Good songs and games for parent and tot swimming?

Answer 1

I am a Water Safety Instructor, so we do this stuff all the time in Parent-Child Aquatics. :]

Little kids and babies love it if you sing to them while you two are in the water. It helps them become more comfortable with their surroundings. You can use any children's song really, but some favorites are Motorboat, The Wheels on the Bus, and Row, Row, Row Your Boat.

For Motorboat, you can float your child in a circle, and sing

Motorboat, motorboat, go so slow

Motorboat, motorboat go so fast

Motorboat, motorboat step on the gas!

Vroom! (at this part, you speed up!)

I like using Twinkle Little Star while teaching kids how to float on their backs, because a "star" position makes it easiest to float. Have your child sing along while you support him or her.

For games, kids learning how to go underwater or blow bubbles for the first time, can "talk to the fishies." You can pretend both of you are talking to a whale or some sort of sea creature that only understands bubble speech. Or you could play Simon Says (Simon says put your bellybutton in the water!) The little kids on my swim team love that game. :] Another fun game is Red Light, Green Light. Your child can either sit on the side or be in the water for this game. When you say "green light!" he or she starts hard flutter kicking. "Red light!" means stop, and "yellow light!" means slow, easy kicks. Brightly colored floaty toys are also nice to have. Little ones who are still wary of the water find it easier to get in if there are toys in the water too.

Those are just a few activities you can do with your child. For more, it might be useful to join a Parent-Child Aquatics class at your local YMCA or public pool, or you can make up your own!