Swimming: beginner drills

GET STARTED EQUIPMENT SKILLS pool practice FIND lessons
Home » Sports » Swimming » Swimming Drills

Never leave a child unattended near or in water — even for a moment — as it can result in drowning.

Three Swimming Drills to get your kid comfortable in the water

These beginner swimming drills will help your child develop their water safety skills and build the foundations to begin swimming. As with all swimming skills and drills, you should always accompany your child in the pool – however strong their swim skills become.

A note on Gamification: While you should never pressure a child to do something they are scared of, water can be confronting. Turning these drills into fun, gentle games can build confidence. The key is to focus on positive reinforcement and celebrating small successes, not on winning or competition.

Floating on the back

Goal: Learning to float on the back takes time, but it is one of the most important water safety skills your child will learn. If your child can master this, it will give them the ability to breathe if they fall into water. Always practice this drill in shallow water where your child can stand up if they want to.

Begin by supporting their head with your shoulder.

🏊 Step 1: Start with their head resting on your shoulder. Your shoulder should be just below the surface, so that the back of their head is touching the water. Your child should lie flat on the surface with your hand supporting their back. They can adopt the starfish position for this as it will help with their balance. When they are comfortable, try gently removing your hand from their back.

🏊 Step 2: You can bring them across your body once they grow in confidence. Support their head with one hand and their lower back with the other. Slowly remove your hand from their lower back, encouraging them to push their stomach to the sky. They may sink at first, but keep trying. When they are ready, try removing your hand from their head. They will probably stand up at first, as they won’t trust themselves to float, but don’t give up! Singing a song like ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ can help to relax them and make them look up.

As they get more confident, encourage them to float by themselves.

Monkey Walk Along the wall

Goal: Learning to ‘walk’ along the pool wall—and to climb out—is an important safety skill for beginner swimmers. It also helps to build coordination and grip.

How to do it: Have your child hold onto the pool wall with both hands and “walk” their hands sideways like a monkey, keeping their body in the water. Encourage them to move slowly along the edge — this builds strength and comfort with being supported by the wall. Help them ‘walk’ to the steps out of the pool, or shallow water where they can stand. After they master this, show them how to use their ‘elbows, elbows, tummy, knees’ to climb out of the pool from the side.

Learning the 'Monkey Walk' is an important safety skill.

Why do this drill: This drill will help your child to feel more confident in the water as they learn how to get themselves in and out of the pool safely.

Learning to kick

Goal: Learning to kick is the first step towards learning to swim. When children start kicking in the water, they instinctively kick from the knee. This reduces their buoyancy. If you can teach them how to do a proper freestyle kick early, it will help them progress much faster.

🏊 Step one — learning the kicking motion: Sit your child on the edge of the pool. Even better, if the pool has shallow steps leading into it, sit them on a step where their legs are just outside the water.

🏊 Step two — ask them to kick: At the beginning, they will likely kick with their knees bent. If they do, gently hold their legs and guide them to kick from the hips with long, straighter legs and pointed toes, making ‘little splashes’. Their toes should be pointed down. As they become comfortable with the technique, ask them to try it for 10 seconds without your assistance, holding their legs if necessary.

Make sure children kick from their hips, and not with their knees bent

🏊 Step three — supported swim: It’s time to put it into practice. Support them with an arm under their chest and another beneath their waist. If they are confident in the water, you can hold their hands. Guide them across the pool and ask them to focus only on kicking. Watch their leg position and make sure they are not bending their knees. Remind them of the correct technique if they are.

🏊 Step four – introducing a swim aid: As soon as they feel comfortable kicking with you holding them, it’s time to introduce either a pool noodle or a kickboard. A kickboard requires more balance, but children often find it comfortable. Stay close to them while they practice kicking across the pool. As they grow in confidence, encourage them to swim further and further. Challenge them to a ‘kicking race’ where you walk backwards through the pool just in front of them (let them win on this occasion!)

More sports