Naturally, summer is the ideal time to teach your child how to swim. However, it can be a real challenge for both you and the child. Children are usually impatient when it comes to learning some things that are a little more complicated and, at first glance, hardly manageable. If you have decided to teach your child how to swim this summer, read these helpful tips.
Breathing and flotation
Before engaging in teaching of swimming techniques, go over breathing techniques. Teach the child how to dive and holds his breath under water. Some children have even learned to dive first, and then to swim on the surface. Tell them to take a deep breath and dive for five seconds are under water. Repeat the exercise for a few times. Make sure that the child does not pause. It is recommended to teach a child to float on the water. At the beginning, the kids will usually feel fatigue and they might feel that swimming is difficult and cannot swim for more than two meters. But, when you show them that they can rest their backs on the water, it may encourage them.
Arm floats
They will be your best friends. They can be of great help if you use them properly. Whether a child carries arm floats or any inflating accessory, it is important to lose them gradually. Children’s safety is, of course, in the first place, but you do not want them to have fear all the time. In the first days of learning, even first weeks, when the child has already mastered the technique, do not lose the child out of sight. It still does not nearly falls into the category of swimmers.
Team swimmer
The best way to teach kids to swim is on the team, with friends or other children who already know how to swim. Support and advices are important. Of course, make sure you all do not speak with one voice and not confuse the child. A little joke, a lot of support and the child will learn to swim. It is important only to release fear.
Patience
Arm yourself with “a bunch of” patience. It takes lots of time and lot of attention to devote to the kids. Everyone has a different approach, style and speed when it comes to swimming. And just at the moment when you think that you will lose patience, believe me, it is then you needed it the most.
Help of professionals
If you think that this teaching job is not going for you, give the child in the hands of professionals. Send him to swimming lessons, to the best of friends or relatives. This will be fun to experience, and perhaps a child can come to love swimming and decide to make it a hobby.