Encourage your child to move about in the water. You might need to hold their hand at first, but gradually encourage them to let go and move about on their own.
Explore different ways of moving in the water, such as walking, jumping and spinning. Try playing simple games like ‘ring-a-ring-a-roses’ to give them the confidence to move around and put their head under the water.
Let go of your child’s hands and ask them to move towards you, sometimes slowly and sometimes fast. Get them to use their arms and hands to balance and push themselves along. Once they are more confident, increase the distance they have to travel until they can cross the swimming pool on their own.
Going under…
Start by letting your child feel water on their face. Then encourage them to put their face in the water.
So that they don’t swallow water, get them to hold their breath and then breathe out gently through their nose when they put their face in the water. It helps to keep your mouth shut!
Once your child is confident, ask them to keep their head underwater and blow out hard to make bubbles float to the surface. Give them simple challenges, like ‘Can you keep your face in the water until I count to three?’ Later, ask them if they can stay completely submerged until you have counted to three, five or more.