How to Teach a Child to Tread Water

One of the best ways to help protect your child against drowning is to teach them how to tread water. Even if they are not an advanced swimmer, this will at least teach them the skills needed to keep their head above water while they yell for help. The following steps can help you and your child avoid a tragic situation, as well as provide a basic skill from which to build upon when it comes time to teach them more advanced swimming techniques.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Swimsuits
• <br>Use of a pool, preferably at a non-busy time
• <br>Flotation devices

Getting Started

1. Talk to your child about what they are about to learn and why. Explain to them the importance of knowing how to tread water. Allow your child time to ask any questions they may have, no matter how silly the questions may seem. Their overactive imaginations may think of a million things, so remember to be patient. If the child is not confident in what they are about to learn, chances are higher they may panic or become too distracted to really learn what to do.
2. Start off slow. The worst thing you could do is throw a child into the situation before they are ready. Reassure your child that you will remain right by their side the whole time,and that they may grab on to you any time they think they need to. It is vital to stick to that promise, as well, to avoid your child losing trust in your ability to keep them safe. If your child is afraid, they won't have any interest in learning. Start off in an area where both you and the child can touch bottom, or make sure your child is able to stay afloat with the use of flotation devices, such as arm rings. Explain to your child what they should do with their arms and legs, while you demonstrate. One of the best ways to explain the movements is by telling the child to act like they are riding a bicycle, and their arms are wings. Support the child under the arms while letting them practice these new movements.
3. Before you let go of your child, let them know to expect to sink the first few times. Once again, reassure them that they can use you to "climb" back up and that you will pull them out right away if it looks like they are struggling. You may want to establish a signal the child can make with their hand if they feel they need to be pulled back up. Once the child is confident that you are not leaving them, go ahead and let them go.
4. Encourage the child to keep practicing until they can do it on their own, but don't push them to keep going if they are too tired. After some practice, treading water will become familiar to the child. Only then should you start stepping back to give them the confidence needed to tread water without you.

Tips & Warnings

• For best success, allow the child to set the tone for how fast they are willing to learn.
• <br>Some people find it helpful to allow the child to wear one arm ring the first few times they try to tread water.
• NEVER leave a child unattended in or near a swimming pool.