Children should be encouraged to move freely at the earliest opportunity. Some may require the support of artificial aids or the assistance of a helper in the water. The availability of this type of support should be removed as soon as safety and confidence permit.

• walk holding the rail/side

• walk alongside the rail/side without touching

• slide feet along the bottom

• move slowly

• aim for shoulders below the surface

• walk anywhere around the pool

• walk changing speed

• walk changing direction including sideways and backwards

• walk in geometrical shapes/patterns

• jumping, hopping, skipping

Butterfly is the most recent of the strokes and is second in relation to speed, to Front Crawl

Although the competitive Butterfly stroke is physically demanding, variations on the theme of Butterfly can be enjoyable activities that need not be too difficult. The potential to compete is developed gradually and learning the stroke should be fun. Babies often produce a dolphin type leg action without prompting.

Body Position

Key Points

• prone, face down with the crown of the head leading

• horizontal with an undulating, wave-like movement from head to toe

Being on the back means that breathing is easy. The position is ideally that taken up in a supine push and glide from which the skill may be practised. It can also be achieved from the standing position by lowering the shoulders to the surface and gently lying back in the water. If the legs tend to sink, it can be helpful to allow them to relax and bend. Try gently extending the arms beyond the head to a star position. These adjustments redistribute the weight and may succeed in enabling horizontal flotation.

• relax and pillow the head back in the water

• take a breath

• shoulders down, lie back gently

• lift the feet

• gently extend the arms