Not all swim schools teach blowing bubbles, preferring to focus on breath hold instead. Some don’t agree that blowing bubbles is an essential swimming skill; others don’t teach any breath control at all, preferring to teach a child to rotate onto their back as soon as they need to breathe; this tends to occur in survival training rather than learning to swim lessons.
As our customers are aware, there is a reason behind everything we teach at Puddle Ducks. Educating parents and caregivers on why we teach certain activities and skills helps them understand the importance of them, and with this knowledge, they can assist their child on their swimming journey.
We know that the biggest cause of inefficient strokes, stressful swimming, and panic in water is down to poor breath control. Sadly, lives have been lost due to not being able to control the breath, leading to hyperventilation and loss of consciousness. The sooner we introduce the concept of natural, relaxed, and rhythmic breathing, especially during floating activities, the better equipped our swimmers will be at controlling their strokes, staying safe, and enjoying swimming in general.
Teaching a child to blow bubbles teaches them breath control; we’re not teaching them to release all their air at once (known as explosive breathing); we’re teaching them to trickle breathe, to slowly release air in a controlled manner. Trickle breathing requires skill and can only be achieved when relaxed in the water, and that’s why all our breathing activities are taught in a fun way and in every single lesson. Practice makes perfect!
Once trickle breathing has been achieved, our little ones have so much more confidence in diving down for sinking rings, swimming independently, and even floating on their backs using relaxed breathing. The skill really does affect everything we do in the water.
If your little one is struggling with learning how to blow bubbles or with breath control in general, here are some tips to help them:
See if they can blow a floating toy across the water; the lower they are, the more chance they will create bubbles at the surface of the water.
Some of our little one’s struggle blowing bubbles from the mouth but have excellent nose bubbles! Close your mouth and start humming as you slowly submerge vertically; air will come from the nose, creating nose bubbles.
Ensure a child knows what ‘bubbles’ means; show them how it is done and repeat the word “bubbles” often when they achieve the skill.
Breath holding during back floating activities could either be due to a lack of skill or panic. If you don’t see relaxed breathing, make sure your little one feels fully supported to help them relax, then concentrate on the relaxed breathing. Having a conversation with them when they’re on their back helps them forget about their breathing altogether!