Your baby’s first time going underwater can be scary! Especially when you can’t simply tell them what you want or are about to do! This technique will allow you to communicate with your baby in a different way.
Here is the secret…Use Cues! The best and safest way to communicate to your baby that you are about to go underwater is to teach them a cue. On top of being adorable, babies are smart! They can learn simple sign language before learning to talk, so cues are an extremely useful tool in teaching swimming at an early age.
Cue’s can vary for different ages. Here are some examples:
Toddle/Elementary Age: On your Mark, Get Set, Go!, Ready, Set, Swim!
Infants/Babies: Count out loud to the number three and then puff air on their face.
*After the cue, ALWAYS perform the desired task ( I.e going underwater)*
Wait, what? Puff air on their face? Yes! For babies the counting doesn’t mean anything to them, you could list off your favorite sports teams or types of cars for all it matters. But that puff of air on their face lets them know that something is about to happen and most importantly it gets them to close their mouth and hold their breath.
Key to success: Always have your baby go underwater immediately after performing the “cue”. If you are inconsistent then they will not connect the dots that Puff of Air= Going Underwater.
Tip: Make your baby’s first time going underwater fun! After they do it clap and make happy noises so they understand what they did was awesome!
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