It goes away as soon as his head is out of the water.

How to prevent swimmer’s ear

1. I start by emptying one of those little bottles of ear drying drops and replacing the contents with 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 Tablespoon of rubbing alcohol. I also reuse the same container over and over again.
2. I administer 5 drops in each ear every time I get out of the pool. No need to lie down on each side for 5 minutes as you are required to do so with antibiotic ear drops for it to penetrate. Just 5 drops in each ear, and that’s it.

Where do we go from here?

If your child is completely comfortable in shallow water, then she is ready to conquer her fear of deep water.

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By completely comfortable, I mean she can float on her front independently for at least ten seconds. She can back float unaided for at least thirty seconds. And finally, she can roll in various ways, propel through the water, bob, and dive for objects.

Now she is ready to take these skills and apply them to deeper waters.

Shallow water vs. deep water

Ask your child, “what do you think will happen when you try to float in the deep water?”

Chances are, she’ll reply with a resounding “I’ll sink!”

At this point, you’ll want to assure her that the deep water is the same as the shallow water. It does just as good a job of supporting her as the shallow water.

She will probably not be convinced just yet until she experiences it for herself.

How long it will take before your child is comfortable in the deep water will depend on your child and her level of fear of the deep water.

Also, her age can play a factor. Older children are more willing to take chances and, therefore, acclimate to the deep end sooner than younger children.

Remember to practice patience and don’t force your child to do anything she doesn’t want to do. Follow her lead and let her go at her own pace.

Monkey walking

Make your way to the deeper water with your child by holding onto the gutter or edge of the pool with both hands, moving along one hand at a time. This activity is called monkey walking.

She might want to monkey walk all the way to the deepest part of the pool, or she may only be willing to go as far as shoulder or neck deep water. That’s okay. Start with whatever she’s comfortable.

Each time you practice with her, encourage her to go a little bit deeper even if it’s just a few inches further along the wall than it was the time before. If she’s not willing, don’t force it.

Remember always to practice patience and let her go at her own pace. She may not progress as fast as you would like, but if you force her, it will only prolong the process.

Front float in deep water

Practice the front float in the shallow end first.

Her front float should be relaxed with her head in a neutral position while letting her arms and legs float naturally and she should be able to do this for ten seconds or more.

Remind her that the deep water will support her just as well as the shallow water as long as she keeps it consistent.

Time to monkey walk toward the deep end to try the front float. Stop wherever she decides, even if it’s only in shoulder-deep water.

Have her hold onto the gutter or wall, hold her breath, put her face in the water looking at the bottom, and don’t let go. Have her do this for about five seconds or more.

Ask her if she was holding herself up or was the water holding her up. She’ll likely say that the water was holding her.

If she’s ready to let go, make sure she drops her hands into the water. Since lifting them up above the water will make her sink slightly.

Remember that the front float doesn’t have to be horizontal. If the legs dangle, let them dangle.

Back float and otter roll in deep water

Before making your way to the deep end with your child, make sure she practices the back float in the shallow end and that it is completely independent and can do it for at least thirty seconds.

It doesn’t have to be horizontal, but it should be relaxed, and if that means her feet touch or almost touch the bottom, that’s fine. Practice otter rolls too.

Convey to her that if she can back float in the shallow end, then she can back float in the deep end.

Now it’s time to monkey walk with your child toward the deep end. Let your child decide where she wants to try the back float, even if it’s just in shoulder deep water.

When she’s ready, have her hold onto the wall or gutter, place her belly button against the wall, put her head back in the water, extend her arms, and don’t let go.

Ask her if she feels the water floating her or does she think that because she’s holding onto the wall that that’s the only reason why she’s floating. She will most likely say that the water is floating her.

If she’s ready to let go, remind her to drop her hands into the water, don’t lift them up above the pool deck or she will drop down slightly, especially if she drops her chin toward her chest.

If all goes well when she lets go, she’ll start to drift away from the wall. To get back to the wall, have her perform an otter roll.

Penguin float

A penguin float is floating vertically with a straight body, legs together and arms at your sides like a soldier. No reason you can’t call it a soldier float.

Before you have your child attempt it, ask her what she thinks would happen if she were to hold her body in a penguin position in the deep end of the pool.

Once again, she will likely respond with an unequivocal, “I’ll sink!”

Time to test the waters with the penguin float. Make your way to the deep end or as far as your child is willing.

Demonstrate this first. Hold onto the edge or gutter with one hand, the other arm at your side, legs together.

When you’re ready, hold your breath and let go of the wall. Put that arm at your side and keep your head in a neutral position (looking straight ahead).

If you’ve never done this before, you may be surprised at just how buoyant you are in this position. Some people will end up just below the surface while others will float higher exposing most of their face.

Now it’s your child’s turn. If she needs help, do this in a depth in which you can stand, but is deep enough for her. Now hold her arms at her sides then let go once she holds her breath.

Why do a penguin float?

To illustrate once again, just how buoyant we are (except for very muscular people and people with very little body fat). It proves that we’re not going to drop like a rock to the bottom even in a vertical position.

So if you want to float better, indulge in sweets, but if you want to live longer on land, moderation is key.

But seriously folks, now that you have acquired this new information, you might be thinking to yourselves “if my mouth and nose are just inches from getting air, it must take minimal effort to tread water.”

And you would be exactly right. Not that this is a lesson in treading water, but it is a step toward it.

Balloon float

Once your child has the hang of the penguin float, have her pretend to be a helium-filled balloon.

If you have a ladder in the deep end of your pool, use it for this activity, If not you can use the wall or just hold your child in position.

As you know, a helium-filled balloon rises when you let go of it. To be a helium-filled balloon, hold your breath, get yourself down to the bottom while holding the penguin position then let yourself rise back up to the surface. Holding your breath is key.

Now have your child try it. It’s fun. She’ll probably want to do it again and again.

Bobbing in deep water

Help your child work her way up to bobbing in a depth of about six or seven feet.

Start by practicing bobbing in chest or shoulder deep water. Make sure your child has a good rhythm of blowing bubbles then taking a breath and can stay in control for at least fifteen bobs.

Every time she goes under, she should bend her knees and then push off from the bottom (exactly like jumping up and down on land). Her arms should go up when she goes down, and they should go down when she goes up.

In water over her head, the arm action is even more dramatic. Starting with her arms straight and at her sides, have her sweep her arms up over her head while blowing bubbles to get down, then sweep them back down to her sides (like the wings of an eagle) with the jumping action to get back up to the surface to take another breath. Repeat this sequence multiple times.

More on deep water

Remember to be patient and let your child go at her own pace. Encourage her to go a little deeper each time, but if she doesn’t want to, don’t force it, it will only prolong the process.

Other deep water activities that you can do while accompanying her is to have her kick to the deep end while using a kick board, a swimming noodle or even my favorite, the Finis Floating Island. It’s a large mat with holes, so they can see the bottom while lying on top of the mat.

Many of my students who are still working on overcoming their fear of the deep water, surprisingly love these activities.