It is likely there will be stages during the learn-to-swim process when your child experiences a “learning plateau”. During a period of skill acquisition or technique mastery, a “learning plateau” describes the feeling or appearance that your child is making little or no progress, no matter how hard they seem to be trying. It is important for parents to acknowledge that a learning plateau is a normal element of the learn-to-swim process, and that it is generally experienced when swimmers reach a level that is intrinsically challenging (i.e. learning to coordinate bilateral freestyle breathing for the first time). Children often make wonderful advances when they first begin learning to swim and, as the child builds rapidly on their knowledge and skill base in these initial stages, their progress is marked and is easily identifiable and able to be measured. Thereafter, the learning tends to be more gradual and consists of a consolidation and extension of existing skills and knowledge where, as the learner strives...