Helping Your Child Learn to Swim: What Parents Can Do

Learning to swim is one of the most important life skills your child will ever gain. While swim lessons with qualified instructors are essential, parents play a powerful role in building confidence and comfort in the water.

Here are practical ways you can support your child’s swim journey:

💡 1. Make water fun

✅ Spend time playing in the water together.
Games like “Ring Around the Rosie,” blowing bubbles, and gentle splashes build comfort without pressure.

✅ Use toys or floating objects.
Encourage reaching, kicking, and retrieving toys to build breath control and movement.

🔑 2. Practice floating and kicking

✅ Support your child under their back and encourage them to relax and feel buoyant.
✅ Practice kicking while holding the wall or your hands to build leg strength and confidence.

🫧 3. Teach breath control

✅ Blow bubbles together. Show them how to put their mouth and then nose in the water to exhale.
✅ Practice humming underwater to teach breath release, a foundational swim skill.

🏊‍♂️ 4. Encourage putting their face in the water

✅ Start with splashes on their face using cups or watering cans.
✅ Progress to chin, lips, nose, eyes, and full face submersion in a playful, relaxed way.

💛 5. Avoid floatation devices when learning

While puddle jumpers and arm floaties seem helpful, they teach a vertical position in the water, which is the drowning position. Instead:

✅ Use your hands or a kickboard for support.
✅ Allow your child to feel buoyancy in a horizontal body position for true swimming skill development.

🔑 6. Model water safety and comfort

✅ Show confidence and calmness in the water yourself. Children mirror your reactions and attitudes.
✅ Always follow pool rules, demonstrate safe entry and exit, and explain why these practices matter.

💡 7. Practice skills outside of lessons

✅ Ask their swim instructor what they’re working on and practice those skills during family swim time.
✅ Keep it fun and low-pressure to reinforce learning without stress.

🏅 8. Be patient and encouraging

Every child learns at their own pace. Avoid pushing too hard or showing disappointment if progress seems slow. Instead:

✅ Celebrate small victories like putting their face in the water or floating for a few seconds.
✅ Use phrases like “I’m proud of how brave you are” to build confidence.

💭 Final thoughts

Teaching your child to swim is about more than technique – it’s about building lifelong confidence and safety around water. By making water fun, encouraging skill development, and supporting their lessons, you empower your child with skills that can save their life and open up a world of aquatic fun for years to come.