How to Teach Someone to Swim

Teaching another person to swim is very rewarding. However, it's not an easy, as there is a lot to cover and you need to be absolutely aware of what the person is doing at all times, to ensure that the person is both safe and is swimming correctly. If you're keen to teach someone to swim, you're now the "teacher" and your pupil is the "learner", and it's time to get into the water.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Overcoming Any Water Fears

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1
Consider your qualifications. Ideally, a person should be instructed by a certified swim teacher, preferably a lifeguard or monitored by a lifeguard. But swimming can certainly be taught by ordinary people. The person teaching should be a strong, confident swimmer, have the skills to teach the various skills, and the patience needed in any teaching situation.
- If you have anxiety about swimming, you are also likely to pass on your fears to your student no matter how well-meaning you are.
- You may not remember how you learned to swim. Typically swimming is taught to young children, so you may not remember how exactly you were taught years ago. Or you may not remember certain parts.
2
Be aware that some past practices should not be used. Some teaching strategies are counterproductive and should be avoided.
- "Sink or Swim"/ "Viking swim lesson", in other words, having a person forcibly put (such as tossed by an adult) into deep water. The driving idea behind this lesson is that the person will struggle and be afraid, but will overcome this fear and learn quickly that it is possible to get to the side. Typically, this just re-enforces a person's reluctance to get in the water, and builds distrust in you as an instructor; he or she will be unlikely to swim for pleasure and thus not become a good swimmer. At worst, the person can drown.
- Using the term "Drown-Proofing". Being able to swim does not mean a person cannot drown. Many water-related deaths were by people who could swim competently. This is an outdated and misleading term.
- Demand a perfect float or dive. Some swimming programs demanded students pass skills such as floating or diving. While both of these skills compliment swimming and teach good skills, one can be a great swimmer while not mastering them. If the goal is to teach swimming, keep the focus on swimming.
  - A very skinny and/or muscular person may not be able to float well, but swim just fine. Many Olympic-level swimmers do not float well.
  - Diving demands a certain form, and a few people have real trouble with elements such as keeping the legs together. But for everyday swimming, or in an emergency, this really is unlikely to matter.
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3
Get comfortable around water. If a person cannot swim, it is natural that there will likely be a lot of anxiety over getting into the water, much less swim. Gently introduce the learner to being in the water, starting in the shallow end of the pool. The older the swimmer, the greater their reluctance will likely be; therefore, while it's important to practice this step for all swimmers, it is especially important when teaching an adult to swim.^{[1]XResearch source}
- Do not rush the person into being more comfortable in the water. You will not be able to teach anything about propulsion, floating, breath control, or any other aspect of swimming unless the person feels confident enough to relax and explore.
- Take small steps. For someone very afraid of the water, just getting three steps into the pool may be a huge achievement. Do what he or she is comfortable with, then take it just one bit further at a time.
- You may want to hold your student's hand (as long as it is a small individual) to make them feel less anxious.
- Very young students wearing flotation devices are fine to have swim in deeper water as long as you are comfortable in this area. Since a toddler cannot touch the bottom in the shallow end, it is just as "dangerous" as the deep end. In fact, this approach avoids making "the deep end" a forbidden, hazardous place for a student--which can be an anxiety about swimming for novice students.
- Let your student hold onto you until he/she is ready. Instead of you deciding when to let go, let your student decide. This can help build trust in you.
4
Take a playful approach. A relaxed, joyful approach helps ease anxiety and increase curiosity and risk-taking. It is also often a positive distraction.^{[2]XResearch source} For example:
- Provide colorful floating toys for children to reach for in the water. This helps children learn to stretch out the arms (rather than contract defensively) and feel water is a fun environment for exploration and play.
- An adult may be anxious standing in the water away from the pool wall. However, tossing a beach ball back and forth acts as a focus--away from feeling anxiety at being away from the safety of the wall and building a feeling of relaxation, fun, and safety.
5
Use buoyancy aids sparingly. Although flotation aids can be helpful in building skills and confidence, they can become a crutch.^{[3]XResearch source}
- Do not use "arm floaties". These devices easily come off, and restrict arm movements. Swimming requires a lot of arm movement, so these inflatables are highly discouraged. They also give children a false understanding of the physics of being in water.
- Kickboards are very useful in teaching swimming. They allow for just enough flotation to the arms to isolate the kick. And although they float, students cannot use them entirely as a support.
- "Bubbles" are often useful. They help the student float a bit more, and encourages a horizontal position in the water. As the swimmer becomes more confident, the amount of flotation can be reduced until no longer needed.
Your job as a swim instructor is to build on a novice's confidence. This means finding where he/she is, and gradually add skills. You may also need to know a student's limits. A student who is not confident in treading water for more than a few seconds should probably not go in the deep end for very long if at all. A student who can swim freestyle for 100 yards competently may be ready for recreational swim at the pool, but not ready to do a triathlon.^{[4]XResearch source}

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Teaching Starter Moves

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Sit on the side of the pool, next to the learner. Demonstrate how to do the arm movements of a very simple stroke which you will be doing properly later. He/she should copy you, and you should correct any mistakes he/she makes.^{[5]XResearch source} Keep repeating these steps until he does the stroke properly. To help him/her practice this put your hand under their stomach to keep them buoyant.
Get the learner to hold onto the side with his/her arms, and kick with his/her legs. Give him/her guidance as to how to kick correctly, so that he/she can feel confident when he/she finally starts to swim. It may be easier for the learner to do this on his/her back so that he/she can see his/her legs as he/she is doing it.^{[6]XResearch source}
This is a big step for some people, without a side to hold on to, and so it may take a bit of time. Again, the general advice is to hold the learner's hand, and give him/her a buoyancy aid. He/she should try treading water - you should demonstrate this again if he/she doesn't know how it works.^{[7]XResearch source}

