In the process of swim instruction, it's often difficult to figure out how to lay the groundwork for future skill development. How can progress a skill or condition a swimmer to get better at any particular set of skills?
At the end of the day, teaching straight safety skills does NOTHING for the swimmer if they can't learn how their body functions in the water with careful step by step water acclimation. In teaching your kid, you want them to effectively put their face in the water then learn how to take breaths while they swim.
In my experience, it's jarring to put the face in the water because of the cold and how it feels on the face. Conditioning them in the bathtub with warm water could solve this problem. When they eventually go to the pool, you want to have them put different parts of their face in the water and teach them simple solutions to safely put the nose and mouth in the water. Examples could be "don't smell the water" or "balloon your cheeks" or "fill up your mouth balloon". You can dribble water over their heads while they make a tight scruncy face to keep any water from going in.
And I keep talking about it but it always bears repeating. SAFETY DOES NOTHING IF A KID DOESN'T LEARN TO PUT HIS FACE IN THE WATER. Safety doesn't teach comfort, it teaches fear.
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