Repetition is key to learning how to swim
Why Repetition is SO important in Swimming
So you are with your little one at their swim class, week after week, and it looks like they are doing the same thing without really learning anything. You may be getting a bit frustrated and rethinking this whole swimming lessons thing since progress isn’t happening as fast as you imagined.
Let’s set the record straight: They are learning the building blocks of swimming and increasing their strength, skill’s and stamina, little by little.
With children, anything they learn in the formative years tends to be by doing the same things over and over again — especially when they are learning. Take cycling a bike, they will start off on a Trike, they will then move onto a balance bike then onto a Big Bike with stabilisers and then comes the time to take the stabilisers off. It takes years of practice and confidence building to get to this stage
The exact same concept is seen when a kid is learning how to swim (or any other skill)!
You wouldn’t expect your kids to communicate in full sentences as soon as they start staying words, right? It takes a lot of work to master a new skill, whether it is talking, walking, swimming or cycling a bike.
Practice makes perfect!
When your baby first starts swim lessons, you are excited about how quickly they become comfortable in the water and acquiring new skills — such as their first submersion, expecting the splash on Name-Ready-Go or kicking their feet. But then it seems like they hit a pause and they are not making any progress, when in fact, they really are.
Practicing the same skill over and over again is important. “Doing the same movements each week, even though they may not display a lot of progress, is like cycling a bike – where one day it will click and they’ll be off!”
Why repetition is important!
It’s common for babies to grow in leaps and bounds in their swim skills, but then appear to slow down. However, that’s not really the case — they’re just being introduced to activities that are much more difficult and they’re working harder to attain these motor skills associated with those new activities.
For instance, your Baby may be working on breath control (Name-Ready-Go’s). While it may look like he or she’s doing the exact same thing every week, they are making slight improvements every week. After a couple of weeks, you will first start to see them Closing their eyes when you do your Name-Ready-Go’s, next you will see them trying to avoid the splash and next you will hear them taking a little breath.
For Toddlers, they may be gliding short distances (1-2 feet) in the first couple of weeks, next they will be Gliding 3-4 Feet and over time they will swim 2-3 feet all by them self.
But there’s something even more important at play when it comes to repetition in swimming lessons, something that you may not be able to see: Confidence. Your little one is gaining confidence — in their abilities, in their instructor and in knowing what’s coming next.
Year-round swimming is important!
Why? Because you want them to retain that confidence and continually build upon the skills they have been learning every week. The repetition helps it become second nature — plus it’s important for muscle memory and all the physical aspects involved developmentally so whether it’s in Swimming classes or you bringing them to the pool yourself, make it a weekly treat and have some fun.
