Step 16 Streamline Kicking

Now that your child has practised the kicking action, it's time to combine their kick with a strong streamline position. 💦

In Step 16 of our Teaching Kids to Swim series, we bring two important skills together — streamlining and kicking — so children can begin creating stronger, more controlled forward movement through the water.

Streamline, kick and move!

Start with the skills your child already knows. Encourage them to push away from the pool edge in a streamline position, find their balance and then begin kicking. Remeber it's fast little kicks.

The aim is to maintain a long, strong body position while using the legs to create propulsion.

Encourage your child to:

🚀 Push strongly from the pool edge
🙌 Reach both arms forward into a streamline
👂 Keep their arms close to their ears
🏊 Keep their body long and balanced
🦵 Keep their legs long and relatively straight
💦 Keep their knees underneath the water
🦶 Keep their ankles and feet relaxed and floppy
⬆️⬇️ Use a continuous up-and-down kicking action
⭐ Maintain their streamline while moving forward

Remind them fast little kicks.

Try to avoid rushing into arm strokes at this stage. Give your child time to become really confident with streamline kicking first.

We want them to experience how a good body position combined with an effective kick allows them to move independently through the water.

Start with short distances and gradually increase the distance as your child's strength, breath control and confidence develop.

Use lots of repetition and positive reinforcement. Each skill in this series builds on the one before it. By taking the time to establish a strong streamline and kick now, we're laying the foundation for the freestyle skills that will come next.

For families with a home swimming pool or access to a swimming pool, practise streamline kicking regularly and allow your child plenty of time to become comfortable and confident before progressing.

▶️ Watch the next video in the playlist as we continue building propulsion and move another step closer to freestyle swimming. Follow the complete Teaching Kids to Swim series to see the full progression from start to finish.

⚠️ Water Safety: Children must always be actively supervised and within close reach of a responsible adult around water. Keep swimming distances appropriate to your child's ability and confidence. These videos support swimming practice and are not a replacement for professional swimming lessons.