How to teach a child to swim: overcoming the fear of water. How to teach a child to swim: methods for all ages How to learn to swim for an 11 year old girl

My method involves learning to swim first under water, then emerging and mastering the "surface" space (the idea came when I saw baby swimming). I proceeded from the fact that the main catch is that children are afraid of diving under water and are so desperate not to drown that they prevent themselves from swimming. Having learned to hold their breath and swim underwater, children gain confidence, their movements cease to be convulsive attempts to stay on the surface - they calm down and swim.

First question: how often do you plan to go to the pool? The optimal frequency is 2 times a week or more often. An adult who he trusts more should deal with a child (usually a mother is more suitable, men are often too passionate about the goal and they do not have the patience to let the child calm down and believe in their abilities, but if your dad is a calm, balanced person, then he will do just fine! ). And it is very important not to force things, otherwise you can scare the little one! IMPORTANT: non-stop praise and encourage the child, especially at key moments (learning to dive and start swimming underwater).

To begin with, you should stand at a depth where the child is chest deep, (standard depth for classes) remove the armlets and ask the child to squat in the water, holding his breath. First, so that the water covers his lips, then his nose, then dive headlong and immediately emerge. This exercise should be done until the child realizes that he controls the diving situation, holds his breath in time and correctly, emerges of his own free will and is not afraid of lack of air (let the child not close his eyes and do not plug his nose when diving, if he is afraid water in the eyes, it makes sense to offer glasses, but all the children I taught learned quite calmly without them - the main thing here is to interest the child in what can be seen under water).
As a game, jumping from the side of the pool at the deep edge very well helps to master the situation of diving, first with armlets (at later stages - without them), while the adult must catch the child before he has time to get scared.
When the dive is mastered so much that the child completely ceases to be afraid of it (usually one session is enough), ask the child to stretch his arms when he dived and quickly drag him under water by his arms at least half a meter, gradually increasing to the distance of your outstretched arms. By the end of the distance, push it to the surface, indicating the need to inhale. Usually children like this exercise very much. Come up with some kind of game preamble for him: a submarine, a fur seal ...
Pay attention to the fact that he emerges (raises his head above the water) when he wants to breathe, assure him that he is safe and in control of the situation, both from your side and from him. Gradually transfer the initiative to emerge to the child.
When the child feels confident that he always has the opportunity to emerge, complicate exercise No. 2 by leading the child by the hands, and he dives and emerges for inhalation-exhalation, while he completely tears his legs off the bottom and "floats" without putting your feet on the bottom at the moment of inhalation-exhalation. Start with 2-3 dives-wires (inhale-breath-hold-dive-wire-surface (1) - breath-hold-dive-wire-surface (2) - etc.), working up to 5-6. This is a very time-consuming exercise for a child (give him a break, do not force) and the most basic in a skill (usually it takes 2-3 lessons to master).
Continue to play jumping from the board (without armlets), jump in the water with immersion ("the woman sowed peas"), all games should be aimed at teaching the child not to be afraid of situations in the water, associated with water on the face and diving under water despite the fact that it has no watercraft.
When the child stops looking out of breath when performing exercise 3, i.e. learn to dive easily and in time, explain to him how to dive on his own. To do this, he must fold his hands in a boat, put them forward and dive after his hands (ask him to look underwater at his hands). The child now independently controls his immersion and resurfacing without the help of an adult with his hands.
When this is mastered (usually this happens almost immediately), stand at a distance of half a meter from the child and ask the child to dive, see your body under water and go under water (sometimes it turns out to swim right away) to you and emerge. Explain to him how to kick off the bottom with his feet to increase the speed of movement (this also encourages him to take his legs off and swim, and not go under water). Gradually increase the distance so that one breath is enough. Come up with a game in which the child will thus swim up to different people and objects in the water.
Jumping into the pool from the side is no longer worth immediately insuring and catching the child. Let him swim up to you and emerge.
This exercise is the key moment of independent swimming. Stand away from the edge of the pool or put another adult at a distance of one and a half to two meters. Explain to the child that he can swim to the desired destination (side of the pool or another adult) by coming up for breath as many times as necessary. Show him how to paddle his arms underwater by extending them forward and spreading them out to the sides. At first, many children try to stand on the bottom during inhalation. Therefore, pretty soon, remind the child that he knows how to push with his feet when diving, and ask him not to lower his legs, at first walking next to the child and insuring (a little bit !!!) his hand under his stomach during inspiration ... to master this stage takes 2-4 sessions.
After mastering ex. 5, when your insurance during inspiration becomes symbolic, convince the child that now he can swim under water on his own (metaphor - swim like a dolphin). Ask him to swim to various objects that are clearly visible in the water, and then complicate the task so that he not only swims to the object, but also returns to you (usually the competition technique works very well here: "I bet that you swim? .." ).
Gradually shift your activities to a depth where the child does not reach the bottom with his feet.
In fact, having mastered ex. 6, we can assume that you taught him to swim, further training (swimming above the water) can be left to the discretion of the child (usually children themselves very easily understand how to swim without diving after a while). If there is a desire to control the process of learning to swim, then you just need to show the child that you can dive not immediately after inhaling, but continue to swim, keeping your head above the water. Here it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the child does not stretch his neck (remind him that as soon as he gets tired of swimming above the water, he can dive).
All the rest of the training is about swimming style: show your child how to work with their feet, achieve smooth and synchronized movement of the arms and legs.

