Pool and Swimming Games for Toddlers
Using Activities and Games to Teach Swimming Skills
Jul 21, 2009
Many games can be difficult for toddlers because of their lack of swimming skills and general instability in the water. The games mentioned in this article are intended to be played in water no deeper than a child’s waist and are for children who feel comfortable moving about in shallow water. Always let the child set the pace of play when in or around the pool.
Alligators and Seals
To do the alligator or seal walk, kids lie on their bellies with their hands pressed against the bottom of the pool, and then use their hands to “crawl” without moving their legs. The child is just dragging his legs along, but if there is enough water to reach the child’s elbows, it should be enough to hold the child’s feet afloat while crawling on his hands.
To play the game, one child is chosen to be the alligator while the rest are seals. The seals have a starting point while the alligator lurks about on the water. The goal of the game is for the seals to make it to the designated safe place (i.e. the opposite wall of the pool,) without being caught by the alligator.
If a seal is caught, he or she then becomes an alligator and must help the alligator in the next round to catch other seals. The game is over when all but one child has been caught and that child is the winner.
Red Rover
This game has been played for ages, in the water and on dry land. One child is chosen to be “it” while the rest line up along a wall or starting point. “It” then has to say, “Red Rover Red Rover, everyone wearing _____, come on over,” filling in the blank with whatever he chooses, such as a color or pattern.
Anyone wearing what’s chosen must then run or swim by “it” and make it to safety on the other side without being caught. Those who make it continue playing, but those who are caught are out until there is only one child left, who is the winner. The winner then becomes “it” during the next round.
Sharks and Minnows
This game is fairly reminiscent of Alligators and Seals, but it is not played by crawling on the belly. Rather, this is a running and swimming game. For this reason, this game is meant for children who have some confidence moving in water that is approximately waist-deep.
Again, one person is chosen to be the shark, while the rest of the kids are minnows. The minnows’ goal is to reach the safe place before getting caught. Minnows who are caught are then recruited as sharks to help catch the remaining minnows. Minnows, however, have recourse against the sharks; minnows are allowed to put their heads under water to escape. If a minnow goes under, the shark must move on to catch a different fish.
If the group of children is too young to submerge by themselves, modifications can be made for smaller or less experienced kids. For instance, instead of going under, children could put only their mouths under or submerge only to the chin.
Fun Learning Swimming
When children play games in the water, they do not know that they are learning essential swimming skills. They do not know that alligator walking is actually teaching them to be comfortable in the typical prone position for swimming strokes, and they do not know that just playing in the water is helping them understand water resistance and motion. What they do know is that games are fun and that makes for fun lessons.
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