Introducing infants to swimming through engaging and playful activities is a wonderful way to enhance their comfort and skills in the water. Swimming pool games designed for infants focus on developing essential skills like floating, kicking, breath control, and overall water confidence. Below are five fun swimming pool games that are crucial in building foundational swimming abilities for infants.
1. Kick and Splash
Objective: To improve kicking strength and coordination while building water confidence.
How to Play:
Kick and Splash is a simple yet effective game that helps infants develop the essential skill of kicking in the water. Begin by sitting on the edge of the pool with the infant on your lap, facing the water. Hold the infant securely under their arms, and gently dip their feet into the water.
Encourage the infant to kick their legs by demonstrating or making a splashing motion yourself. Cheer them on as they create splashes, making the activity more exciting and engaging. You can add some toys or floating objects in the water for the infant to kick towards, adding an element of fun and motivation.
As the infant becomes more confident, transition them into the water with you holding them under their arms or supporting their belly as they float on their front. Encourage them to continue kicking while you move them gently through the water. This game helps infants understand how kicking propels them forward and builds the leg strength needed for swimming.
Skills Developed: Leg strength, kicking technique, water confidence.
2. Bubble Blowing
Objective: To enhance breath control and comfort with submerging the face in the water.
How to Play:
Bubble Blowing is an excellent game for teaching infants the crucial skill of breath control while making them comfortable with having their faces close to the water. Start by sitting with the infant in shallow water, where they can comfortably reach the surface.
Demonstrate blowing bubbles in the water by dipping your mouth just below the surface and exhaling. Encourage the infant to mimic your actions by gently guiding them to place their lips near the water and blow. Make it fun by singing a song or counting the bubbles together.
As the infant becomes more comfortable, gradually encourage them to lower their chin or mouth deeper into the water to blow bubbles. This game can also be played with toys that produce bubbles, making it more interactive and enjoyable.
Bubble Blowing helps infants learn to control their breathing and introduces them to the idea of exhaling underwater, an essential swimming skill.
Skills Developed: Breath control, comfort with water on the face, and basic swimming techniques.
3. Humpty Dumpty Off the Wall
Objective: To practice safe water entry, build confidence, and introduce jumping into the pool.
How to Play:
Building on the classic nursery rhyme, “Humpty Dumpty,” this game is designed to make infants comfortable with entering the water from a sitting or standing position. Start by sitting the infant on the pool’s edge, holding their hands securely.
Recite the rhyme:
“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.”
As you say “had a great fall,” gently help the infant slide into the water, where you are ready to catch them. The initial falls should be gentle, with the infant sliding rather than jumping.
As the infant becomes more confident, you can encourage them to jump into the water from a low height, making sure to catch them safely. This game not only builds the infant’s confidence but also teaches them how to safely enter the water, which is a vital skill.
Skills Developed: Safe water entry, confidence, and motor coordination.
4. Toy Rescue
Objective: To improve reaching and grabbing skills, encourage movement in the water, and promote breath control.
How to Play:
Toy Rescue is a fun game that encourages infants to move through the water, improving their coordination and confidence. Start by placing a few floating toys at a short distance from the infant. You can use toys like rubber ducks, floating rings, or any water-safe object that the infant finds appealing.
Encourage the infant to reach out and grab the toys, either by wading through shallow water or by you holding them as they kick towards the toy. For older infants, you can increase the challenge by partially submerging the toys, prompting the infant to dip their face in the water to retrieve them.
This game promotes breath control, as the infant may need to hold their breath briefly to reach underwater toys. It also encourages movement in the water, helping the infant build confidence and improve their motor skills.
Skills Developed: Motor coordination, breath control, confidence, and reaching/grasping ability.
5. Floating Starfish
Objective: To teach floating skills, enhance balance and buoyancy, and build water confidence.
How to Play:
Floating Starfish is a calming game that helps infants learn to float on their backs, a critical swimming skill. Begin by holding the infant in a horizontal position in the water, with your hands supporting their head and back.
Slowly guide the infant into a floating position on their back, encouraging them to spread their arms and legs wide like a starfish. Use soothing words or songs to keep the infant relaxed and comfortable. Gradually reduce your support as the infant gains confidence, allowing them to experience the sensation of floating more independently.
This game is especially beneficial for teaching infants about buoyancy and balance in the water. It also helps them build trust and comfort with floating on their backs, which is an important safety skill in swimming.
Skills Developed: Buoyancy, balance, water confidence, and floating.
Playing swimming pool games with infants is not only an enjoyable way to spend time in the water but also an effective method for developing essential swimming skills. These fun games focus on key areas such as kicking, breath control, safe water entry, and floating. These activities lay a strong foundation for swimming proficiency, ensuring that infants become comfortable, confident, and skilled swimmers as they grow.
Life Saver Survival Swim School’s Goal is to Teach Young Children to Survive in Water
We teach as many children as possible in the Houston area of Texas to survive in any type of pool of water that young children might find themselves in. It might be a swimming pool, the ocean, a lake, or even a shallow pool of water along-side a neighborhood street. It doesn’t matter! We teach children to float and swim. We teach them to survive until an adult or someone saves them.
If you have children or know someone that has children that could use learning our life-saving skills, ask their parents to sign them up for one of our upcoming classes. Sign them up HERE. Or, if you still have questions, give our owner Bonnie a telephone call by dialing (832) 366-3008. Or, ask her by email.