6 water games that will boost your child’s swimming skills
Dive into fun!
By JUMP! Swim Schools Area Manager Eb Matthews
Swimming is a fantastic skill for kids to develop, not only for safety reasons but also for a child’s physical health and confidence.
However, teaching them swimming techniques doesn’t have to be contained to swimming lesson sessions.
Integrating fun games into their pool or beach time can be an effective way to enhance their swimming abilities without them even realising they’re learning.
Here are six simple games that will not only keep your kids entertained but also improve their swimming skills.
6 pool games to improve your child’s swim skills
1. Treasure Hunt Dive
Instructions: Throw a few weighted toys or coins into the shallow end of the pool. Encourage the kids to dive down and retrieve them one by one. The child who collects the most items wins a prize!
Benefit: This game promotes diving skills, breath control, and underwater swimming. It encourages kids to open their eyes underwater and navigate in a controlled manner, which is essential for building confidence and foundational swimming skills.
2. Water Relay Races
Instructions: Divide the kids into teams. Create a relay race where each participant must swim a certain distance, pass a floating object (e.g., a beach ball), and then return to tag the next teammate. The first team to finish wins!
Benefit: Water relay races improve speed, endurance, and teamwork. Swimming against peers in a friendly competition motivates kids to refine their stroke techniques and enhance their swimming efficiency.
3. Sharks and fish
Instructions: One child plays the ‘shark,’ while the rest are ‘fish’. The fish must swim from one end of the pool to the other without getting tagged by the shark. The first tagged become the shark in the next round.
Benefit: This game enhances agility, speed, and underwater confidence. The constant movement and evasion tactics help kids develop essential swimming manoeuvres like quick turns, treading water, and efficient strokes.
4. Floating Mat Challenge
Instructions: Place a floating mat or a series of pool noodles in the water. Challenge the kids to cross from one side to the other using only their hands and legs without touching the mat.
Benefit: The floating mat challenge improves balance, coordination, and advanced stroke techniques. It encourages kids to use their arms and legs effectively, simulating real-world scenarios where they might need to navigate obstacles in the water.
5. Duck, Duck, Splash!
Instructions: This is a water-themed twist on the classic game of “Duck, Duck, Goose.” Have the kids sit in a circle in the shallow end of the pool. One child walks around the circle, tapping heads and saying, “Duck, duck, duck…” When they choose a “Goose,” that child stands up and tries to tag the first child before they reach the empty spot. If tagged, the “Goose” becomes the next tapper. However, instead of tagging, they can splash a small amount of water to “tag” the “Goose.”
Benefit: Duck, Duck, Splash! promotes water familiarity, movement, and social interaction. It encourages kids to feel comfortable in the pool while incorporating playful movement. By adding the element of splashing instead of tagging, it adds a fun twist that keeps them engaged and active in the water.
6. Wave Jumping Contest
Instructions: Encourage the kids to stand at a safe distance from the shoreline where the waves break. The objective is to jump over the incoming waves as they approach. Make it a contest by awarding points for each successful jump. The child with the most points or the highest jump wins!
Benefit: Wave jumping enhances timing, coordination, and awareness of incoming waves. This game helps kids develop a sense of rhythm with the ocean’s movements, improving their ability to navigate and anticipate wave patterns while swimming.
