Swimming Isn’t Rocket Science — Promise. A Simple, Honest Take on How Kids Learn to Swim
It’s easy to overthink it. But after decades of teaching, coaching, and lifeguarding, Gary Roth — founder of KIDS FIRST® Swim Schools — has a message that needs repeating: teaching kids to swim doesn’t have to be complicated.
For over 30 years, Gary has worked with swimmers of all ages and abilities. From toddlers taking their first dip in parent-child swim classes to teens competing on YMCA swim teams, he’s seen what works, what doesn’t, and what kids really need to succeed in the water.
Here’s the truth: kids swimming lessons don’t need to be overwhelming. Whether it’s a preschooler just learning to float or a second grader refining their freestyle stroke, every swim student is ultimately learning three core skills:
👉 Breath control
👉 Buoyancy
👉 Propulsion
These are the building blocks — the “swim lesson essentials.” And when kids master them, the rest of swimming falls into place.
1. Breath Control: The Foundation of Water Confidence
If there’s one thing that consistently shows up in early childhood swim lessons, it’s this: kids need to learn how to breathe in the water.
At KIDS FIRST®, every beginner swim class — from baby swim lessons to school-age beginners — starts with breath control. It’s a huge part of building water safety skills. For infants and toddlers, it looks like blowing bubbles. For older kids, it’s timed submersions, bobbing, and eventually rhythmic breathing.
As children move up through different swim levels, they gradually progress to rotary breathing (for freestyle) or minimal breathing (for competitive swimming). But no matter their age, learning to swim starts with learning how to breathe in the water.
This also builds confidence — which is critical. For many kids, especially in their first swim lessons, the water feels unfamiliar and scary. Teaching breath control gives them a sense of control and calm, which lays the groundwork for everything else.
2. Buoyancy: Teaching Kids to Trust the Water
Ask any swim instructor: floating doesn’t come naturally for most kids. It’s a learned skill — one that requires patience, reassurance, and proper swim technique.
When children first attempt a front float, they often panic. They feel themselves sink and immediately try to stand up. But if they’re asked to float just a few seconds longer — 5 to 6 seconds instead of 2 — a quiet shift happens. They start to relax. And the water does what it’s meant to do: hold them up.
That’s buoyancy.
Kids swim programs at KIDS FIRST® focus heavily on this concept. Young swimmers are taught the importance of head position — looking down when floating on their tummy, and upwhen floating on their back. It’s a simple change with huge results. Better floats lead to better strokes and stronger overall swimmers.
When kids learn to trust the water — and their own bodies — everything starts to click.
3. Propulsion: Moving Through the Water with Confidence
This is where things get exciting. After kids are comfortable with breathing and floating, it’s time to move.
And here’s where KIDS FIRST® swim instructors do things a little differently: they teach kicking first, and arms second.
Why? Because in every beginner and intermediate swim level, the kick is everything:
- It drives the body forward.
- It supports proper body position in the water.
- It builds strength in the legs — the largest muscle group.
Kids are naturally used to 1:1 movement — arms and legs working together. But in strokes like freestyle and backstroke, the timing is 1:6. That means six kicks for every full arm stroke. So before kids can master advanced swim strokes, they need to build a strong, fast, consistent kick.
Once that’s in place, everything else — the arms, the timing, the endurance — becomes easier.
Why It Works: A Simpler Swim Lesson Approach
So why share this? Because too many swim lesson programs overcomplicate things.
New instructors get overwhelmed with complicated curriculums. Parents worry their child isn’t progressing fast enough. And kids — especially those just starting swim classes — can feel anxious or defeated.
But what if swim lessons for kids were simplified? What if parents, students, and instructors focused on three swim lesson fundamentals: breath, buoyancy, and propulsion?
That’s the model at KIDS FIRST® Swim Schools — and it works. Whether it’s a baby in a Mommy & Me swim class or a school-age swimmer in level 3, every lesson is built on those three pillars.
Real Stories from the Pool
Gary has watched it happen more times than he can count.
The toddler who cried through their entire first week of lessons? Laughing and paddling by week three.
The shy, hesitant 7-year-old who clung to the wall? Floating on their back, confident and calm.
The adult who had never learned to swim? Gliding across the pool, breath timed, kick strong.
It’s not magic. It’s just a simple, proven structure — one that kids swim schools everywhere can learn from.
The Takeaway
Teaching kids to swim isn’t about chasing perfection. It’s about helping children feel safe, strong, and confident in the water.
It’s about building skills that last a lifetime — not just for summer camp or swim team, but for safety, fitness, and fun.
So whether you’re a swim parent, an instructor, or someone still figuring out when to sign up for swim lessons for your child, remember this:
Start with the basics.
Keep it simple.
Breathe, float, kick — repeat.
Because the best swim lessons for kids aren’t the most complex — they’re the most consistent.
And the water? It’s waiting.