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Beginning Swimming

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Get him/her to swim short distances in the shallow end of the pool, in a simple stroke which he/she feels comfortable with. Don't push the learner to do too much at the moment - this will probably be the first few strokes of his/her life.^{[8]XResearch source}
This may not happen immediately. In fact, it will probably take many learning sessions to get to this stage. Make sure to support him/her both physically and mentally - this will be hard for him/her.
This will help him/her decide which one he/she likes best. Get him/her to swim a width of freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and any other easy-to-hard stroke you can think of. Don't put too much pressure on the learner. Make it fun for the student so that he/she will want to learn more.^{[9]XResearch source}

Part 4

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Going to the Deep End

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1
Journey into the Deep End. Typically, a novice swimmer has learned to not go to into deep water. "The Deep End" becomes a place of fear and anxiety. However, a competent swimmer needs to be able to swim where he or she cannot simply stop and touch the bottom. Also, to learn skills such as diving, one cannot stay in the shallow end.
- Do not bring students in the deep end un-supported until he or she can swim about a pool length without stopping to touch the bottom. Physically being able to swim without stopping is a requirement for the deep end. Some students will routinely stop and put a foot down to assure that they are in shallow water, even if they can physically swim the distance. Either way, the student must be confident and strong enough to handle not simply being able to stop.
- Your student can simply hold on to the side of the pool and pull themselves along. It may take a few goes to get to the other end of the pool. Lead the way, showing that it is safe, and go a little bit further each time. ^{[10]XResearch source}
- Try visiting with a lifejacket or other flotation devices. Cruising through the deep end wearing flotation devices will help build confidence. Doing things like jumping into the area with a life jacket will help the learner feel that this isn't such a forbidden zone, but more like just another part of the pool.
When the learner is prepared to do this, which may not be for quite a long time, you should carefully ease him/her into the deep end. To start with, you should stay close to the side and make sure that the learner feels secure. Eventually, he/she will be able to swim on his/her own, and that is a job well done.
3
Jump into the deep end and swim across. Once the learner is comfortable with swimming from the shallow end to the deep end, the next step is jumping in to the pool at the deep end. At first, the learner should get used to jumping in and then holding onto the wall. Then, once jumping in is no longer a challenge for them, he/she should be encouraged to try jumping in and swimming across. At this point, the learner has achieved a basic grasp of how to swim.
- It's important to save jumping in until the learner is comfortable with the deep end, because it can be dangerous to jump in at the shallow end, where he/she could hit the bottom and hurt themselves.

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What type of swim lessons are best for children over 6 months?
Brad Hurvitz
Certified Survival Swimming Instructor
Brad Hurvitz is a Certified Swimming Instructor for My Baby Swims, an adolescent swimming school based in La Jolla, California. Brad is trained as an Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) instructor with ISR's Self-Rescue® program. He specializes in training children aged six months to six years of age survival skills like floating on their back to breathe and swimming back to the wall, while also educating parents on how to better keep their kids safe. He has a Master of Business Administration from Oregon State University.
Brad Hurvitz
Certified Survival Swimming Instructor
Expert Answer
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Question
Is it okay to blow bubbles underwater?
Brad Hurvitz
Certified Survival Swimming Instructor
Brad Hurvitz is a Certified Swimming Instructor for My Baby Swims, an adolescent swimming school based in La Jolla, California. Brad is trained as an Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) instructor with ISR's Self-Rescue® program. He specializes in training children aged six months to six years of age survival skills like floating on their back to breathe and swimming back to the wall, while also educating parents on how to better keep their kids safe. He has a Master of Business Administration from Oregon State University.
Brad Hurvitz
Certified Survival Swimming Instructor
Expert Answer
If you're learning how to swim it can actually be harmful because you're letting out all of your air, which is supposed to act as a flotation device. It also decreases the amount of time you can spend underwater.
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Will it help to blow on someone's face before they go underwater?
Brad Hurvitz
Certified Survival Swimming Instructor
Brad Hurvitz is a Certified Swimming Instructor for My Baby Swims, an adolescent swimming school based in La Jolla, California. Brad is trained as an Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) instructor with ISR's Self-Rescue® program. He specializes in training children aged six months to six years of age survival skills like floating on their back to breathe and swimming back to the wall, while also educating parents on how to better keep their kids safe. He has a Master of Business Administration from Oregon State University.
Brad Hurvitz
Certified Survival Swimming Instructor
Expert Answer
I would not recommend this. Some people blow air in a child's face to stop their breathing. However, that pauses the respiratory system wherever it is in the cycle, so they might not have as much air as they need in their lungs once they're under the water.
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Tips

Never force a student to do something he/she isn't comfortable with. Beginning to swim (not yet swimming itself) is definitely something where the student has to find their "rhythm".^{[11]XResearch source}
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Only teach them a few new skills at a time so that he/she don't get confused.
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This will take a long time - go at the learner's pace, and be patient.
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It may take time for the learner to adjust to the environment of the pool. If you're teaching a kid, consider bringing toys to the pool so you can have some fun together during their lessons. This will help them get more comfortable with the pool and with you as a teacher.
If you can, offer to teach private lessons. One-on-one lessons may be preferable if the swimmer needs your full attention or if they get nervous swimming around others.

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Warnings

Never mentally or physically force a learner to do something he/she isn't not ready for. This will only increase fear and send progress backwards, wasting your time and their progress.
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Go at the learner's pace but try to encourage progress by being generous with praise and encouragement.
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Be careful, and don't make the learner do anything which makes him/her feel uncomfortable.
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Make sure there is a lifeguard at the pool where you practice. Avoid crowded pools.
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A certified instructor is always recommended.
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