Is it early to learn swimming at the age of three and a half?
Every child's development level is different, and the age of learning to swim will be different. However, most children learn to swim at the age of 5 to 8, and they can't learn to swim until they are 4 at the earliest. Children before the age of 4 are not suitable for swimming training in terms of development, while children who are already 4 years old have already possessed the basic swimming ability, but their muscle and nerve development is not comprehensive enough, and they will learn better after the age of 5 or 6.
At present, the basic age required for children's swimming class in China is over 6 years old, because children at 6 years old have basically passed the test in understanding, expression and reaction, and it will be better if they are 7 years old and 8 years old. Learning to swim at this age can better understand the words of professional teachers and learn faster. But at the age of 2-4, children can get familiar with the environment in the water first, and usually take them to play with water or practice holding their breath and learn some basic swimming skills.
What kind of stroke does a child learn to swim first?
In China, many people, whether adults or children, will learn breaststroke, because it is easy to master because of its simple hands and feet movements, no great effort and convenient ventilation. Many crash courses in swimming teach breaststroke. If children want to learn to swim quickly and economically, they can learn from breaststroke.
However, breaststroke is a swimming stroke that easily causes sports injuries and is not suitable for long-distance swimming. If children want to learn swimming systematically and have professional intentions, it will be better to learn freestyle first. Because freestyle is the basic stroke, it is more effective to learn freestyle first and then learn other strokes. But freestyle is much more difficult to learn than breaststroke, and it takes a little longer.