First steps for teaching your kid to swim at the beginner level
Welcome to Level 1 of the Beginner Swimming Lessons for Kids series!
This series is made up of 3 Levels, and it is designed to help parents/instructors teach children ages 3 and up to swim and water safety skills.
Important note: If you are teaching a child to swim, you should be able to swim yourself AND have the ability to rescue a child if he/she were drowning or in trouble in the water. If you cannot do this, please seek help from a certified swim instructor.
OK, let’s get started!
Here in Level 1, we will work on teaching kids breath control, wetting the face/head and putting the face in the water, how to kick and how to float in water with assistance from a parent/instructor, and “monkey crawling” along the edge of the pool to the stairs.
Below, you’ll find detailed instructions on how to teach each of these skills, including some pictures and videos.
Please feel free to leave comments at the end to let me know how you are progressing and if you have any questions about these swimming lessons!
1. Teach Your Child Breath Control
1.1 How to teach kids to hold their breath above water
Start teaching your child about breath control by having them hold their breath ABOVE the water. You don’t even need to be at the pool—this lesson can happen anywhere!
Show them yourself by taking a big, exaggerated breath in, and then hold your breath letting your cheeks puff out so they can visually see that you’re holding air inside your mouth/body. (Feel free to be silly or goofy with this! Make learning breath control a fun bonding experience.)
Kids are usually able to copy this, but they almost always continue to breathe through their nose while their mouth is closed and their cheeks are puffed out.
So, make sure you put your finger under their nose to feel for air. If you feel air coming from their nose, gently pinch their nose closed with your fingers and remind them to hold all the air inside their body.
Pinching their nose closed may cause them to open their mouth to breathe. This is because they’re not used to holding their breath! Just remind them to keep their mouth closed so the air doesn’t escape. (You can even make a game out of it… “Keep that silly air inside and don’t let him escape!” “Uh oh… he’s escaping, keep him inside!”)
It may take some time for your kid to understand the concept of holding their breath, and that’s ok! Work through this exercise a few times each day until they are able to hold their breath for at least 5 seconds.
1.2 How to teach kids to blow bubbles from their mouth at the surface of the water
The easiest and most fun way I’ve found to teach young children to blow air out of their mouths is to buy a bottle of soap bubbles and practice blowing bubbles that way first.
Once they’re good at blowing soap bubbles, move on to teaching your child how to blow bubbles at the surface of the water either during bath time or at the pool.
Take a big, exaggerated breath in, and then start blowing air out of your mouth as you lower your head to the water surface. As you lower your head to the water, they’ll see the air starts to form bubbles in the water (just like it did with the soap bubbles).
You may have to show your child a few times before they feel confident to try. Then, gently encourage them to try it. You can make a game out of this by putting a floating rubber duck (or other toy) in the water and blowing bubbles next to the duck to get it to move.
1.3 Teach your child to blow air out of their nose ABOVE water
It’s inevitable that, at some point during your child’s life, water will go up their nose. (Think back to when you were a kid… yep, it happens.)
So, it’s good to teach your kid how to blow air out of their nose (just like they were blowing their nose into a tissue)—this way, if water ever does go up their nose, they can simply blow it out. Also, swimmers breathe by blowing air bubbles out of their nose and breathing air in through their mouths, so this lesson will be good for the future as well.
Show your child how you blow air out of your nose (out of the water—this can be done anywhere!) by keeping your mouth closed and blowing hard from your nose. Exaggerate it a bit for effect. Have them practice until they are able to do it.
Don’t have your child blow bubbles from their nose in the water yet until they are first comfortable with putting their head under water (which is taught in a later step).
2. How to Teach Your Child to Put Their Face in the Water {or Overcome a Fear of the Water}
2.1 Wet your child’s face/head WITHOUT them going under water
Either during bath time or on the steps of the pool, start by having your child hold water in their hands and dip their face into their hands.
You can also rub a little water on your child’s face with your hand—the idea is to get your child used to having small amounts of water on their face so it isn’t a shock when this happens.
Next, you can make a game out of pouring a small amount of water on your child’s head by filling your hands with water and pretending to “crack an egg” over their head. So, you’ll gently touch the top of your child’s head and make a cracking sound with your mouth, then let the water pour over their head and face.