In the end, I want to add that this swimming is just the beginning of the ability to swim in style!!! Further training (crawl, breaststroke and other bells and whistles) is the job of an instructor athlete, the goal of this technique is confidence on the water.

Personal experience

Make-believe

Comment on the article "How to teach a child to swim"

20.10.2008 04:32:01, Pandus

What do the experts think? - Probably only the lazy one has yet to read about it here: http://swim7.narod.ru/malenkie.html

20.10.2008 04:31:06, Pandus

Total 27 messages .

Rule 1: Everything has its time

It does not give any benefits, and sometimes it hurts. Generally speaking, all these "dive" and "eight" that parents and instructors love to do is not swimming at all. This is the use of reflexes, when the baby instinctively holds his breath or comes to the surface of the water, rolling over on his back for a drift.

Especially professional trainers do not like it when parents teach their children to keep their heads above the water, to make some kind of “bicycle” movements with their legs and strokes with their hands. As a rule, incorrect skills are fixed at the same time, which will interfere with learning to swim for real.

Until the age of four, a child should be given the opportunity to splash, jump off the side and generally enjoy the water next to an adult. It is useful to teach you to lower your face into the water, exhale into the water, push off from you with your legs, lie on the water, look at the objects at the bottom with glasses (yes, glasses also need to be taught). Want movement - tow the child by the hands on the surface.

Photobank Lori

Rule 2: no sleeves

The only correct aid for learning to swim is a swimming board. Everything else - sleeves, circles, fins, vests, etc. - they only slow down learning, again reinforcing bad skills. For example, in sleeves, a child gets used to holding his head vertically above the water, leaning on his armpits. At the same time, he does not feel the buoyancy of his body, which means that he cannot learn to float on the water on his own.

If you are already using armlets, start to gradually remove air from them. The board, on the other hand, makes it possible to lie on the water strictly parallel to the surface, lower your face into the water and slide, working with your feet.

Photobank Lori

Rule 3: the right pool

You need to start learning to swim in a suitable pool. The child should stand confidently on the bottom so that the water does not rise above the lower part of the chest. It is good if the length of the pool is at least five meters, so that you can perform a slide - the main exercise in learning to swim. It was these conditions that were first described back in 1897 in the book “Self-learning to swim” by A. Ganika. Then a training system began to take shape in Russia, according to which all the great swimmers were then brought up: first, then a gradual transition to the water level to the waist, immersing the head in water.

So if the coach convinces you that he will start teaching you to swim in deep water, and the child will hold on to the noodle (water stick) or board, this is a complete profanation.

Photobank Lori

Rule 4: "stars" and "floats"

The first thing to teach a child is to lie on the water, achieve a horizontal position of the body on the surface and not be afraid to lower your face into the water.

For this, well-known and very effective exercises are used:

"asterisk": lie down on the water, stretch your arms and legs to the sides, keep strictly horizontal;
“float”: grab your knees with your hands, lower your head to your knees, “hang” on the surface of the water;
"arrow": push off from the side and slide, stretching out your arms and legs, on the surface of the water.

