Swimming - getting started

Using the swimming pool is a means to develop many skills, such as co-ordination, strength, stability and social skills.   Emphasis should not be placed on whether your child can ‘breast stroke’ or ‘crawl’ up and down the pool, but rather on having fun.
 
Remember, the main aim is for him/her to enjoy being in the water. Make a mental list of all the things that you want to achieve in the water, so that you don’t find yourself standing around and getting cold.
 
If it is your first few attempts getting your child started in swimming, don’t be too disappointed if he/she refuses to get into the water. Don’t force your child; just let him/her watch from the side. Never try to shame your child by comparing them unfavorably with other children.
 

Getting changed  

If balance is poor, let your child sit down to remove his/her clothes, as the slippery floor may compromise them further. Fold clothes as they are taken off and put them in a pile. This means that they will be in the right order to put them back on again afterwards. When dressing after the session, use talcum powder (provided that you do not have an allergy to it) to make putting clothes back on easier.
 

Entering the pool

Sit on the side of the pool with your child’s feet resting on the trough. (Have an adult stand in front of you already in the water). Encourage your child to put both hands on one side of his/her body and turn over on to their front. Next, slide down into the water resting the hands on the trough or handrail. This way the steps are not used and the arms will be strengthened at the same time.
 

Equipment for beginners

Arm Bands: These are useful for safety, making the child feel at ease and allowing for some freedom of movement. The biggest disadvantage is that children can quickly become reliant upon them and then become reluctant to take them off. Some experts advise not using them altogether. The best type to buy is the inflatable ones with double chambers and safety valves.
 
Aqua Packs: These are inflatable packs which strap to the back. The pressure of the water can force the pack up round the neck and they tend to make the child swim vertically.
 
Floats: Polystyrene swimming boards are useful for encouraging horizontal movement in the water. 
 

Activities at the side of the pool - water confidence

• Play at washing hands and face in the water.
 
• Blow the water away from the face (this is the most basic skill for swimming). Take a ping-pong ball or '
  Fried Egg ' toy and encourage your child to blow it away for further practice. Next, get your child to hold
  onto your hands and place the floating toy in-between his/her arms. Get your child to walk forwards
  across the width of the pool whilst blowing the toy in front of him/her (you should be walking
  backwards).
 
• Drop down so that the shoulders are under the water. Practise the activity above, keeping low to the
  water.
 
• As your child’s confidence grows, encourage him/her to put the face into the water and blow the toy
  with his/her mouth on the water.
 
• Go back to the side of the pool and, holding the rail with both hands, jump up and down so that the
  water is above the shoulders. If it is easier, jump up and down until the face is in the water and so on
  until the whole head is under the water - come back up for air of course!
 
• Play games such as 'Ring - a - Ring - O – Roses’ to encourage moving around in the water to get used
  to the drag of the water and to feel the sense of buoyancy whilst still holding on to an adult’s hand. 
 
• Stand in the water just above the waist. Start by just walking across the pool, sliding the feet along the
  floor. Go back to the side and this time try running across or pretending to be a kangaroo by jumping
  across.
 
• Play push and glide from the rail. Practise this facing front, and, if confident enough, on the back.
 
• In the shallow end of the water lie out straight in the water, pushing up through the arms, and walk
  along using the hands for feet. If confident enough, play the same game, but on the back.

Strengthening activities for the legs

• Facing forward, hold onto the pool rail and march on the spot. Encourage your child to try to bring the
  knees up high towards the waist and really push the water down with the feet. Next, try jogging on the
  spot.
 
• Stand facing forwards and hold on to the rail, do stride jumps so that his/her feet end up more than hip
  width apart then pull the legs back together again. Repeat 10 times. Try the same but do a tuck
  jump bringing the knees up to the chest each time.
 
• Encourage your child to lie on his/her front. Hold on to the rail and stretch the legs out behind. Try to
  keep the arms straight too. Kick the legs hard up and down, one after the other.
 
• Encourage your child to lie on his/her back. Hold on to the rail, with both hands resting the head on the
  rail. Move the legs as though riding a bicycle.
 
• Now try the same as the last two above, but this time the child holds on to a float, one under each arm.
 
• With the child standing with his/her back to you, rest your forearms and hands (palms down) on top of
  their upturned forearms and hands. Don't hold hands, rest them on the top. Adopt a sitting position in
  the water with your shoulders under the water and cycle your legs around as though you were on a
  bike. Move across the width of the pool and back.
 
• Face your child with your forearms resting on their arms as above, walk briskly across the pool and
  back. Next try walking with straight legs and then with high knees.
 
• As above, but jump across "kangaroo" fashion.
 
• Try having races across the pool (water level about waist height). With hands held above the head, try
  running across to the other side. Try different variations – walk/run backwards, sideways, jumping and
  so on.
 
• Encourage your child to lie on his/her back, holding a float to their chest. See if he/she can kick as
  hard as he can and propel himself backwards. To make it a bit harder, encourage him to hold out the
  float behind his head with arms outstretched.
 
• Place a float under each arm and lift the feet off the floor. Encourage the child to relax back in the
  water. Place the soles of the feet together and then flick the legs out to the side (like the movements of
  a frog) to go backwards. Alternatively, make cycle movements and see if he can propel himself
  forward. Upper limb and shoulder girdle strengthening activities
 
• Encourage your child to stand with his/her back against the poolside and his/her shoulders under the
  water in a squat position, hands out straight in front of them, palms facing each other. They should take
  their arms back towards the wall in a wide sweeping action and then, turning palms towards each
  other, bring them back together. Keep arms up level with your shoulders all the time!
 
• Start with your child standing with his/her arms down by their sides, keeping the shoulders under the
  water. Encourage him/her to lift his/her arms up sideways to reach the surface of the water and then
  press them down hard back to the sides. You can make this exercise much harder by encouraging
  your child to hold small swimming floats in his/her hands.
  
• All the above activities are designed specifically with the non-swimmer in mind. However, they are
  good for all children.
 

Leaving the water

Encourage your child to place both his hands on to the poolside. To build up momentum, jump up and down three times as if to push out of the pool. On the fourth jump, push harder on the hands and jump higher to reach the poolside with your trunk. Roll or wriggle further away from the poolside and sit up safely on the edge. Stand behind your child just in case, but offer little or no assistance. By leaving the water in this way he will build up upper body strength and if he should ever fall into deep water, he won't panic looking for the nearest steps! 
 
These are just a few suggestions for activities to help your child gain confidence and develop skills in the water. Try a few ideas of your own and then learning to swim. Try having a one-to-one session first until your child is used to the language used and how his body feels in the water.
 

Other considerations 

• If you want to take these activities into the pool with you, have them photocopied and laminated at
  a good stationers to make them waterproof.
 
• Be aware that if your child is sensitive to noise, they may find the echoey quality of the sound in the
  pool area quite unnerving.
 
• Your child may find it difficult to concentrate on instructions in a group situation, as they cannot filter
  out the instruction from all the background noise. Keep the instructions short and repeat them, followed
  by a demonstration if possible. Then ask your child to repeat them back to you.
 
• If balance is difficult, your child may be unnerved by the slippery poolside. Wear flip-flops or plimsoles
  to the poolside. (Many people do this anyway to prevent catching verrucas etc. so it will not look out of
  place.)