Get your child to have one hand placed on top of the other, extending their arms nice and long above their head while squeezing their ears. Then instruct them to kick as hard as they can to the other side of the pool. This position is called rocket kicking. To start with, you’ll need to support them with your hands, while they try and kick up and down, because it will be difficult for them to stay afloat. But once your child has become confident enough to do it by themselves, you’re going to stop supporting them for the whole swim and instead only jump in to help when they need to breathe. The more streamlined their body is, the faster they will kick and move. When they need to breathe, they’re going to try and lift their head forwards, take a deep breath in, and then put their head back down in the water. And once they have done all of this on their front, you’re going to get them to do it all again on their back.

On their back, it’s a little bit different to their front. They’re not going to have their arms up above their head, instead they’re going to have them by their side, like a soldier. When kicking on their back, it’s very important they know how to float. If they’re not able to float, it will be very difficult to move to the other side of the pool by themselves, so get them to push their tummy up as high as they can, and ensure their legs are on top of the water while they’re kicking, for their kicks to be as effective as possible.

Rocket Kicking in Water