Teaching a child to immerse his head in water is very important for mastering swimming, but this can only be done if the baby does not have problems with ears and nose or a tendency to them: for example, damage to the eardrum, otitis media, sinusitis (including chronic)

The exercises described above are the basis of proper technique. They teach to keep the body on the water evenly, and this does not allow you to sink and does not load the muscles unnecessarily. All athletes start training with them, and not only.

Photobank Lori

Water procedures with a baby are undoubtedly useful, and you can teach a toddler to them from a very early age. However, they do not involve independent movement, which means they have nothing to do with swimming.

In addition, such exercises reinforce incorrect movements and body position. As a result, when later the child will master full-fledged swimming, he will have to be retrained for a long time. To lay the foundation for a young swimmer, you need to introduce him to the water element gradually and exclusively in a playful way.

How to prepare your baby

The main task of parents at this stage is to help the child overcome the fear of big water. Ideally, you can try to teach him to immerse his face in water, as well as blow bubbles with his mouth and nose. Then the skills will come in handy for proper breathing. To do this, do the following:

Engage with the baby and toys in a shallow pool with warm clear water.
Spray on each other. Do not be afraid to get water on your face and reassure the child so that he is not afraid of this.
Blow bubbles together as you dip your face into the water. First with the mouth and then with the nose.
Ask the little one to squat, plunging into the water, and immediately emerge.

How to teach a child to swim from 3 to 5 years old

Toddlers at this age can already be taught to swim freely without any style, if you show restraint. Young children are not able to concentrate for a long time and follow instructions, do things that are unusual for them, so learning should take place in a playful manner.

1. Choose the right place

It is best to teach your child to swim in a pool or large tub like a hot tub. The sea is much less suitable due to salty water and waves that interfere. A river or lake is also not ideal: the water in them is opaque and cold, so it will be difficult for the baby psychologically.

Depth - to the waist or a little higher, so that the swimmer feels safe. The water temperature is preferably higher - 25–28 ° С. At the same time, until the baby gets used to swimming goggles, moisture should not cause burning if you open them at a depth.

2. Remove armlets and vest

Discard any equipment designed to keep you afloat. Circles, boards and other devices disrupt the balance of the body and prevent the baby from learning to float on their own.

When using a vest or sleeves, the child is pressed into the supports and raises his head high, straining his neck. You can really learn to swim only by diving under water, so it is important to immediately remove all watercraft.

3. Get your child used to glasses

Like all subsequent steps, this one must be performed exclusively in a playful way, and even better, showing by personal example. Most likely, there will be no problems with five-year-olds, but younger children can be capricious.

Try on your child's glasses and see how they fit. Constantly praise and admire him, even if you managed only to put the protection to his face and not put the elastic on the back of his head. Click on the glasses and show what a funny grunting sound they make, and offer the child to try it. If the glasses are not fixed on the face, say "The eye is peeled off."

If the baby is afraid and does not want to wear an accessory, be friendly, do not push and be patient. Switch to fussing with toys and try again a little later. Little by little, after 5-10 fittings, he will give in, especially when he realizes how well he can see underwater with glasses.

4. Let your baby get used to the water

Before training, the child needs to be liberated and stop being afraid of water. To do this, fool around a bit with him.

Splash in shallow water, splashing hands and feet.
Hold hands and, lowering your face into the water, blow bubbles with your mouth and nose.
Show each other tongues and make faces underwater.

5. Practice putting your face in the water

Swimming training is based on immersion of the face in water. It's not natural for a child, so you can't just tell him, "Do it like this." And this is where games come in.

First, spray so that moisture gets on the baby's face. You can water it little by little, showing that it is not scary and fun.
Squat and jump at different depths so that when diving, the water reaches the child's lips, then to the eyes, and so gradually ask him to plunge for a second with his head. There is no need to close your eyes.
Scatter the toys at a shallow depth so that they cannot be reached by hand without plunging headlong, and ask the baby to conduct a rescue operation or collect treasures.
When the child takes a sip of water and coughs, react calmly and cheerfully, making it clear that nothing bad has happened. Ask to exhale sharply through the nose, as if blowing your nose, and the remaining water will easily leave the nasopharynx, and with them the discomfort.

6. Learn to exhale into the water

The next stage is the development of exhalation into the water. It is used in all strokes and is key to proper swimming technique. In part, the child is already familiar with this technique, blowing bubbles is exhalation.

