Kickstart the Ability to Swim in 3 Easy Steps

For any skill that you learn, or any task you complete there is always a way to help set yourself up for success! Whether your child is a infant, or you are adult there are very important things you can do to help learn the art of swimming!

Confidence, Confidence, Confidence!

This is probably the most important element you, or your kid could have to begin swimming. No, I’m not asking anyone to blindly jump into the water and just have confidence that they can swim. All I’m saying is that it gives your brain, and your body a positive boost when you tell yourself, “I CAN DO THIS!” Some of the hardest blocks I seem to run into when teaching swim lessons is when a kid learns a new skill, but then a day or two later when we attempt to return to the skill they shy away from it. Not babying yourself or your child, giving yourself that mental push, and staying positive will push you to complete anything you set your mind to do!

Practice Makes Perfect!

After a long and difficult swim lesson, practicing the skills you learned may be the last thing you want to do, but in the long run you’ll improve so much faster! Most people, especially beginner swimmers do not start off with swim lessons every day. In all of my experience every child that practiced what I taught were miles ahead of my students that didn’t go to the pool in between swim lessons. Practice and confidence go hand in hand. Having confidence in yourself and your ability to accomplish a skill is super important, but its actually having confidence in knowing you can perform the skill that will further your own progress. Practicing what you learned in swim lessons will continue to give you the confidence you need to make it through the next lesson and help you accomplish a skill or skill set. Also to parents: It is so important to watch what the swim instructor does with your child, so that you can practice it later! You may not be able to do everything the swim instructor did with your child, but I’m sure you could work on simple tasks. (Some examples would be: Blowing bubbles out of your nose in the bathtub, or going to the pool and having your child kick their feet or move their arms like they are swimming).

Seriously, Eat some food!

I know this may sound crazy, but eat some food before you get into that water! First off, many people are scared or nervous when doing swim lessons for the first time. So, to set you or your child up for success eats a banana, yogurt, bagels or even strawberries. Swimming on an empty stomach can add so much stress on top of nervousness when doing swim lessons for the first time, so it’s important to eat some healthy carbs! Side note: Don’t over eat! Eating too much, or eating junk food right before you swim can offset how you feel and can even make you or your child throw up. If you eat a light and healthy snack 30 minutes before you swim, you will set yourself and your child up for success.

In conclusion, all three of these elements can help you or your child complete your set of swim lessons.

About the author: Katie Jansen

Katie Jansen is a Sunsational Swim School Instructor from Atlanta, GA.
I am a 20 year old swim instructor who has been instructing kids ages 2-33 for over 4 years. Working with kids and swimming are both passions of mine! I am a junior in college working on my psychology major, which has helped me tremendously to better understand what stage of development each client I work with is on. I swam competitively for ten years and dove for four, so I am no stranger to the water!

Book your lessons with Katie or any other instructor in your local area.