September 9, 2026 • Bob van Soest • 10 min read

TeachingYourChildtoFloat:HowtoDoItinSmallSteps[2026]

Floating is the foundation of every swimming stroke. With this step-by-step plan, you will teach your child to float on their stomach and back, safely and playfully, at home or in the pool.
Teaching Your Child to Float: How to Do It in Small Steps [2026]

Summary

  • Floating is the first skill in every swimming lesson: whoever can float can rest and breathe in the water.
  • For the national A diploma, a child must be able to float five seconds on the stomach and ten seconds on the back.
  • Practice in small steps: first get used to it and blow bubbles, then float with support, and only then float unsupported for a few seconds.
  • Always stay within arm’s reach, even in the bath. Swim bands and arm floaties do not teach a child to float.
  • In the free Swimmigo app, you can see per level which skills your child already masters and what you can practice at home.

Your child wants to swim but lies in the water like a plank. Or they immediately go under as soon as their feet lose contact with the bottom. Many parents recognize this: the instructor says floating is the foundation, but at home you don’t really know how to help with it.

You can teach floating step by step, and you can start perfectly well at home. This step-by-step plan shows how to teach your child to float on their stomach and back, without pressure and without expensive aids.

Why floating is the first step in every swimming lesson

In almost every swimming program worldwide, floating comes before the swimming strokes. Whoever can float can rest and breathe and does not panic when the water gets deeper. Whoever cannot float uses all their energy to stay afloat and therefore learns little new.

This progression is the same everywhere. The British Swim England curriculum, for example, works with seven phases, from initial water skills to independent swimming, and the advice is for children to take lessons up to the final phase. In the Netherlands, floating is also part of the exam: for the national A diploma, a child must be able to float for five seconds on the stomach and ten seconds on the back.

Floating is a posture, not a trick

Floating has little to do with strength. A person floats because air in the lungs acts as a buoy. Whoever stays relaxed and breathes calmly naturally lies higher in the water. Whoever tenses up sinks. That explains why the same child floats well one day and not the next: tension makes the difference, not talent.

Why some children learn to float faster than others

Body build plays a role: some children simply have more buoyancy than others. More important is fear. A child who finds water on the face scary keeps the head up, the hips sink, and floating becomes almost impossible. The approach is the same for all children: get used to it, relax, and practice in small steps.

Safe practice: three rules that really matter

Worldwide, an estimated three hundred thousand people drown each year, and children under five account for nearly a quarter of those victims, reports the World Health Organization. Also in the Netherlands, it is not uncommon: in 2025, one hundred residents drowned, CBS figures show an average of 93 per year over the past ten years. Drowning is silent and fast, even in shallow water, even while practicing floating. Therefore, these three rules apply.

Rule 1: stay within arm’s reach, even in the bath

The World Health Organization is clear: the risk of drowning increases as soon as children are in or near water without active adult supervision. A child who cannot swim should always be within arm’s reach. Even in the bath, even in a toddler pool, even if floating is already somewhat successful. Practice floating in shallow water where you stand next to them, not in deep water and never in open water.

Rule 2: flotation aids do not teach your child to float

Swim bands and arm floaties give a child a false sense of security. A child who always hangs on them gets used to a vertical position and does not develop a water feel. The moment the bands come off is then the most dangerous moment. In this overview about swim bands, you can read what each aid can and cannot do.

Rule 3: practice only on a good day

A child who is tired, cold, or hungry learns nothing. And a child who cries learns even less. Keep sessions short, make sure the water is pleasantly warm, and always stop before the enthusiasm fades. A child who has to leave the water crying will be less eager next time.

Swimmigo

Floating on the stomach: three effective steps

Don’t start with floating, but with the face. A child who blows bubbles and dares to put their cheeks in the water is already almost horizontal. The progression goes like this.

Step 1: get used to blowing bubbles

Let your child get used to water on the face in the bath or shower. First wet the head, then close the eyes and put the mouth in the water. Blowing bubbles is the first real exercise: whoever blows lies face down and learns at the same time that exhaling underwater is normal. Make it a game: who makes the most or the biggest bubbles?

Step 2: floating with support

The most well-known exercise is the starfish. Your child lies on their stomach, arms and legs spread, and you hold the belly or chest from underneath with both hands. The head may be up or to the side. Let your child hold the air in their lungs and count out loud: three, four, five. This way, the body learns the horizontal position without anything going wrong.

Step 3: a count longer without support

As soon as the starfish feels calm, remove one hand. Then two, first for two counts, then for three. Stay next to them to catch if needed and make it a game: how long can you float? For the A diploma, five seconds floating on the stomach is the standard, but at home it’s not about the standard. It’s about your child discovering that the water supports them.

Floating on the back: why it’s scary and how to build it up

Back floating is the hardest step for many children. The view is gone, control feels lost, and the head lies in the water. That tension is normal, and you don’t solve it by saying it’s not scary, but by making the feeling familiar step by step.

First get used to the feeling

Let your child practice leaning back at home: head in your hands, ears underwater in the bath, looking at the ceiling. You can also practice the posture on dry land, lying on the floor with a pillow under the head. This way, the body gets used to the stretched position before the water comes in.

With support, then without

In the pool, place one hand under the head or neck and one hand under the lower back. Your child lies stretched out, looks up, and may push the belly toward the ceiling. Gradually reduce the support: first one hand off, then just your fingertips, then a few seconds without support while you stay close to catch if needed.

