How to Teach Your Kid to Tread Water

Step-by-Step Guide

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   Step 1: Start early.

   Kids should be taught to tread water before they are taught how to swim.
   
   Try to teach water treading as soon as your child is capable of following directions and copying the example of the adult.Since younger kids are more prone to accidental drowning, learning this skill early increases their chances of survival if they should end up in the water.
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   Step 2: Practice on dry land.

   Rather than immediately working on everything involved with treading water, it is better to safely work on the different parts of the body that are involved on dry land.
   
   Begin with doing some slow breathing exercises, then move on to incorporating arms and legs.An ideal place to practice these movements is at a playground.
   
   Kids learn better when they are having fun, so making games out of the lessons is helpful. , Start by simply breathing with your child.
   
   Try breathing in for a count of four, and out to a count of four.
   
   In time, try increasing the number to five or six.
   
   Maintaining a slow, steady flow of breath helps your child to stay calm and tread water effectively., Make sure your child knows that in order to tread water, they must be in a vertical position with their head above the water.
   
   As you work on breathing and arm movement exercises, remain upright with your child.If your child is not in a vertical position, with his head out of the water, he is technically swimming.
   
   While it is important to teach your child to swim, the ability to tread water should come first. , Your arms should be held out in front of you, then moved slowly toward the back.
   
   You will repeat this motion (front to back, back to front) the whole time you tread water.
   
   Demonstrate this movement, and encourage your child to try.It may feel more natural to your child to move their arms up and down, but this is not an effective way to tread water and will tire them out quickly. , Make sure you're in a space where your child has room to stretch his arms all the way out.
   
   Then pretend that you and your child pretend are pushing your way through tall grass or jungle vines. , The palms of the hands should be facing the direction the arms are moving (as if they are parting the pretend grass or vines and pushing them to the sides so they can get through).
   
   When the arms go as far as they can comfortably go toward your kid’s back, they should rotate their hands so that the palms face forward while moving his arms toward his front.These motions should be done slowly and evenly to conserve energy. , Once your kid has mastered the proper arm motions, you can move on to teaching the proper leg motions.
   
   Although breathing and arm-only exercises can be practiced standing up, in order to do leg exercised you will need to sit, lie down, or try other position with your child.Practicing at a playground is ideal because your kid can be helped into a position where his feet are not on the ground.
   
   You can help your kid hang from a horizontal bar or suspended rings on the climbing tower to practice the proper leg motions.
   
   To demonstrate these motions, suspend your own body off the ground or maneuver your child’s legs for him until he can do the motions on his own. , One of the easier leg motions to learn is known as the "scissor kick." To do this, simply move your legs apart (one toward the front and one toward the back) then reverses them.
   
   Demonstrate this move for your child.
   
   Then ask them to pretend their legs are scissors cutting through a piece of paper., The "frog kick" is a move where you bend both legs with the knees pointed outward, then extend both legs at the same time.
   
   Demonstrate this for your child, then ask them to pretend like they are a jumping frog., The most efficient leg motion for treading water is called "the rotary" or "eggbeater," but it is often the most difficult for kids to learn.
   
   For this one, one leg makes slow clockwise circular motions while the other one makes slow counterclockwise motions.
   
   Demonstrate this for your kid, then ask them to imagine they are mixing eggs (or cookie dough) with each foot.
   
   Try doing each leg independently, and work up to doing both at the same time.The movement of the legs needs to be timed in such a way that as the right leg moves away from the neutral position, the left leg is moving toward the neutral position, and vice versa. , After your child has learned the arm and leg motions, the lessons should be continued in water.
   
   A pool works well for this because it is much safer than using a large body of water like the ocean or a lake.The pool needs to be deep enough that your child cannot touch the bottom with his feet so that he can work on the proper leg movements for treading water. , For safety reasons, you should stay in the water near your child throughout the lessons in the water.
   
   If your kid has never been in a pool, take extra time to help your kid get used to it.Since your kid’s head might end up going under while learning to tread water, make sure that your kid will not panic if this occurs.
   
   To practice going under, ask your kid to hold their breath (and pinch their nose closed) as you gently pull them under water and immediately bring him back up. , Start the lesson at the edge of the pool so that your kid has the added security of holding onto the wall with one hand at the beginning and just doing the arm motions with the free arm.
   
   Once your child manages to tread water while holding the wall, he should be encouraged to release his hold on the wall and allow himself to drift away from it., If your kid is worried about leaving the security of the wall, offer to support him at the waist as long as it can be done without interfering with your kid’s arm and leg movements.
   
   This exercise is meant to make them safer and more comfortable around the water, not create additional fear.
   
   Avoid pushing them to anything they are not comfortable with.You child can also wear some type of flotation device such as armband floaties, an inflatable loop around his waist, or a life vest, that keeps your kid’s head above the water and does not interfere with the movement of his arms and legs.
   
   When you and your child feel comfortable with the idea, your kid should tread water without any support from you or flotation devices. , There is no way to know how long your child might need to be able to tread water in an emergency.
   
   Depending on the location, it is possible that help might not arrive for hours.
   
   Therefore, it is a good idea to work on extending the amount of time that your child can tread water while practicing in the pool.
   
   Not only will this work on his efficiency, but it will also increase his endurance.
   
   Depending on the abilities of your kid, you might start at just two to five minutes of unsupported water treading.
   
   Gradually increase it by increments of ten minutes at each practice session.
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   Step 3: Try some slow breathing exercises.

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   Step 4: Stay in a vertical position.

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   Step 5: Emphasize a front-to-back motion.

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   Step 6: Pretend you're in the jungle.

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   Step 7: Pay attention to the palms.

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   Step 8: Get into a position with your feet off the ground.

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   Step 9: Try a scissor kick.

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    Step 10: Do a frog kick.

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    Step 11: Work up to the eggbeater.

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    Step 12: Let your kid practice treading water in a pool.

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    Step 13: Get into the water with your child.

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    Step 14: Start the lesson near the edge of the pool.

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    Step 15: Provide some extra support.

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    Step 16: Encourage your child to practice treading water for longer and longer each time.

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