Water Confidence for Toddlers

Too many toddlers struggle with swimming confidence as the are learning to swim.  Here are a few ways to encourage water confidence for toddlers.

This post was sponsored by SwimWays as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

You guys, my toddler is crazy!  Last summer Caleb loved hanging out in the water and tried his best to be brave and was even in the very early stages of learning to swim.  As the beginning of summer is upon us, Nate and I have begun taking Caleb swimming again.  Our kiddo has now decided that he doesn’t like the water and is terrified of doing anything but stand in it.  We want our little guy to be comfortable in the water and even begin to swim because we feel it’s so important to be able to keep himself as safe as possible if anything were ever to happen while swimming, kayaking, boating, or any other water activities we include him in.

We’re hoping that Caleb will be more willing to try out being brave as the summer goes on but, until then, here are a few ways we’re encouraging swimming confidence in the water.

Water Confidence for Toddlers Tips and Tricks

Give Him Opportunities to Try

The only way your little one will begin to have confidence in the water is if you give him the chance to try!  Take you kiddo to the lake, the river, the pool, or other bodies of water!  Even the bath is a good place to encourage your kiddo to try swimming.  Even if your child hates the water one day, he might love it the next day so keep trying!

Stay Close to Him

A toddler who isn’t confident in the water wants someone to rely on!  It’s common sense to stay near your child since the drowning hazards are just too scary to be away from him.  Beyond that, though, being near enough for your child to touch lets them know that they can do things that would otherwise be too scary.  Water confidence for toddlers is learned and you’re the best teacher!

Encourage Him When He’s Being Brave

When your little one decides he’s ready to put his head under the water, try to float, or any number of brave thing you need to make sure you’re making a big deal of it.  Each of these skills is one step closer to your toddler learning to swim!  Celebrate every little success so your toddler will want to try more and more brave activities.  His swimming confidence will grow as you encourage him!

Don’t Overreact

When something goes wrong – like your kiddo trips and lands face first in the water – make sure you do not overreact.  Don’t panic, don’t freak out, don’t coddle your child.  Help him back on his feet and congratulate him for being brave.  You don’t want him to freak out every time something happens that he wasn’t expecting so you shouldn’t either.

Have the Proper Swim Gear

You need to encourage water confidence for toddlers by helping them feel safe and a flotation device can help with that – especially if it’s specifically designed to assist them as they’re learning to swim.  We love the SwimWays Swim Steps products since they specifically are designed in three stages to help your kiddo learn how to swim.  Caleb is currently using the Stage Two Swim Vest that helps provide support to allow children to learn to balance and paddle – super important pre-swimming skills.  We also love the fact that there’s a UPF 50+ sun protection in the vest.  Gotta keep my fair skinned boy safe!  The vest has a front zipper with safety closure for easy on and off and sturdy foam inserts that provide balanced flotation.

Your Turn:
Did your toddler struggle with swimming confidence?
What do you do to help with water confidence for toddlers?

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