6 Swim Games That Will Help Kids Learn Swimming
Letting your child learn to swim at an early age provides more benefits than you might think. It can help your kids develop a stronger heart and lungs. This will make them stronger, more flexible, and boost their stamina. Also, attending swimming lessons is one way for your kid to meet new friends and develop self-confidence.Most importantly, knowing how to swim can be a lifesaver. Swimming lessons can help your child adapt to the water and not panic during emergency situations.
But while swimming programs have a lot of advantages, keeping your child motivated and engaged can be challenging. Games are a good starting point if you want your children to keep their interest in learning how to swim. Let’s look at six swim games that can make your child’s learning experience fun and more engaging.
Talk to the Fish
Start by pretending that fish are in the water, and tell your child that fish blow bubbles. Then, say you’re blowing bubbles to talk to the fish. Put your face in the water, blow bubbles, and resurface. Smile when you come up!
Next, say you’ll put your ear in the water to hear the fish talking. Share what the fish are saying to your young swimmer. After that, let your child blow bubbles and cheer them on while they do so. Take turns talking to the fish and saying the silly things they’re “telling” you.
Be the Seal
In this swimming game, your children will pretend to be seals. Each player should also have a beach ball for this game.
“Be the Seal” is simple: the players line up at one end of the pool with their beach balls. Since they are all seals, they should move the balls with their noses. The kids must lead the ball to the other side of the pool using their noses at your go signal. Whoever reaches the other side first wins the game!
Marco Polo
In Marco Polo, one child will become “it.” That player will close their eyes, and everyone else will hide around the pool. The person who’s “it” will shout “Marco,” while the others will say “Polo.” Then, the “it” will have to find another swimmer by following the voices and tag them, making them the new “it.”
Under the Bridge
Under the Bridge involves making a bridge with your legs for your child to swim through. Stand with your feet wide apart, then let your little one swim through your legs underwater. But there’s a catch: they must not touch your legs.
Once your kid gets the hang of the game, try building a longer bridge with two or three adults. Add people one by one to help your kid feel more comfortable swimming underwater.
Diving for Treasure
This next swim game is a treasure hunt with a twist. Get some “treasure” and throw them all over the pool. You can use the shallow parts of the pool for beginner swimmers as well. Once you’ve scattered the treasures, you can then give the swimmers the go signal to take the “treasure” from the bottom of the pool. Kids can grab as much treasure as they can in one dive or swim for more after placing what they’ve collected on the side. The person who has the most treasure wins!
Invisi-Bottle
If you’re playing this game, you’ll need a water bottle with pool water inside. Make sure to cover the bottle with a white cap.
Have your young swimmers line up on one side of the pool, but they should face the other side. Then, throw the bottle into the pool without them seeing where in the pool it sank. The players should turn around and dive into the pool after the water splashes so they can find the bottle. Whoever gets the bottle and brings it to the surface wins the game.
Bring Fun to Your Child’s Swimming Lessons
Swimming can help keep your little one healthy and build their confidence. But learning this skill can still be fun and exciting. With swim games, your child’s swimming program can become a more enjoyable experience. Pick a game, get your family or friends into it, and have a blast!
Let your kids learn to swim in a fun environment. Sign them up for Bear Paddle’s swimming lessons today.
A lot of different fun ideas.
Fun activities
My kids have so much fun playing games in the pool! Awesome ideas!
Thank you for these fun ideas.
These look so fun. My kids are so ready for pools to open again.
These swim activities are awesome! Thanks for the post!
I always enjoyed marco polo as a kid
My kids would enjoy these games — they love being in the pool
These are very creative!!
Swimming is an essential skill and anything to make it fun is good!
These swim games are great for children learning to swim. This article was very helpful.
I remember doing these type of activities when I was learning to swim.
My kids have so much fun playing games in the pool! Awesome ideas!
Marco Polo is an all time classic! We love to play it at the pool!
These are great ideas!
Swimming Lessons save lives for a lifetime! So important!
Talking to the fish sounds fun.
bad ears cant swim.
These are awesome ideas, thank you!! Kaelyn will be 3 in July and I definitely want her to be confident in the water.
These are great swimming games that I loved playing as a kid! It definitely helps to play games when teaching kids how to swim, thanks for sharing!
We decided to teach our youngest to swim whilst they were still a baby in nappies.
Fun games to play in the pool!