What this water safety skill is
Rolling in is a practice fall. Your child starts sitting or crouching at the edge of deep water and tips in, rolling away from the wall. For a moment they may be a little upside down. They learn to find which way is up, come to the surface and get their breath.
It comes once your child is happy jumping into deep water and treading water, which means staying upright with the head out. Next comes practising what to do after a real surprise fall, and later the full practice of rolling in, treading and swimming.
Why it matters
Falls are not planned.
Nobody chooses to slip in. Practising a roll means a real fall feels like something your child has done before.
Knowing which way is up.
Being upside down underwater is confusing at first. Practice teaches your child to stay calm and let the water bring them up.
Calm first, then safety.
Your child learns to breathe and settle before heading for the wall, which saves energy.
Who it is for
Children, teens and adults who already jump into deep water calmly, come back up and tread water. It is not for beginners at any age. Many children enjoy it once they trust the deep end. If you are learning as an adult, the upside-down feeling can be unsettling at first, so your instructor takes it in small steps.
Into deep water
The goal
Your child sits or crouches at the edge of deep water, tips in and rolls away from the wall. They come up calmly, take a breath, tread water and then swim to the steps or wall to get out.
Why it matters
It is the closest practice there is to an accidental fall. Doing it with an instructor beside them turns a scary idea into something your child knows how to handle.
What happens in lessons
Starting small.
Your child begins by tipping in sideways from sitting, right beside the instructor.
A gentle roll.
When they are ready, your child tucks their chin and rolls in, with the instructor in the water within reach.
Finding the way up.
Your child lets the water bring them up, then takes a breath and treads water.
Getting to safety.
Once settled, your child swims to the steps or wall and gets out.
How you can help between lessons
We practise this one in lessons only, with your instructor right there in the water.
What's normal along the way
Common questions
- Is rolling in dangerous?
- Not when it is taught properly. It only happens where the instructor has checked the water is deep and clear, with the instructor in the water beside your child. Your child builds up to it from sliding in and deep-water jumps.
- Why would anyone need to roll into the water?
- Nobody plans to. The roll stands in for slipping or falling in. Practising it means a real fall is less of a shock.
- My child gets water up the nose. Is that normal?
- Very normal. Being upside down lets water in easily. Your instructor shows your child how to breathe out gently through the nose, which keeps most of it out.
- Is our pool deep enough?
- It needs water clearly deeper than your child is tall, with room to roll away from the wall. Your instructor will tell you whether your pool suits it. If it does not, lessons focus on the skills that are safe there.
- Can we try it at home?
- Please keep rolling in for lessons. It needs deep, clear water and a capable adult in the water right beside your child, every time.
