At this time of year, I – from Shapland Swim School – often receive phone calls from concerned parents saying their child seems to have forgotten how to swim. Here’s an example I hear regularly:

“My daughter has forgotten how to swim. We went for a swim in our pool, and she was scared of the water. At the end of last summer, she was swimming fine, but now she’s very clingy in the pool.”

This kind of experience is common, especially when children are still in the early stages of learning to swim. After a long break, many children experience a loss of confidence that the water will hold them up. But it’s not only beginners who face this issue; even experienced swimmers can feel like they forget how to swim after being out of the water for a while.

A Personal Example: My Own Son

I recall a personal experience from the early 1980s when I was testing a group of scouts for their swimming badges. My second eldest son, who hadn’t swum in a few months, was getting ready to jump into a 25m pool. When he did, he started doing what I call the ‘Vertical Crawl Stroke’ – a panicked response where the swimmer lifts their head, causing their legs to sink. As he struggled, I could see the fear that he might sink to the bottom.

I remember thinking, “I might have to jump in and save him.” But he managed to reach the lane rope and hang on, giving himself a moment to get a breath. He called out to me, “Dad, I’ve forgotten how to swim!” I told him, “Put your head down, and the water will hold you up.” He did as I said, and as soon as he did, his confidence returned. He swam across the pool with no trouble.

He was only six or seven at the time, and while he was never in any real danger, his brief panic illustrates how quickly a child’s confidence in the water can disappear after a break. For younger children who are still developing their Personal Aquatic Survival Skills, any incident that makes them feel scared can set them back.

A Common Occurrence

Let me give you another example of how a child’s confidence in the water can evaporate over a break from swimming. The incident happened at about this time of year, when the weather was warming up, and the pool temperature was more acceptable. A woman and her two-and-a-half year old grandson were going for a swim in their home pool. The boy was very good in the water at the end of the previous summer and he loved jumping and being thrown into the pool and swimming back to the side. The woman did what she had been doing with him during the summer and executed a controlled launch into the pool. The child came up screaming. The woman was shocked. It took several months for the boy to overcome that fear of water.

Why Does This Happen?

The reality is that children can lose their confidence in the water very quickly. They don’t forget how to swim in the physical sense, but they can lose their Personal Aquatic Survival Skills and their trust that the water will hold them up. Any moment where they feel out of control can damage their confidence and set back their development.

The Solution: Rebuild Confidence with Swimming Lessons

So, can you forget how to swim? Not really, but it’s important to be aware of how easily a child can forget their Personal Aquatic Survival Skills and how much damage can occur if they are placed in a situation where their current abilities are misjudged.

The best way to make sure your child maintains and improves their Personal Aquatic Survival Skills is to get them back into regular swimming lessons. Professional instructors can assess where they are in their swimming journey and help rebuild their skills and confidence in a safe, controlled environment.

If your child seems nervous or unsure after a break from swimming, don’t worry – it’s normal. With the right guidance, they’ll be back to swimming confidently in no time.