This post was sponsored by SwimWays as part of an Ambassador Program for Influence Central. I received products to facilitate my review.
It’s finally getting hot outside and time for some warm weather post! While we were on vacation, we went swimming every day and started working on teaching Sawyer and Rhett to swim. We’ve been teaching them basic skills since they were born, and Sawyer could swim pretty well last summer, but this summer both boys should be able to really swim on their own. In college I taught swim lessons over the summer and my favorite part of swim lessons was teaching the littlest ones how to swim. Since we spend so much time at the lake and near pools in the summer, it is so important to me that my kids know how to swim, or at least what to do if they were to fall in water. Obviously, we keep a close eye on them all the time, but accidents happen and it’s so important for them to be prepared. Children can drown in just two inches of water, and sometimes when it rains, there can be two inches of water in our driveway, so I want my kids equipped with as many skills as I can teach them, plus, it is SO fun teaching them and they have so much fun once they can swim!
Rhett is not afraid of much and is already ahead of where Sawyer was at his age. He will jump in the pool, push his little head down and wiggle his way as far as he can go. While we were at the hotel, he stood at the windows saying “pool!” over and over until we took him swimming. He loves jumping in and splashing everyone, and doesn’t mind staying under for a few seconds. Sawyer on the other hand, is much more cautious, and has been a little intimidated by learning to swim sometimes, but he loves being in the water, and I know once we get him in the pool a little more, he’ll remember how in no time.
If you’ve never taught a kid to swim before, it can be frustrating at times (don’t worry, that isn’t any better for swim teachers either), so it’s easiest if you just take it easy and take it in baby steps. If you’re child isn’t used to being in water, you definitely need to get them used to the water. Teaching them to swim will be so much easier later if you let them play and get used to the way their bodies move in the water before you start pushing them to try new things. Blowing bubbles in the bath tub and putting their face under the water for a second in the bath are great ways to get started for kids who don’t want to go anywhere near the pool. I was surprised when I taught swim lessons how many kids wouldn’t even put their feet in because they had just never been in water other than a bath. Usually, once you get them in the water, they’ll calm down quickly and start to enjoy it. When Sawyer was little, we had one of those Swimways Baby Spring Floats that he could sit in and kick around the pool and it got him really confident being in the water. We’ll get one for Rhett to play in this summer too, I know he’ll love being able to be a little independent in it and get a better feel for how to paddle himself around. Once your child is used to the water, then comes the fun of putting them on the stairs and getting them to practice swimming to you! I always had kids I taught start with putting their face in and just gliding out to me, and then kicking out to me, and slowly we would add arms once they got the hang of kicking to me. It’s hard to describe how to teach a kid to swim in words, so here are some great videos made by Swimways that show you exactly how to teach your little one to swim and be safe in the water.
Our boys had so much fun being in the pool last week and we can’t wait for it to get warmer here so we can get back in the water. We are just dying for summer to come, we talk about going boating every day! Anybody else out there a water lover with little kids who love to swim? Did you teach them yourself?
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