Many kids will want to immediately wipe their eyes with a towel, but try to avoid this. Instead, tell your child their eyes are like windshield wipers and they just have to blink their windshield wipers to get the water out. (Have them repeatedly blink their eyes until the water clears.) Give your child lots of praise and high fives!
Now, progress to pouring water over their head with a cup or watering can. (The kids I teach LOVE the watering can… sometimes it’s the simple things in life.) Be sure to let them play with a toy (or the watering can) between each wetting of the head, especially if this is a difficult task for them.
The key is to make this a fun activity that isn’t too stressful.
Sing a song while you’re pouring the water over their head to make it more fun! For example, sing “It’s raining, it’s pouring, {insert child’s name} is snoring. So he/she got in the pool and wet his/her head and now he/she loves the rain!”
The words can really be anything and don’t even need to make sense! Any song related to what they’re doing makes the situation more fun. (I find that inserting the child’s name into the song makes them happier too.)
Practice this exercise a few times each day until they are comfortable with it.
2.2 Teach your kid to put their face IN the water
Now that your child is comfortable with holding their breath, blowing bubbles, and pouring water over their head, let’s move on to teaching your child how to put their face in the water.
Some children have no problem with this, and others are downright terrified of putting their face in the water.
However, because you have worked through the previous exercises, if your child had a fear of water, they should be feeling a bit more comfortable at this point.
Don’t worry, we’ll still work through a fun and easy progression to help them learn this important skill!
First, put some toys that sink on the first (shallowest) step of the pool (or in the bath).
Start with chin in the water
Now, have your child start by just dipping their chin into the water over the toys on the step. If they do this, then they get one of the toys from the step.
I usually have them put the toys they’ve earned on the edge of the pool so the toys aren’t a distraction during the lesson.
Give lots of praise!
Move on to chin and mouth in the water
Next, have your child dip their chin and mouth in the water. Tell them to hold their breath (which they should have mastered in the previous steps) and keep their mouth closed. If they complete this task, they earn another toy and lots of praise.
Practice this exercise a few times or until they are comfortable.
Now chin, mouth and nose in the water
Once your child is comfortable putting their mouth in the water, move on to having them put their chin, mouth and nose in the water over the toys on the step.
But first, it helps to review holding the breath above water and ensure your child isn’t breathing in air through their nose while “holding” their breath.
Sometimes, kids will still breathe a little water into their nose when trying to master this skill, which is why its good to teach them to blow air out of their nose first. This way, if water does get in their nose, they can simply blow it out.
Remind your child to hold all the air inside and don’t let any come out when they put their nose in the water.
When your kid puts their nose in the water, they will earn a toy, and give them lots of praise! Make it very exciting that they are doing such a great job!
If a little water gets in their nose, don’t freak out or make it seem scary. Have them blow it out. If you make it seem like no big deal, then your child will feel the same way and get over it quickly!
If your child is having a hard time with this skill, allow them to plug their nose while they dip their mouth and nose in the water. I try to avoid this if possible, but if they are breathing water into their nose, they may still need to feel the effect of holding their breath while NOT breathing through their nose.
Once your child masters this skill, have them practice WITHOUT plugging their nose. Remind them not to breathe through their nose while putting it in the water.
Mastering this skill usually takes a few lessons. Don’t feel the need to rush them. Just focus on making this a fun activity and give them lots of praise. Work through it a few times each lesson until they can hold their mouth and nose in the water for at least 5 seconds. (Start with 1 second, then 2 seconds, etc. until they get to 5 seconds.)
Work on this exercise a few times each lesson until they are comfortable.
Mouth, nose, and eyes in the water
You’d think that once your child masters putting their mouth and nose in the water, the rest would be easy. But sometimes, children are still afraid to put their eyes in the water.
The good thing is, you know they can easily put their eyes in because no water can get in through their eyes (and I keep reminding them of this). I tell them how the nose was the hardest part, and now the eyes are easy.
Also, don’t let your child wipe their eyes with a towel, as this is a bad habit.
Instead, tell them their eyes are like windshield wipers, and they just have to blink their windshield wipers to get all the water out. (It helps if you show them this. Wet your eyes and then blink repeatedly until the water clears.)
Have your child put their face in the water up to their eyes over the toys on the step, and give them a toy each time they complete this task. Start with 1 second, then 2 seconds, etc. until they can do this for at least 5 seconds.
Work on this a few times each lesson until they are comfortable.
Watch the video below to see a child practicing putting his face in the water at the steps to retrieve diving rings from the shallow step!
