SWIMMING- any body taught their toddler to swim?

[LittlePushka]

Any tips or better still, any books worth a read on the best way.

We do not have a public pool close (hence cannot send him for lessons)and so are using private facility closeby

[BBBee]

the thing that i found that really made a difference was going regularly - more than any swimming lessons!

[DontCallMeBaby]

There's a decent Usborne book on teaching your child to swim (which reminds me, must give it another scan now that DD is a bit older). But I'd agree with BBBee, going regularly is the main thing. Does the place you're going to have a really shallow shallow-end? Cos that's our biggest challenge, the fact that DD at 4.6 is only just in her depth in the local pool. She had great fun in the shallower lido pool, throwing herself about and being able to stand up again rather than being scooped out by a parent, but the lido's no longer an option (brr).

[LittlePushka]

Sadly the pool in question does not have a shallow end but DS1 (2 next week) has been taken to the pool regulary since he was weeks old. He is very happy and confident in his armbands and inflated costume. He is happy to be pootling along in the without actually holding me or DH. He will jump in off the side whilst holding hands.

What I am not good enough to know is what (and when) is the next step to helphim along safely.

I have ordered the Usborne book,..thanks for the tip!

[frankbestfriend]

Dd learnt to swim at 3, but it's difficult to advise since I didn't really teach her, she just sort of did it on her own.

We just went often, I suppose, she just wore armbands, and then one day I took them off and she could swim

Agree with BBBee, loads of trips the pool a must.

[S1ur]

Just regularly is the key.

Playing and having fun. Splashing and getting water in you face and kicking your legs about and trying to reach for things when in the water.

Just playing really.

[LittlePushka]

Might be happening the Frank way sooner rather than later as DS bit through one of his armbands in pool today.

Luckily he did not whoosh around in a circle before sinking to the bottom...that'll be when he bites through the other one!

[cascade]

lots of blowing bubbles in water
try to get him to float on back star shape, requires relaxation of all muscles, then hell float.
dont use arm bands (floats and woggles)
hold float in front, kicking legs (long)
lots of head in water.
he is only two though, so probably a bit young, but try some of them.

[Doodle2U]

What cascade said.

Both of mine swam from being babies.

The star shape floating on the back seemed to be the key to everything. Once they got that, the rest seemed to follow.

Also, goggles! Some swim groups say don't use goggles because if the child fell in a pond, they wouldn't be wearing goggles.

I say "Bollocks to that crappy theory. If goggles help a child to swim well, if he then falls in a pond, believe you me, he's gonna know how to swim out of trouble - goggles or not!"

One last point - teach 'Swim to the side' every session. So that they know how to get to a place of safety in the pool.

[LittlePushka]

Oh those are good ideas,...like the star idea very much and the bubbles.

Not sure he would tolerate goggles(woggles!)yet. ANd LOL at image of skinny kid butterflying across some skanky park pond!

[snorkle]

You need to be careful with goggles and small children as they're quite tricky to put on and off safely. Should always place the lenses on the eyes and stretch the elastic over the head rather than the other way around. There have been instances of them pinging into childrens eyes and causing damage...

[ElenorRigby]

DD is 12 months old, she's been having swimming lessons from 8 months old. She adores water and her lessons. She is very very confident in the water much more so than her 5yo sister who has only just started lessons.
So Id advise starting them as young as possible!

[LittlePushka]

Oh Elenor, that sounds great. Tell me what she does? DS has a 6month old brother who is very relaxed in water but again I do not really know what to do other than to swoosh him about or let him freestyle in his inflatable seat

[ElenorRigby]

Here are some baby swimming videos. DD is at the stage of the baby in the 2nd video when he was 12 months old! Hopefully in a few months she will swimming like the adorable little girl in the last video!

uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MEDUrEh7hSU
www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1wLVmgChOc&NR=1
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq4ZnrdtEGc&feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zouxWY-v2AA&feature=related

DD has lessons with a private company (not featured on those vids btw) Its £100 for 12 lessons, for DD its worth it

[ElenorRigby]

Gah LilPushka I thought you and others would like the vids

I sooo love baby swimming!!!!

[LittlePushka]

I DOOOO llove the vids,..my thank you msg does noy appear to be here. Thanks again!

[Shoshe]

I take my mindees every week with out fail, in the last 8 years, all my toddlers could swim before they started school, in fact most by the time they were three.

Going every week was the key.

[Surfermum]

I'd take a bag of toys, like ducks, boats, dolphins and play games with them. We'd throw them and then race to pick them up or swim around pushing them or blowing them.

DD learnt to dive by pretending to be the boy who falls in the chocolate river in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

We also played Finding Nemo a LOT and re-enact the scene where Nemo swims over the ridge and touches the diver's boat. I'd be the stingray at first, dd would swim from the middle of the pool to the side (which was the boat) and then back again, at which point I turned into the diver, captured her and took her to the dentist in Sydney.

She was swimming without aids when she was 3.

However, a word of warning - when I eventually put her in classes (aged about 4.5) as she wouldn't listen to me when I was trying to get her to do proper strokes, she found it really boring and didn't want to go, so for the time being she's stopped the classes.

[LittlePushka]

More great idea here,...like the blowing toys idea...ho easy?! How stupid ofme not to think of these things! Not seen Nemo (too new to parenting I guess!) but sounds like a must have DVD.