03/10/2026
Treading water takes a combination of strength, coordination, endurance and skills that children (ages 1–5) simply have not developed yet. Even strong adult swimmers can only tread water for so long before exhaustion sets in. For a child, if they can tread at all, it’s usually only a few seconds before they tire, lose coordination, and slip beneath the water.
There’s another major challenge..
A child’s body is built differently than an adult’s. Children have proportionally larger heads and smaller bodies, making it even harder for them to stay upright and balanced in water.
Instead of staying afloat, they often sink quickly, even if they are kicking or moving their arms.
Floating on their back is their best chance for survival! With proper training, toddlers can learn to float calmly on their backs for several minutes. Many have sustained this position for 5 minutes or more and we know of at least one child who stayed floating on his back for an hour, until his dad found him and saved him.
Floating allows them to breathe, conserve energy, stay calm, and survive longer until help arrives.
Treading = Burning energy quickly and going under fast.
Floating = Conserving energy and staying alive longer.
This is why survival swim lessons focus on teaching floating first. Floating isn’t just a swimming skill, it’s a life saving skill. Teach floating first!
When you understand how little one’s bodies work in water, you understand why floating is everything.
