«Swimming is not fun»

Mrs Szabo, when is a child ready to learn to swim?

Of course, this varies from child to child. Basically, a child should be able to breathe out with their head under water and open their eyes. If a child is allowed to experience the water again and again and does not learn anything from adults, it will usually start to move independently under water by diving with up and down movements of the legs. The earliest a child can swim in a properly coordinated manner is around the age of five. However, learning to swim does not begin at kindergarten age.

But what?

The most important skills needed to learn to swim can be taught to children from around two years of age in a very simple and playful way. The most important basis for this is regular contact with water. The more often a child is allowed to be in the water, the more accustomed they become to the wet element.

It's not enough just to put swimming wings on the children and pull them through the water.

Water familiarisation courses are already available for toddlers. But is it really necessary for parents to attend a course with their young children?

As I said, a basic requirement for learning to swim at some point is regular contact with water. In addition, parents should know exactly what they want to practise with their children in preparation. Simply putting on the swimming wings and pulling the little ones through the water is not enough.

Getting used to water is much more than just splashing around. A child should not only be able to move safely in shallow water and practise floating and gliding in a prone and supine position, but also feel comfortable in deeper water. Parents should practise with their child without swimming aids and give them time to familiarise themselves with deep water and also teach them how to jump into the water correctly.

What is important here?

The child should learn to jump into the water, not into the arms of the carer. This is why the parent stands next to the child and not directly in front of it. As long as the child needs help, one or both of the parent's hands should be available when jumping into the water. This also teaches them that they should only jump into the water if there is no-one in the way. In my courses, I always impart knowledge in a playful but targeted way. On Gumpifrosch.ch I have listed tips and exercises on the subject of getting used to water that parents can use if they want to prepare their children for learning to swim independently.

The crawl is easier for children to start with than the breaststroke.

What else is important?

The child should learn everything independently. It is important to provide the child with the necessary support and not to persuade them to do exercises. Water is an element that harbours real dangers. Children should therefore be allowed to get used to the water and learn to swim without pressure. Pushing a child would be very counterproductive. You don't learn to swim in 10 times 30 minutes, it's a process that requires regular contact with the water and a lot of confidence in the element.

What do you do if a child is particularly afraid of water?

These children should be given extra time and the opportunity to explore the element playfully and in their own way. Some adults tend to «force children to be happy». For example, they don't catch them when they jump into the pool or they simply throw their offspring into the water. This is completely the wrong approach.

In my courses, I structure the exercises in such a way that the children enjoy the water and don't even realise that they are learning a lot in the process. It's exciting to observe that children often intuitively make the right movements if you let them and don't force them to do anything.

Like frogs?

Exactly not. The crawl is easier for children because they are often already doing the leg stroke themselves and don't have to coordinate the movements in such a complex rhythm as in breaststroke. It also makes more sense ergonomically. The child's head is still too big in relation to the body. The child exhausts more quickly when swimming breaststroke. In addition, the back bends unnaturally into a «hollow back».

This is why backstroke and crawl have been taught before breaststroke for more than 20 years. These types of swimming are easier for children to learn and easier to perform. They have more stamina and can swim a greater distance.

The ability to take a break in the water should not be underestimated.

In Switzerland, drowning is the most common cause of death after accidental death. Why do so many children drown?

Parents often think that it is enough for small children to wear water wings. Then they feel safe and don't look closely enough. But the air can escape from the water wings or the children can fall over. Then they simply lie face down in the water, can't get back up and can drown in the shallow children's pool within 20 seconds. They should therefore always be within easy reach.

And what is the problem with older children?

That they misjudge themselves. Teenagers, in particular, are more likely to test their courage, make daring jumps and swim under the influence of alcohol. More boys drown than girls. Parents also very often overestimate their children's swimming abilities. They think that their child can swim if they can manage a few breaststroke strokes at a time. However, the ability to rest in between strokes should not be underestimated. In my courses, for example, I practise resting in the water so that I can use this in a tricky situation.

How do you do that?

In one exercise, for example, the children start swimming a length and after just a few strokes turn onto their backs to stay there for a short time. In this way, we utilise the natural buoyancy of the water. Only then do they continue.

That doesn't sound too difficult.

Make no mistake! It's not just children who tend to overestimate their swimming abilities, but also their parents. However, when I ask parents to take part in the exercises in my courses, things look very different. Time and again, parents sink when they try to float on the water. They underestimate how much body tension is needed to stay flat on the water.

Now, however, children have swimming as a school subject by the third grade at the latest.

As far as swimming lessons are concerned, there is a lack of nationwide provision. Curriculum 21 should mean that all children in primary school have swimming lessons, but for some schools this is very difficult to implement. Especially for those where there is no indoor swimming pool far and wide.

How good are the children's swimming skills when they start school?

Depending on where they live, their parents' level of education and religious beliefs, the children are either already quite good swimmers or the element of water is still foreign to them and they may even be afraid of it. My courses are mainly attended by children from families for whom learning to swim is very important and who can afford a swimming course.

Of course, such a course is also a financial burden.

That's true. But I have also had cases where the social welfare office has paid for the course when it was difficult for the family. The problem is more that parents see swimming as fun, as a nice hobby, and not as what it is: essential for survival in a country where people swim as much as in Switzerland.