Need help with teaching 3 yr old to swim

[Britney]

I have taught several young children to swim. This one is very different. I have known her since birth. She trust me totally, I am very certain of that. I have never seen anything like this one. She was so happy to learn. We talked about it all winter long. I put her water wings on her to allow her to get used to the water. As soon as I let her go she went stiff and screamed. I have had so many children scream and kick. This little girl would not move. She just froze and screamed. My instinct tells me to let her scream but to only put her in the water every day for 10 or 15 minutes to allow her to get used to the water. What do you think?

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

water wings are super sinky. Put her in a life jacket and give her a pool noodle (poodle noodle according to my girls) Get her comfortable in the water in a way that doesn't allow her to sink at all. Then after a few weeks, remove the pool noodle.. then eventually, remove the life jacket and return the noodle.. then go to water wings AND noodle, then just wings... then continue... my 3 yr old has gone from clinging desperately to me every second in the pool back in jan, to swimming around the pool in her life vest, sometimes without a pool noodle... sometimes with. Huge improvement, long way to go though.

 

[Britney]

I will see her tomorrow. I can try the noodle. My concern is that she would not hold on to it. I had children rip my hair out. This little girl freezes like a statute. Bless her heart. She told me that she wanted to go back into the house and put on her Dora clothes and color. Her issue is stiffing up. She was so terrified that she would not move even to reach for me. If anyone can think of a cute little cartoon or video that I can rent that shows the children that learning to swim is a fun thing please let me know. We have several canals and swamps around our home. We have a preserve as our back yard view.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Water wings are actually horrible if you want them to learn to swim. Try one of the life jackets that have removeable floats in them. Water wings put their arms in the wrong position to paddle correctly. Plus they allow their heads to go under. The life jackets allow you to remove floats as they gain confidence. It allows you to slowly roll them forward into a correct swimming position as they gain confidence and skills. Plus, the jackets won't just pop off (or pop) if the child jumps in the pool.
Use a lifejacket for safety and a noodle for them to hang on to for added security (for the child's emotional security, not physical security).

If you would like more help, drop me a PM. I've taught swim lessons for 25 years now and have all sorts of random tricks that help.

 

[redhen]

You dont want to know how my father taught me how to swim...

he just tossed me in the pool... (i guess i had been very stubborn about learning...)

he dived right in after me... but still..

it worked though..i learned how to keep my head above water that day ....... then he worked on the actual swimming after that...
BUT..DONT do this to kids, people... not a smart way to do it at all...

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Try letting her play in the bathtub. I let my niece do that with one of those floatation swimsuits for toddlers. Once she learned to float good in the tub with the suit, we went to the pool. They have to be able to feel their buoyancy. Eventually, a regular swimsuit with wings, then no wings. Niece is 6 and swims like a fish.

 

[ChickensRCool]

The floatation swimsuits are great. The ones my children used were so good that when they jumped in the pool they barely got their chins wet. They had no fear of going under with these and as they got older and bolder you could take out some of the styrofoamy pieces so they gradually were weaned away from them. They also keep children a bit warmer than just a regular swimsuit.

 

[fowltemptress]

Quote:
That's how I learned, but I was chucked off a boat into a lake, and he'd edge the boat away every time I managed to flounder my way close to it. All this talk of floatation swimsuits, cartoons, and noodles sounds so nice and peaceful . . .

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I honestly do not thing ANY of these methods are appropriate methods to teach a child to swim!

Start in a very shallow pool or on the steps where she can touch bottom and have her head out of the water. She needs to put her face in the water and blow bubbles. She needs to learn how to hang on the side of the pool and using her hands to pull her around the pool--the object being to get to the steps where she can get out. She needs to learn to float on her back--with you there to support her and help her position her body to float properly. She needs to be shown how to position her hands for a glide, then taken a step or two away from the edge and propelled TOWARDS THE SIDE (never away from it). THese are some of the first things taught by hte following program.
http://www.swimkidsaz.com/
http://www.swimkidsaz.com/history.php

They are also methods used in most certified swimming programs.

 

[Bluemoon420]

How Sonoran Silkies is describing is the way is the way I did it. I used to be a lifeguard, and I used to teach kids how to swim. I've taught adults too. I had my daughter in the water, and swimming at 6 months old. ( We lived near the water. ) There are classes you can take at a local YMCA called water babies for that. For slightly older kids, I would recommend enrolling them in a local YMCA class. They aren't expensive, you don't have to be a member, and some YMCA's have it so the parents can take part also. It's a lot of fun, and less stressful for the parent sometimes. Especially, if a child is stubborn.

Sometimes being in a group of kids around the same age helps them learn better.

Blowing bubbles, hanging on the the side of the pool while floating on their stomach, I would teach them to kick. It was a game I used, get the swim instructor soaking wet with huge splashing kicks.

When I blew the whistle they stopped, and I was usually soaked, while they were laughing. Once they got the hang of that I would let them float on their backs, and have them kick. I would hold on to them, then slowly let go, they were swimming all on their own.

The smiles on their faces were priceless when they realized I wasn't holding on anymore. This was all done in the shallow end of the pool.

Redhen is also right, don't ever just throw someone in. It's an awful experience for the person being thrown in, and sometimes makes them so scared they won't ever go in the water again. It happened to my mother, and her siblings. They were thrown off a dock. She always told that story, so I'm sure it was traumatic for her.

Bluemoon