Your child is afraid of water

You decide to go to the beach with your family, and once you arrive at the seaside, it’s a tragedy! When you have your feet in the water, your child cries and cries. When they are very small, children are often afraid of water. Why ? This reaction is normal when faced with a foreign environment. Point.

Fear of water: a common reaction in babies and children

For most young children, fear of water amounts to nothing less than a natural distrust before anything new. And this is all the more true when it comes to the sea! This expanse of water as far as the eye can see, constantly in motion, where you quickly get splashed by a cold, salty wave that threatens to wash you away, it’s impressive!

Why is my child an aquaphobe? A different apprehension at each age

If he is 2 years old, it is his overflowing imagination and his difficulty in differentiating the real from the imaginary that play tricks on him. The water scares him because he feels like he’s going to swallow it, swallow it whole, like in his worst nightmares.

Later, around 5-6 years old, the fear of water often hides another fear: that to face the gaze of others in a swimsuit. At this age when children become aware of the differences, some, if they are too thin, too fat or too white, will be apprehensive about going to the pool and the beach.

Parents, vectors of their fear of water

According to some statistics, one in four adults is more or less consciously afraid of water. Fear that we then transmit without even realizing it to our child, simply the way we hug him while entering the water with him or repeating our warnings to him. Hold it snug against your hip but do not compulsively hug him to reassure him, he might think there is a danger. Gradually enter the water and as soon as he starts to stiffen or screams, get out and tell him it’s okay, which you will try again a little later.

Being very afraid of water, synonymous with bad memories

It is possible that your child had a bad experience with water when he was still a baby: a fall in the bathtub, a bath given too hot or an ear infection which caused severe pain when his ears were in the water. ‘water. This memory can be enough to generate, in the child, a fear of water.

How do you get rid of your fear of water? Let him take his time by the sea

For his first contact with the swimming pool of the vacation club or the sea, choose a time and a place where there will be no not too many people and bustle. And if he just wants to dip his toes or make castles in the wet sand for the first few days, take it. By dint of seeing other children having fun in the water, his natural curiosity will gradually push him to become emboldened.

Pedagogy: get your child to talk about his fear of water to reassure him

Some children, especially boys, do not even dare to admit that they are afraid. We must free them from this fear and above all put it into perspective. “You’ll see, it will pass. Me too when I was little I was scared and now you see it’s over. “

Consult a child psychiatrist if the phobia of water becomes a handicap

Fear of water becomes a problem when it persists or increases over time, affects the normal development of the child, that it prevents him from leading a normal social life. In this case, it is advisable to consult a child psychiatrist. Perhaps this is a real phobia, which only a specialist can help him overcome. It also happens that this fear of water, especially if it appears suddenly, only expresses a psychological discomfort unrelated to water. This apprehension is simply his way of expressing his difficulty in going through a move, a divorce, the arrival of a little sister.

How to stop being afraid: swimming lessons to learn to swim

There is no point in registering him too early for a real swimming lesson. Before age 6, lifeguards believe that a child has not yet acquired sufficient psychomotor maturity to actually learn to swim. On the other hand, you can make him discover the pleasures of swimming thanks to the sessions of baby swimmers. Thus, in the presence from an early childhood professional and through play with other children, this experience can only be beneficial to him. Especially if you yourself are not very comfortable in the water. So you will not risk transmitting your apprehension to him.

How to help a child put his head under water? The use of toys

There is no real way to get your child to make up his mind to put his head in the water. It is important not to impose on him, because this could frighten him and leave him a very bad memory, worsening his thalassophobia. However, you can help him have a good time by the sea or the swimming pool so that he can take the plunge. Bath and beach toys, for example, can help him relax and let go of his fear.