When your child is attending formal swimming lessons, you might wonder what your role is in the pool or bath at home. Should you simply play in the water, or should you actually try to teach your child? The answer is in reality a mix of both. Here are a few recommendations on how to interact with your child in the water outside of their formal swimming education, so you can be sure you are building upon the skills they are learning in class.
Call to mind the first few activities the child does in the swimming class and use these as a foundation. Here the “Learn to Swim” books will also help a lot (www.waterdropkidz.co.za).
Focus on one specific skill at a time like kicking (Danny Duck learns to kick in the water). Repeat the skill to enhance movement and muscle memory. Practise the specific skill that was taught during the class the previous week and don’t tackle too many different skills at a time. Use the same commands as your instructor to keep things consistent. Keep the environment fun and not stressful. The child should still feel that you are like mom or dad, rather than that you are the teacher. If they visibly improve during your one-on-one session, encourage them and cheer them on. And if they seem to remain at the same skill level (or even regress a little), don’t worry. Children can act differently in different atmospheres; the important thing is that you are being intentional about repeating the same skills they are learning in class.
Once you have chosen a particular skill to pay attention to, make sure to only repeat this skill as long as your child seems engaged. That’s when the real learning happens. After they seem to lose interest in the skill, you can shift gears to play time. Even though it might not seem like it, children are still learning when they are playing in the water. Allow them to safely explore how their body feels in the water, how different movements create different sensations and even let them try new skills if they want to. Just be sure that you are there right by them, supporting them and keeping them safe during the fun experience. You never know, sometimes being in the comfort of their own pool, without strangers watching, may take just enough pressure off to allow your little swimmer to show great strides.
Whether you have decided to work on one specific swim skill during the pool session, you just want to take your child’s lead and have fun. Consistency around water safety is key. It is always important to stick to the same safety rules at home that are followed at the swim school. Structured swimming education can be a very valuable way to teach your child to swim, but don’t discount the benefits of teaching your child at home at the same time. There is no place like home for reinforcing the swimming skills the little one is learning in class.
