Helping your child learn to put their face in the water

Learn the best methods for helping your young child learn to put their face in the water with advice from Nicole HIll, MA Swim Instructor and Behaviorist
How to Teach Your Child to Put Their Face in the Water
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Helping your child learn to put their face in the water

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If your child is already having a good time in a bath and is okay with having water dumped over her head during hair washing time, then she might be ready to learn to put her face in. And this is a skill you can do at home. In your bath. And you just make a game out of it. One of my favorite games to play with girls is the mermaid tea party. For this game all you need is a washcloth, tea party items and little figurines – princesses, mermaids, it all works. She’s going to put her face in a washcloth and then she’s going to press her face gently onto the surface of the water. With whatever attempt she makes, reward it right away. Just fly the mermaid ahead of the bottom of the ocean – or the bathtub. There’s two things you want to remember. One to not wear out her efforts. So keep it short and keep it simple. 10 attempts or less. Maybe even 3 to 5 at first. And then the other is not to wear out the toys. The power in this game is the motivation that you get through the novelty and the fun of the items themselves, so keep it just for bath time. And enjoy your time together. If you can practice this in a bath at home, you’ll be way ahead of the game when there comes time for your first formal swim lesson.

Learn the best methods for helping your young child learn to put their face in the water with advice from Nicole HIll, MA Swim Instructor and Behaviorist

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Nicole Hill, MA

Behaviorist & Swim Instructor

Nicole Hill, Director of Autism Services and CEO of Brightwork ABA Therapy is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA).  Nicole has been working in the field of ABA since 2005.  She has a Master of Arts in Applied Behavior Analysis, a BA in Speech Communication, and a minor in Spanish.

Nicole has a broad range of experience stemming from working with children from birth through high school in a variety of capacities for over 15 years.  Nicole specializes in working with young children on the autism spectrum and their families, with particular focus on  early intervention including FBA’s, BIP’s, verbal behavior, DTT, natural environment teaching, play skills, social skills, and parent training. 

Nicole originally began her work with special needs children in 1998 as a swim instructor for children who found learning to swim especially challenging.  With this experience, Nicole founded SwimFit Babies & Kids (swimfit.org), a program that uses techniques founded in ABA to teach swim techniques. 

She is an active member of Applied Behavior Analysis, International (ABAI) as well as California Association for Applied Behavior Analysis (CalABA).

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Transcription: 
If your child is already having a good time in a bath and is okay with having water dumped over her head during hair washing time, then she might be ready to learn to put her face in. And this is a skill you can do at home. In your bath. And you just make a game out of it. One of my favorite games to play with girls is the mermaid tea party. For this game all you need is a washcloth, tea party items and little figurines – princesses, mermaids, it all works. She’s going to put her face in a washcloth and then she’s going to press her face gently onto the surface of the water. With whatever attempt she makes, reward it right away. Just fly the mermaid ahead of the bottom of the ocean – or the bathtub. There’s two things you want to remember. One to not wear out her efforts. So keep it short and keep it simple. 10 attempts or less. Maybe even 3 to 5 at first. And then the other is not to wear out the toys. The power in this game is the motivation that you get through the novelty and the fun of the items themselves, so keep it just for bath time. And enjoy your time together. If you can practice this in a bath at home, you’ll be way ahead of the game when there comes time for your first formal swim lesson.