Ears underwater, belly up

The posture determines whether floating works. Ears in the water, chin away from the chest, belly up, and legs stretched but not stiff. The most common mistake is that a child tucks the chin in and actually sits in the water, causing the hips to sink. Don’t say what’s wrong, but give a fixed point: look at the ceiling or the light above the pool.

Breathing and relaxation: the quiet foundation

Exhaling underwater as the first step

Many children instinctively hold their breath as soon as water touches their face. That causes tension in the shoulders and neck, and tension makes floating harder. Therefore, practice exhaling: first blow out a candle above water, then do the same in the bath with the mouth underwater. Blowing bubbles is nothing more than calm exhaling, and a child who exhales calmly lies relaxed in the water.

Relaxing on dry land

Floating partly starts outside the water. Let your child lie on the floor and together feel where tension is: shoulders up, stiff neck, clenched fists. Shake it out, then breathe calmly. A child who can lower their shoulders takes that relaxation into the water.

How floating practice fits into your week

In the bath, in the pool, or on dry land

Each place has its own exercises. In the bath, you work on getting used to water on the face, blowing bubbles, and leaning the head back with ears underwater. In the pool, you do the real floating exercises in shallow water, with you nearby. On dry land, you practice posture and relaxation. This way, floating becomes a habit instead of a task, and that’s exactly what it should be.

Watercolor drawing of a parent helping a child float on their back in a shallow pool

Short sessions, fixed moments

Five minutes a day works better than one hour on the weekend. Link it to a fixed moment, for example bath time or weekly swimming. Short and regular ensures the body remembers the posture, and it keeps it fun for both.

Practice what the lesson requires

The fastest progress is made by practicing at home what the swim school currently asks. In the free Swimmigo app for parents, you can see per level which skills your child already masters and which are coming, with the same seven levels and 86 exercises used by instructors. If back floating is on the program, you know to work on that at home and not on swimming laps. The app is available in five languages and used worldwide, so even if your family doesn’t live in the Netherlands, the progression is the same.

Common mistakes when learning to float

Letting go too quickly

Letting go while the posture is not yet stable causes fright, and a frightened child tenses up. The next time it is harder instead of easier. Therefore, reduce support very gradually and only let go when your child stays calm without your hands.

Turning practice into a performance test

Floating only works if the body is relaxed, and relaxation disappears as soon as pressure arises. Questions like "can you do it now?" don’t help. Count along, play the starfish game, and let progress show in what your child demonstrates.

Continuing despite resistance

If your child cries, tenses up, or insists on holding the edge, the moment is over. Stop, do something fun in the water, and try again another day. Resistance is not unwillingness; it is a signal that the step is too big. Take a step back to getting used to it and playing.

When is your child ready for the next step?

As soon as floating happens naturally, arms and legs can be added. A common rule of thumb in swimming: a child can only start a swimming stroke if they can float relaxed for ten seconds, because otherwise all energy goes to staying afloat instead of technique.

Want to know what you as a parent can do yourself and when you need a swim school? In this overview about teaching your child to swim yourself, you’ll find the honest story. The swim school ultimately assesses whether your child masters the skills for a real diploma. You provide the confidence at home, and that is at least as important.

Conclusion

You can prepare floating step by step at home. Start small, stay close, and make it a game; swimming strokes come only when floating is relaxed. A swim school provides the diplomas and real swim safety, you provide the confidence in the water.

Swimmigo

Sources

Bob van Soest

Bob van Soest

As an expert in operating sports facilities (such as swimming pools) and developer of, among others, Swimmigo.com, I am passionately committed to making swimming lessons simpler, more fun and more insightful for parents, swimming instructors and everyone who wants to learn to swim.

Frequently Asked Questions

Usually it is due to tension, not lack of ability. A child who tenses up or keeps their head up sinks. Relaxation, air in the lungs, and calm breathing make the difference, and you learn that in small steps.
For the A diploma, a child must be able to float five seconds on the stomach and ten seconds on the back. At home, it’s not about the standard but about confidence: build up calmly from a few seconds to ten.
Almost every child learns to float, only the speed differs. Body build plays a role, but posture and relaxation are more important. If your child really makes no progress, ask the swim instructor for advice.
No. Floating is lying still on the water, swimming is moving yourself. Floating is the foundation: a child who can float can rest and breathe and only then dares to use legs and arms.
You can do a lot in the bath: get used to water on the face, blow bubbles, and lean the head back with ears underwater. The real floating exercises you do in shallow water of a pool, with you nearby.
Back floating is scary for many children because they don’t feel the ground beneath and can’t see. Don’t force it but let them get used to it: first leaning back in your arms, then with one hand under the head, and only let go when it feels calm. You can read more about fear of water in <a href="https://swimmigo.com/nl/blogs/zwemlesvoortgang/watervrees-kinderen-zwemlesvoortgang-vertraging-oplossingen-ouders">this article about fear of water</a>.
Only when they can really swim, and even then supervision remains important. A child who can only float is not yet safe. Stay within arm’s reach until an instructor confirms your child masters the skills for the diploma.
First check relaxation: a tense child sinks. Let them get used to the feeling, practice exhaling, and build the floating posture with support, first on the stomach and then on the back. Small successes work better than long practice sessions.
Refer to one concrete skill per week, for example blowing bubbles or leaning the head back in the bath. In the Swimmigo app, parents see which exercises match their child’s level so home practice aligns with the lesson.
Certainly, as long as it remains a game and there is always an adult within arm’s reach. Warn parents against flotation aids: bands and arm floaties give false security and slow down the water feel.

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