Engaging 2-year-olds in swimming lessons
Here are some good pointers on both the benefits of but mostly some methods involved in getting 2-year-olds in swimming lessons.
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Engaging 2-Year-Olds Enhances development
The range of ability of 2-year-olds can be quite wide. It is not unusual to have many of them swimming backstroke and floating independently. That is not what this article is about but it does highlight the importance of engaging 2-year-olds and them involved. They are capable of much more than they are given credit for if they are engaged and want to please you.
In the early years of my swim teaching career, I subscribed to what I had been taught; that 2-year-olds are only capable of doggy paddle or swimming with floats (water wings). But the more experienced I became the more I was happy to experiment and I was always impressed at the strides that the students would make as long as they were engaged. The more I challenged them the more they surprised me.
Freestyle
I even tried getting them to swim freestyle. For me, that had only limited success. Whilst they were happy to try any often got the principles most time we needed to allow their motor skills to catch up before it was anything but a version of it. Still, some of those versions were pretty impressive for their age.
Backstroke
Backstroke, on the other hand, was a different story. Breathing was the biggest challenge for 2-year-olds doing freestyle. Breathing to the side was well beyond all but a very few. Though that didn't stop them from trying. They would come up with their own method. But backstroke requires no special breathing skills and you can get good propulsion out all sorts of backward arm movements. All they really needed was to be able to float.
So not only is it more fun and a great deal more pleasant to have engaged 2-year-olds you can also be a lot more creative and developmental.
Richard
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