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Children are usually fascinated by water, and this can be a very dangerous situation if they don't have the basics of swimming down. At one time the approved method to teach a child to swim to toss the child in: you either swam or sank. Many youngsters were so terrified of the water after this that they refused to swim at all. This might have protected them from themselves, but it removed a wonderful activity.
When you are teaching your child to swim, you must stress safety. No running near the pool, no horseplay, don't go near the pool with out an adult's supervision.
When you get ready to teach your young child to swim, make sure they have a safety device such as water wings or a life vest to start. Teach them to put their faces in the water and blow bubbles, when they need to breath turn the head to the side and take a deep breath and then blow some more bubbles.
Now teach them to float. Unless your child is unusually muscular they should have no problem learning to float on their backs. Support them in the water with a hand under their back and head. Let them relax as you gently move them back and forth through the water. Gradually, over 5 or 10 minutes lower your hands so that your child is floating just above your hands. Once they are comfortable floating on their backs then teach them a jellyfish float, face down with the hands and feet hanging, face in the water, turning the head to the side to breathe.
Now teach them to tread water, gently moving their hands and feet to remain more or less stationary in the water. This will take some time, but is an important part of learning to swim, since they will be comfortable enough that they shouldn't panic if they get in over their heads.
Now teach them to move their arms in a breaststroke, don't worry if they don't move their legs much at this point, teach them the basics of the breaststroke. Once they have the hand motion down, then add the frog kick.
Your child now knows the basics of swimming and should be OK, as long as they don't panic. As we all know, panic can hit any and all of us, so don't be too complacent about your child's ability to handle themselves in the water. Always have an adult with them in the water, don't leave them in the pool unless someone is there watching them.
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