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3 Ways To Help Your Child Overcome Swimming Anxiety

by Jean Mason

For many children, learning how to swim is an exciting adventure. For others, fear can take over. Due to the importance of learning how to swim, you need to find ways to ease your child into the pool. To help you do this, here are a few suggestions to potentially overcome their fear.

Sign Up for Private Swim Lessons

Taking your child to the local pool and having him or her learn with other children seems like a good idea, but when your child fears getting in, it can become more challenging. Your child could not only suffer from fear but also worry that he or she will be mocked by the other children.

To avoid this, sign your child up for private swim lessons. An instructor will work with your child to help him or her learn the basics. You have the added bonus of having an instructor who has undoubtedly dealt with children who feared the water. He or she will know what to do to help calm your child and convince him or her to get in the water.

Respect Your Child's Fear

It might be tempting to pressure your child to get into the pool and learn how to swim, but this method could backfire. Instead of helping your child, you could potentially traumatize him or her. It is important that you respect your child's fear and work to find a solution.

Ask your child why he or she is fearful of the water. If you know the reason, you can work towards alleviating that fear. For instance, if your child is fearful of the water because it is cold, explain to him or her that it quickly warms up after he or she gets into the pool. You can even explore teaching your child to swim in a heated pool.

Make the Experience Fun

To you, swimming might seem like a fun activity, but your child's fears are preventing him or her from seeing the fun in the activity. You must help him or her find the fun in it. There are several ways you can do this.

For instance, you can bring toys and other flotation devices into the pool. Encourage your child to blow bubbles or splash water at other people in the pool. The more distracted your child is by the fun aspect of getting in the pool, the less fear he or she will have about learning to swim. 

For more information, talk to companies like Jersey Wahoos Swim Club.

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