Continue to consolidate the skill by blowing bubbles at the side. The baby must certainly do this with the nose, since the mouth is inhaled.
The jumps and squats from the previous step will also help. Add to them exhalations into the water at the moment of immersion.
For proper exhalation, ask the child to take in air, close his mouth with his hand and make a lingering sound “mmm” with his nose.

7. Practice staying afloat

For this, there are simple exercises - “jellyfish” and “asterisk”, which children really like. Their essence lies in hanging in the water while holding the breath and relaxing the neck.

How to do the jellyfish exercise

Ask the baby to lie down on the water and lightly support him under the chest. The whole body and, most importantly, the neck are in a relaxed state, reminiscent of a jellyfish. You need to look at the bottom, not in front of you.
To get your child to act like this, come up with a treasure hunt game or something like that.

How to do the star exercise

Put the young swimmer on the water and support under the chest with your hands. Ask him to spread his arms and legs, depicting a star.
As in the previous exercise, you need to lower your face into the water and relax your neck. Use to motivate the game.
Another option that can be performed for a change is the "asterisk" on the back.

8. Try gliding in the water

Now it's time to start moving. For this, there is a special “arrow” exercise, which is the basic pose in many swimming styles.

Support the baby under the chest and ask him to raise his arms above his head, and then gently lie down on the water, straightening his body and relaxing his neck.
Once you have established this technique, have your child try to do all of the above on their own. Step back a couple of meters from the edge of the pool and tell them to push off with their feet from the side and move towards you.

9. Practice your leg movements

There are two options here: movements when the legs alternately move up and down, or in the breaststroke style - the legs are bent at the knees and the swimmer is repelled from the water in the manner of a frog.

For kids at this age, both options are correct. And it’s easy to understand which one is more suitable for a child if you ask him to swim a short distance and check which movements he will make intuitively - swings or pushes.

The essence of the exercise is to make an “arrow” and, when sliding, include the legs in the work. Both options, if possible, are best performed in the correct technique. See how it's done and demonstrate to your child on land or in shallow water.

Crawl: the legs almost do not bend at the knees, but move from the hip, the feet are maximally extended back. The movements are more like working scissors than riding a bicycle.

: the legs are bent at the knees and slightly pulled towards themselves, the feet are pressed forward. Then they are bred to the sides and there is a sharp push.

10. Connect hands

For a small child, the easiest way to move is the breaststroke, when the strokes are made with both hands at the same time.

However, it is not necessary to demand from the baby their impeccable performance. If it is too difficult for him, dog-like movements are allowed, when the strokes are made alternately and the hands, as it were, cling to the water.

The principle is the same. The movement starts from the “arrow” position, then the arms and legs are included in the work.

11. Teach your baby to breathe

All previous exercises are performed while holding the breath, but you won’t swim that far. Therefore, when the child has mastered all the basic movements, you need to teach him to raise his head and inhale and not stop at the same time.

This should be done only through the mouth, because when breathing through the nose, drops of water can enter the nasopharynx and cause discomfort. Improve your breathing skills with fish games.

“Thoughtful fish” - at a depth where the child does not reach the bottom, ask to push off from the side and slowly swim towards you, lowering your face into the water.

“Curious fish” - have the child complete the previous exercise, and then, at your command, simply raise his head without inhaling. At this point, he must help himself by pushing off the water with his feet.

“Amazing fish” - this time the baby needs to do the same, only when raising his head, quickly inhale air through his mouth. You can first practice a sharp breath when diving in the shallower part of the pool, where the water is up to the baby's chest.

How to teach a child to swim 5-6 years and older

Older children perceive the learning process more effectively. They consciously complete tasks and practice exercises, so at this age you can teach a child to swim like an adult.

This is done according to the standard algorithm, which is described in detail in ours, or using express methods. For example, the system of trainer Denis Tarakanov allows you to learn how to swim in one or two lessons. Just ask your child to do the following exercises in order. Each about 10 times.

1. On the steps by the pool or in the children's pond, where the depth reaches 30-40 cm, ask the child to rest his hands on the bottom and stretch to his full height. The whole body is submerged, only the head is above the water, the neck is relaxed. The swimmer should hold his breath and lie like this for 5-10 seconds, and then gently raise his face, inhale through his mouth and repeat the exercise.

2. Let the child do the same, but lower his face into the water and raise one of his hands, relying only on the second.