Upper arm strength exercises for a 4 year old?!

[Whoamireally]

dd1 (4) is on the brink of swimming without armbands, but won't do front crawl arms as she says her arms get tired. So we're in the car on the way home from her lesson today and she says 'Mummy, do you know any exercises to stop my arms getting so tired?'

She is ever so slight which I think may actually be a bit of a disadvantage when swimming. I'm thinking that she tires so quickly because she doesn't have the physical strength.

Could any sporty types please suggest some safe exercises for a 4 year old to do to strengthen her shoulders and upper arms?

More swimming is the really the answer but I'd first explain to your DD that the tired feeling is a good sign because it means her muscles are working hard and that as a result her muscles will strengthen (overnight while she is sleeping - encourages good sleeping too!) so she will be stronger the next time. Hopefully that will help encourage her to push through the tired feeling.

Ahah. Good strategy. thanks!

when dd went up to 2 swimming lessons a week, she found it very hard for the first month or so - partly because it was a 33m pool and the pool she'd started in was 25m - and she'd complain of having tired arms - she got quite reluctant to go so I didn't push it

however, a few weeks in (not going every week) she'd got used to it, and now happily goes every week, does masses of lengths and never complains about being tired

so I think it really is just a case of getting used to it

fwiw, swimming well for young kids isn't about strength - it's about technique and flexibility and you'll often find the fastest kids are the littlest ones as they've got less bulk to haul through the water (although a bit of padding does help them float }