When to start?
All children are different, and therefore should not, too force things. Teach a child to swim at the age when he himself ripens for this, and only at his request. Usually such "swimming" age naturally occurs in children to three years. If the baby is healthy and not intimidated by the parents ("do not go to the river or you will drown"), then, as a rule, he shows a great interest in water loves to splash in the bathroom, on the beach rushes to swim with adults, loves to play by the water and t etc. Of course, we need to use his interest, and on this wave to start slowly preparing him for training.
How to teach?
The main thing is not to turn lessons into "classes". Rest for your own pleasure and sometimes play with the baby in the water. Try it together with him in the shallow water to launch various objects into the voyage and explain in the course of the action that things that are easier on the water are kept on the water. There are light materials - wood, cork, polystyrene ... They do not sink. And there are heavy metals, stone, etc. But why does not the ship sink, because it is heavy and made of metal? And because the air makes it easy. And for the same reason, dad does not sink in the water, look how tall and heavy it is.
Shallow Water Games
Of course, a child can play by the water on his own: to sculpt kulichiki, build a tower of sand, lay slides from pebbles, etc. Your duty is to keep your eyes on it. But you can stay there for long? Take up playing in shallow water with him. You can:
• play crocodiles, moving on the sand only on their hands;
• play in the "wheelbarrow"; the child rises on all fours, you take him by the feet; Then he walks on the water's edge and tries to go deeper;
• get "pearls": throw toys at the bottom, and then take them in turn.
We go under the water
Take an inflatable toy and run it to float on the water. Invite the child to sink it - let it see that it floats up like a float. Then take the toy that is drowning, and sink it. Ask the child why his inflatable tiger does not sink. "Because there is air in it!" - an already enlightened baby will answer. So, if you take more air, you can just swim and not sink! This is just the right time to show the child how to make a "float": you sit in the water on your heels, wrap your hands around your knees and dive head first, so that you can float your back to the top.
Watching others
When the child is already confidently doing the "float" and realized that the water holds it, you can proceed to master the very process of movement in the water, that is, swimming. Explain to the kid that in the form of a float he will not swim far: it is impossible to take a breath and nothing to row. Watch with your child how other people swim.
We make short swim
Show the child the movements of the hands and the yogi when swimming with crochet and breaststroke, first you should do on land. Then practice these same movements in the water. Do not forget about breathing. Knowledgeable people advise you to learn how to swim at first "under water", then the child will not be tempted to pull his chin up. So, what should your baby do? Standing deep in the chest, take a breath, then kick off from the bottom and try to swim for some distance over the surface, putting your face in the water. In this case, the legs should move "in a frog". Hands can rake up water.
Learning to rest on your back
To continue to feel calmly on the water and not be afraid to move away from the shore, you need to learn to rest while lying on the water. To do this simply: you need to lean back and lie down on the water, like on the bed, directly back of the head. Hands should be spread out to the sides, and the legs slightly divorced.
Swim together
At some point the child should have a qualitative breakthrough: he must understand that, in principle; drowning, not so easy - it requires some good reasons (a storm, a spasm, too cold water and other force majeure circumstances). Take a child to swim in a big company - it will be easier for him, and you are calmer.
- Always check the bottom so that the child does not get hurt.
- Do not dive or dive in troubled waters.
- Do not bathe in the face of intense excitement.
- If you swim with the child to the depth, always have at hand saving means (circle, ball, board, etc.).
- You yourself should not only swim well, but also be aware of the methods of saving drowning people.
- Tell the child about the rules of safety on the water (for example, that you can not jump into the water in unfamiliar places, what can be deep at the shore, etc.).
- Talk with the child in the water always in a benevolent tone.
- Never frighten a child: psychologists recommend avoiding even such innocent, seemingly phrases as "drowning," "deep down there," "swallowing up water," "drowning," and so on.