# to learn how to swim
Most children love water and are fully in their element. It is even more important that they learn to swim early so they can move safely there. The required technique is taught by your child either in the swimming class or with the parents.

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Swimming lessons for children are available from various providers. In order for your child to really enjoy swimming, it's best to take a trial lesson before you enroll your child or just watch an hour. Because both you and your child need to feel comfortable in the course and especially with the swimming instructor.


### swimming lessons
If you want to send your child to a swimming class, usually the local bathhouse is the first point of contact. Depending on the season swimming pools are offered in outdoor and indoor pools, which are usually offered by the local lifeguards. In larger cities there are also mostly clubs (for example, the German Lifesaving Society - DLRG) or private swimming instructors who offer appropriate courses. A good swimming class should meet the following criteria:

A swimming course should have a clear end goal. For swimming beginners, this is for example the "seahorse", the first swim badge.
Approximately 10 to 12 training sessions should be scheduled per course; the individual swimming lesson should take about 30 minutes.

Per group, the children should be about the same age, the group strength for non-swimmers should not exceed eight people.
A swimming instructor should be present throughout the course as a caregiver, which is especially important for smaller children.
The swimming instructor must be qualified and able to guide and guide the children, praise and encouragement are the preferred educational tools.

The swimming lesson is not just about learning to swim, but also the most important swimming rules have to be mediated.
The optimal age for a swimming class is five years. Smaller children are usually not strong enough to stay afloat and often still have problems with the motorization of swimming movements. The little ones learn breaststroke at the age of six at the earliest. Younger children can already learn how to crawl or backstroke, the so-called Wechselschlagschwimmarten.


### Learn to swim with the parents
If you swim well and safely, are not afraid of the water and have the necessary patience and time, you can teach your child how to swim. During the swimming exercises, you must make sure that you bring your child to swimming in small steps and do not overtax him physically or mentally.

For starters, it helps your child to practice arm and leg movements separately. Here, a swimming board that is either held (the child is exercising the leg movements) or keeps your legs afloat will help your child practice the arm movements. As an aid, swimming belts can also be used here. These are equipped with Styrofoam blocks, which can be gradually removed.

> Mostly the swimming lessons are easier: There are no authority issues with the parents, the swimming instructor has the right method of learning and a lot of experience and swimming lessons in the group are usually twice as fun for the children.


### When can children safely swim?
About 20 practice hours are required until your child is swimming reasonably safely. However, this is just the first step to safety in the water. As with other skills, your child now has the technical tools, but he still lacks strength and experience. So it is still careful for parents, because even a child who can already swim, can get into dangerous situations: It floats too far out and the forces leave it or it gets in the water a spasm and can no longer stay afloat.

> Therefore, you should continue to supervise your children and rehearse with them again and again.


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