HOW AND WHEN TO TEACH CHILDREN TO SWIM

Summer is at your doorstep and with it the beach and pool season will come. One of the things that frightens our parents the most at this time of year is that our children can suffer an accident if they fall into the water in a depsiste.

Not surprisingly, drowning is one of the main causes of infant mortality during the first five years and, moreover, occurs in just seconds. Hence it is so important that our children become familiar with the aquatic environment as soon as possible.

But is that to know how to swim not only constitutes an important life insurance For our children, it is one of the most complete sports that exist, as well as a fun hobby if practiced safely.

Swimming benefits

When we swim, a large number of muscles of the upper, lower limbs, abdomen and back intervene, helping us strengthen them, make them more flexible and gain resistance.

Being an aerobic sport, we will be helping our circulatory and respiratory system, strengthening the heart and lungs. In addition, we will favor postural alignment, mitigating, on many occasions, backaches.

In Babies and more The AAP recommends that most children learn to swim from their first year, to prevent drowning

And if these benefits were few, with swimming, our kids will also gain in agility and coordination, we will help them prevent childhood obesity and to improve concentration and rest.

There are countless benefits that the practice of this sport can bring to young and old!

When to start swimming?

The experts are clear: sooner. The more time passes and the greater the child, the more likely it is that feelings of fear of water, mistrust and insecurity are awakened in him.

If a little one feels Quiet, confident and safe in an aquatic environment, faster and more efficient will be your learning. Hence, parents are recommended to start familiarizing their babies with water before the first year of life.

In addition, we must not forget that during pregnancy babies have developed in an aquatic environment as they are surrounded by amniotic fluid. Therefore, in their first months of life they will feel safe and comfortable in the water, In addition they will still retain the instinct to block their airways that will prevent the entry of fluid.

Can parents teach them to swim?

The Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP) advises that children learn to swim from the age of four, at which time parents usually entrust this task to professionals.

However, we can also start before Help them become familiar in a healthy and fun way with water With these simple tips:

Start with water games, especially if your child shows some fear and insecurity. You can "water" with the hose, pour water over your head or use water guns.
Make him see how much fun it is!: Show children playing and having fun in the water, sitting together on the curb and kicking or throwing rubber toys to see that they do not sink or anything happens to get wet.
When you feel safe, encourage him to bathe in the part of the pool that does not cover it, or near the shore in case of being on the beach. Offer your hands to win in safety and encourage him to splash, kick, jump with you and gradually introduce his head.
As you gain confidence, you can encourage him to let go of your hand and play with a ball, dance in the water or look for a toy that you have previously thrown.
When you get to move a few meters, either diving or swimming "doggy style", encourage him to go from your arms to the curb or from dad's arms to mom's. ¡¡Congratulate him for every little advance!

If in these early stages of learning, the child swallowed water or suffered a small setback, we must downplay what happened and remind him frequently how much fun it is to swim and how much we are enjoying it by his side.

Having mastered these steps, we will have got our children to become familiar with the aquatic environment, have learned to breathe, float and gain confidence and ease in the face of Learn the technique of swimming as a sports discipline.

Recommended pool materials to start swimming

There are many auxiliary materials that can help to our kids in these early stages of learning in the water, but perhaps the best known and used are the "churros" and belts.

The "water churro" It is a flexible and long polystyrene cylinder that allows it to be used in many fun ways. They can be great allies when it comes to teaching children how to swim because it helps them control the position and feel safe while having fun.
Cork belts or swimsuits with built-in corks: They are very safe and practical when the kids are starting. It allows them to move freely, maintain their posture and in the case of belts, corks can be removed as the child advances.
Polystyrene sleeves: Like the belts, they carry several discs that we can remove depending on the level of the swimmer.

Pool materials to avoid

But not all auxiliary pool materials are valid and safe for our children to start swimming. Experts agree that we must avoid the following utensils because of the dangers involved:

Plastic sleeves: they are not appropriate to learn to swim because they limit movements and also, they could slip and leave the arm. However, they can be useful in the initial phase of water adaptation and buoyancy. They should always be used under adult supervision. and choose the appropriate size for the child's arm.
Floats: The experts totally discourage its use for the risks involved. Being plastic, it could be punctured or deflated, if it is very large the child could sneak down, and if it is too tight it could tip over and prevent the child from coming back to the surface.
Cork Bubbles: The classic cork bubble tied in the back is also not appropriate and safe because they force the child to go bent, making movement and coordination difficult. In addition, the tape can be nailed, moved and the bubble ends up climbing the neck.
Vests: Unless they wear harness, they are not very suitable for children because they usually end up getting in the face and being really dangerous.

Other basic recommendations

Although our children have learned to swim or see them safe in the water,We must never lose sight of them!

It is also important that we instill certain basic rules when bathing, which will give us some Extra security measures to enjoy the bathroom without frights:

Do not get in the water without having previously notified an adult
Do not throw your head without permission or supervision of an adult
Shower before and after swimming in the pool
Do not get into the sea when there is a red flag and always bathe in the delimited areas
Use other protection methods such as sunscreen, flip flops to avoid fungus in swimming pools or goggles to protect the eyes from chlorine or salt
Do not run or play on the curb of the pool as they could fall into the water in an oversight or scratch and hurt

And remember that although our children are bathing with some of the auxiliary materials we have seen, we must never trust or think that they will be completely safe with that.

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In Babies and More Can you find the child who is drowning in the pool before the lifeguard? Prevents drowning, Baby's first bath in the pool: Nine tips, Nine games to stimulate the psychomotor skills of your children in the pool, In the pool and on the beach, neither floats nor sleeves, Precautions in the pool with children, The best safety measure in beaches and swimming pools: Do not take your eyes off them,