By: Sara Kate Alexander
You’re probably thinking, “What in the world does blowing your nose have to do with swimming?”
Great question!
Have you ever gotten water in your nose while you were swimming? I bet you blew it out as fast as you could! Little kids often do not have this skill yet, which means they either suck the water down their throat or just wait until it eventually comes out. Gross!!!
When kids are first learning to swim, they often do one of the strangest things in the world. As they lower their face to the water and their nose touches the water, they instantly suck the water up their nose! Their body is getting a signal that says “Hey, I am about to be cut off from air!” It is a hard signal to ignore.
So, they suck the water up their nose. They start screaming, crying, and trying to run as fast as they can from that horrid liquid.
There are two more times that kids often get water up their nose: jumping in the water and back floating. When they jump in, the sheer force propels the water up their nose. When they are floating on their back, the laws of physics simply allow the water to flow in, just like if you were to put a cup under water. If the cup is turned upwards, the water just flows right in.
However you get water up your nose, it is most unpleasant. Thankfully, blowing your nose gets all the water out.
Here’s how you can help your child avoid the discomfort of getting water stuck in their nose by blowing it out.
Step 1: The Concept
Start with the mouth. Take a big, deep breath in, the biggest you possibly can. Their lungs should be filled to the max. Sometimes, this step needs to be exaggerated for them to understand it. Now, pretend to blow out a candle or pretend to blow air out like a big gust of wind.
You can hold a tissue in front of their mouth and encourage them to blow strongly enough to make the tissue move. You can also have them blow something, like a tower of blocks or a ball, to see if they can make it move. You know, like the Big Bad Wolf!
This is the same concept as learning to hold your breath, which you can learn more about here.
Step 2: The Nose
From here, we engage the nose. Help them understand that the task of blowing your nose is the same as blowing out of your mouth, just a different hole (or holes, he he he).
Model the action of blowing your nose if your child finds it helpful to learn from imitation. Again, take a big, deep breath in, the biggest you can, then pinch your lips closed and direct the outgoing air through your nose.
Help your child do the same thing by pinching their lips sealed for them. Expect some giggles! You can have your child practice while holding their index finger under their nose like a mustache to see if they can feel the air flow. The force will likely not be strong enough to blow over toys.
Another thing that can help is moving the entire head. As you take the biggest breath you can, lean your head back as if you were going to sneeze. Then, when you are ready to blow the air out of your nose, lean forward quickly just like you would if you were sneezing and blow out of your nose with your mouth closed. This exaggerates the nose blowing, which helps a lot.
Humming is also a handy trick. Humming is simply vocalizing with your mouth closed. Because your mouth is closed, air is forced out of your nose! Humming is just an easier and slower version of blowing your nose. This is a gateway for some children to figuring out what is going on in their airways.
Common Problems
Some kids will not take in the biggest breath they can. If they don’t, they will sometimes suck air in their nose instead of blowing out. To fix this, go back to step one and practice those really big breaths. Then, come back to the nose.
Another issue is letting air out of their mouth instead of their nose. Pinching the lips helps. They may also find it helpful to place their hand over their mouth and make sure they do not feel any air coming out of their mouth.
Application
The pool and bath tub are a great places to practice this skill. As you go swimming, your kids will inevitably get water up their nose. Encourage them to blow their nose, just like you have been practicing!
We also practice this a little when needed during lessons. You can learn more about our lessons and sign up as we have spots available!