Now celebrate because your child is able to put their face in the water! Yay!
3. Teach Your Kid How to Kick and How to Float in the Water with Assistance from a Parent/Instructor
3.1 Teaching kids the front kick in the water with assistance from a parent/instructor
We’ll start by teaching your child to kick in the water without using their arms. This is because young children are much more efficient with their kick than with their arms, and its easier for them to learn one skill at a time. (We’ll teach arm strokes in another level.)
First, hold your child under their arms while they are facing you. Their head should be out of the water, and have your child hold on to your shoulders with their hands.
Now, make sure their legs are stretched out behind them flat on the water’s surface, and reach your arms under their body and hold one leg in each hand.
Next, move your arms up and down to make their legs kick, and say “kick, kick, kick, kick”. (See the video example below.)
To make this fun, have some floating ducks or toys in the pool that you can have them retrieve while you help them to kick around the pool.
Give lots of praise!
Next, hold your child under their arms in the same position, and say “kick, kick, kick, kick” and see if they start kicking their legs on their own.
If not, repeat the previous exercise where you hold their legs and make them kick up and down.
Alternate between making their legs kick and holding them under their arms and letting them kick their legs.
Continue this exercise and retrieve floating toys in the pool until they are able to kick without needing you to move their legs. (See the video example below.)
3.2 Teaching kids to front kick using a pool noodle
Once your child is comfortable kicking their own legs while you hold them under their arms, have them kick with a pool noodle
Have your child hold on to a pool noodle under their arms with their legs stretched out behind them flat on the water’s surface and kick their legs.
Support your child by holding on to the noodle at first so they feel comfortable.
Now, have your child kick to retrieve floating toys in the pool.
Next, try letting go of the noodle and let your kid kick on their own. Stay close to the noodle in case they need help. You should always be within reaching distance of your child. (See the video example below.)
Once kids master this skill, they LOVE the independence of being able to kick around the pool with a noodle on their own. Have fun with this!
This is as far as we’ll go with kicking in Level 1. In Level 2, we’ll teach your child to kick independently without a noodle. But for now, lets move on to floating exercises.
3.3 Teach kids to front float with assistance from a parent/instructor
Now, let’s work on floating! Your child should already be able to put their face in the water for at least 5 seconds for this exercise. If not, go back to section 2.2 Teach your kid to put their face in the water and master that skill first.
For the front float, hold your child either under their arms or around their chest. Their legs should be extended behind them flat on the surface of the water.
Now, have your child hold their breath and put their face in the water for 5 seconds while you hold them to practice floating face down (prone float).
Once they are comfortable with this exercise, have your kid practice floating face down in the water at the steps of the pool. They can start by holding onto the shallow step with their hands and letting their legs float behind them with their face in the water.
Next, have your child try the same exercise, but have them let go of the first step for 1 second. Keep extending the amount of time that they let go of the step as they get comfortable until they can front float for 5 seconds at the steps.
3.4 Teach kids to back float with assistance from a parent/instructor
Back floating can be difficult or uncomfortable at first for some children, so you may need to work on this a little bit at each lesson over many lessons.
Also, I usually sandwich this exercise between other more fun exercises that the child likes. For example, most children like kicking exercises and monkey crawling (covered in the next section below), so I’ll do some kicking exercises, then a back floating exercise, and then a monkey crawl exercise.
The key is to alternate between fun/easy and difficult tasks to keep your kid from getting too overwhelmed.
Start teaching your child to back float by having the back of your child’s head rest on your shoulder while they lay on their back in the water in front of you. Make sure you support their back with your hand. (See the video example below.)
Hold this position while you count out loud to 5 or 10, then lift them up and tell them what a great job they did!
Counting out loud helps because that lets the child know how long you want them to stay in this position. Otherwise, they will try to get out of it on their own much sooner.
You may just stick to this exercise for a few lessons depending on how comfortable your kid is with it.
Once your child is comfortable with this exercise, move on to having them back float while you support their head with one hand and their back with your other hand.
Tell your child to look up at the sky while you count to 5 or 10. (Children often want to keep their head lifted out of the water, but make sure that the back of their head and their ears are in the water and that they are looking straight up to the sky and breathing normally.)
See the video example below.
Again, it may take many lessons for your child to become comfortable with this exercise, so work with them for as long as they need to feel comfortable, and sandwich this exercise between two fun/easy exercises.
