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Breath control and comfortably put their face on the water is a crucial step to teach your kids how to swim. They have to be able to control their breath before they are able to put their face on the water.
Confidence to put their face on the water is important, because getting their face on the water is the most integral skills to make them happy and to make them learn swimming faster.
If your kids comfortably put your face in the water they can achieve a horizontal body position, which we consider an integral to becoming a strong swimmer.
For some kids controlling their breath and put their face on the water is easy, but for some this could be a dramatic process.
There are several reasons why some kids refuse to putting their face on the water, for some kids it is because of the negative experience that creates anxiety about putting their face underwater. Others might be sensitive with the water or overly cautious such as the unknown, sensation water that goes into their eyes, ears, or nose.
You can teach your kids doggy paddle swimming, but without submerging their face and head, they will never truly be able to achieve a flat, horizontal position in the water. This is where some kids hit a roadblock.
Before you start teaching your kids holding their breath and putting their face on the water, there are things to remember:
- Never trick your child or force them to go underwater. The water is already an uncomfortable space for new swimmers, so anything that makes them feel a lack of control can leave a lasting impression.
- Be patient when helping your kids, you may find that after a few unsuccessful attempts you may get frustrated and be tempted to shove your child’s face in the water. Fight the urge, or it will only prolong the process.
- Make the learning process breath control and comfortably put their face on the water in fun way with games and toys.
Here are some lessons that you can consider to use to teach your kids breath control and put their face on the water
Blowing bubbles – Get your kids comfortable with bubbles
One thing that you can do to practice blowing bubbles is by using a cup, put full water inside the cup and ask your kids to blow bubbles in it.
Once they are comfortable blowing bubbles in the cup you can practice with them blowing bubbles in the pool. You can play with them by saying “Do you know how to talk with fish? We can talk with them by blowing bubbles”.
The technique of bubbling helps kids to breathe properly. When they swim, they inhale through their mouth when their face is above water and exhale through their mouth or nose when their face is underwater.
Blowing bubbles out of their mouth is the precursor to exhaling underwater. Basically, whenever their face is in the water, they want to exhale constantly and smoothly. Exhaling releases any tension that their body has built up, and helps their body to keep from tensing up anymore.
Conditioning with a cup and using the trigger word “one, two, three…..”
Conditioning the cup by pouring the water on their head is good exercise for your kids to hold their breath. You can do this after practicing blowing bubbles on the cup and after that you say the trigger words “one, two, three now hold your breath and put the water on your head”.
Because the water runs quickly, smoothly and evenly down the forehead, your kids should not ingest any water. With daily practice, your kids will soon react positively to the “trigger words”. They will learn how to close their eyes on the trigger. Once you are noticing this positive reaction, your kids will be ready for their first submersion.
Collecting sinking toys with goggles on
Once you see that your kids are comfortable with conditioning using a cup, you can practice submersion with them.
To practice submersion, you can play “the elevator game”, firstly the elevator goes to the first floor which is their mouth, secondly the elevator goes to the second floor which is their nose, and thirdly the elevator goes to the third floor which is their forehead. Slowly try to go under using “the elevator game – to the first floor” go under only to their mouth depth, then try to go under to the second floor – their nose depth, after that try to go under to the third floor until their forehead depth.
When you see that they are confident to go under the water through the game, you can put some sinking toys, ask them to use goggles so they can open their eyes, then ask them to go submerge to collect the sinking toys, but do not put the sinking toys too deep as we just want them to practice putting their full head under the water.
As kids grow, you can practice with them to submerge their face and keep it underwater for the count of 5 to 10 seconds. Once again, you are building on their swimming skills. Always remember that you should never forcibly submerge your kids, as this will cause discomfort and stress, because swimming should be a happy and a positive experience for both of you and your kids.