Putting their face in the water is a significant milestone for children who are learning to swim. Be creative in how you encourage your child to dip his face. Sometimes getting him to bob up and down is a great motivator. Another technique is to use imitation to inspire one to dip the face. Your animated smile will convey the fun of the task.
After the child is used to dipping his face under water, try then to gently guide the sides of his head into the water, almost as if he was side-breathing. This will enable him to experience different sensations in the water and be more apt to completing submerging his head.
Help them hold and expel their breath
Learning to hold one’s breath is essential to swimming. Proper breathing in swimming is similar to riding a bike—once you learn, you always remember. There are two main aspects of breathing: holding breath and expelling breath. Most children will naturally begin to hold their breath the more they are dipped under the water. Especially at the beginning, expect your child to at least once gulp in a lot of water only to sputter (and cry) seconds later. This is how he starts to learn.
One helpful technique is to position your child so that he is facing you, with your head at surface level. As you open your mouth in an exaggerated way, inhale loudly and then close your mouth right before submerging your head under water. Perform this a few times in front of your child so that he is better able to imitate it. Then, the next time you inhale and begin to submerge your head, bring the child’s face briefly under the water. The more you practice this technique, the more he will get the point and learn to hold his breath underwater.
To teach the child to exhale underwater, try getting him to blow bubbles. This can be an exciting discovery for your little one. You can have the child practice with a straw in a cup of milk or by blowing out a candle: Use the analogy to encourage him to blow water in the pool. This technique also helps with getting the child used to submerging parts of his face.