Once they are comfortable back floating with both their head and back supported, then remove your hand from their back and have them float with only their head supported by your hand for 5 or 10 seconds. (Count out loud so your child can hear you.)
See the video example below.
The key to floating is to be relaxed, so if your child seems tense or stiff and is sinking, tell them in a calm voice to relax and maybe even sing a song, such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or whatever their favorite song is.
Work on this exercise until your child’s body floats while your hand supports their head.
3.4.1 Teach your child to back float independently
Now that your child is comfortable floating while you support their head with your hand, you can now start to remove your hand from under their head for just 1 or 2 seconds to see if they are able to float by themselves.
If it looks like their head or body is starting to sink, then put your hand back under their head until their body starts to float again.
Remind your child to relax, and you can sing a song together if that helps them to relax.
Keep practicing this exercise until your child is able to float on their own for 5 or 10 seconds. This may take some time for your child to master, and that’s ok!
Also, you can work on the other skills in this level with your kid while you work on back floating. It can help to alternate between teaching the different skills in Level 1 to keep the lessons interesting.
Take your time with this, and have fun!
See the video example below of a child floating independently.
Great job! Now your child is able to float all by themselves!
Now, lets move on to the Monkey Crawl!
4. Learning to Monkey Crawl along the Edge of the Pool to the Stairs
The monkey crawl exercise is meant to teach your child how to hold on to the edge of the pool and make their way to the stairs so they can exit the pool.
Start by having your child hold on to the edge of the pool while you hold them at their waist for support.
Once they seem comfortable, slowly let go while keeping your hands only inches away in case they need help. They should be able to hold themselves on the wall. Give lots of praise!
Next, put a toy on the edge of the pool a few feet away from your child. Then, move their hands along the edge of the pool until they reach the toy. (See the video example below.)
To make this exercise fun, I like to sing this song: “Crawling like a monkey, crawling like a monkey, how far can you go? How far can you go? {Insert child’s name} can go so far, {child’s name} can go so far!” Then, I just repeat the song until they’ve reached their destination.
ALL the young kids I’ve taught LOVE this song (and I literally just made it up one day during a swim lesson). It really doesn’t take much to entertain young kids—just be goofy and have fun with them!
Once your child gets the hang of moving their hands along the wall, you can let them move their hands while you still hold them at their waist for support. Slowly increase the distance until they are monkey crawling all the way to the steps.
As your child gets more comfortable with this exercise, let them go but keep your hands close in case they need help. Let them start monkey crawling on their own all the way to the stairs. (See the video example below.)
Remember, always stay within arm’s reach while teaching your child swimming lessons in the water, and have fun!
5. Assisted Jump into the Pool from a Seated Position, then Turn and Grab the Wall
This is the first step for teaching your child (age 3+) to rescue themselves if they’ve fallen in a pool. This will be a skill we work on progressively throughout Levels 1 to 3.
First, have your child sit at the edge of the pool. Then, lift your kid into the water without going under water, turn them around to face the wall, and have them kick to the wall while you hold them under the arms and have them grab the edge.
This then naturally leads into a monkey crawl exercise to the stairs.
Work on this exercise until your child is comfortable.
We will continue the progression of this skill in Levels 2 and 3, once we have taught your child other skills they need to know first.
Congratulations! You and your child have completed Level 1! GREAT job!
You should feel proud of your dedication to teach your child to swim 🙂
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Below, you’ll find a summary of the skills we covered here in Level 1.
Now, let’s move on to Level 2!
Summary of Level 1 Skills
Learning Breath Control
- Hold the breath ABOVE water
- Blow bubbles from the mouth at the surface of the water
- Blow air out of the nose ABOVE water
Teach Your Child to Put Their Face in the Water
- Wet face/head WITHOUT going under water
- Put the face in the water (following the progression below)
- First, chin in the water
- Next, chin and mouth in the water
- Then, chin, mouth, and nose in the water
- Finally, mouth, nose, and eyes (full face) in the water
Teach Kids How to Kick and Float in the Water
- Front kick with assistance from parent/instructor
- Front kick using a pool noodle
- Front float with assistance from parent/instructor
- Back float with assistance from parent/instructor
- Back float independently
Monkey Crawl along the Edge of the Pool to the Stairs
Assisted Jump into Pool from Seated Position, then Turn and Grab Wall
