Reply to Did Floaties give your child a false sense of water security and swim ability?

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[quote=Anonymous]I think floaties can be used responsibly as part of a kid learning to swim (not a universal belief I realize).

However it does not sound like your kid needs them or would benefit from them. He should just keep going to swim lessons. It's normal for kids to take some time for actual swim strokes to "click" and it's a positive sign that he loves the water so much.

Do NOT allow him in the deep end of the pool until he can safely swim to the middle and back even when tired. It's just a "no". Don't give him floaties just so he can go in the most dangerous part of the pool on his own. Keep him in the shallow end and make sure there is an adult within reach until he is proficient enough to be able to swim on his own with supervision from further away.

He will naturally stop gobbling up water by doing it and realizing it sucks and causes him to have to stop. He is not "inhaling" water -- he has not yet learned to turn his head to the side and breathe so he's swallowing water as he swims. Talk to him and to the teacher about reminding him to keep his mouth closed when swimming with his face in the water and about what steps he needs to take to learn to take breaths while swimming. That can be a tricky skill and it can take kids a while to master -- my kid had been doing a competent freestyle stroke for a year before she was able to incorporate breathing in a way that allowed her to do the full length of the pool -- she could do it with her head down under the water for a half length but had to spend months figuring out the mechanics of taking a breath on her side before she could do it at all and then more months before she could do it as part of her stroke. And then once she had it no more problems.

He just needs to keep going to class and practicing.[/quote]

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