Is Breaststroke Bad for Your Child's Knees? An Honest Look

In the Singapore learn-to-swim scene, there's an interesting and concerning trend. Due to the heavy emphasis on the national SwimSafer program, many children are taught the breaststroke kick very early in their swimming journey. On the surface, this makes sense—it’s a key component of treading water, a vital survival skill.

But we are here to urge parents to pay closer attention. As a team of former competitive swimmers and multi-sport athletes, we want to share a professional insight that is often overlooked: the breaststroke kick, when taught incorrectly or too early, can be one of the most damaging movements for a child’s developing knees.

This article is our honest, experience-based guide to understanding the risks, the local context, and what you can do to protect your child's long-term athletic health.

The Problem: An Unnatural Movement

Think about how your child's legs move every day. They run, jump, and kick a ball—all movements where the knee primarily acts as a simple hinge, bending forwards and backwards.

The breaststroke kick is different. It is a highly technical, unnatural movement. It requires the knee to rotate and endure significant torque in a way it was not designed to. This is why, even at the elite professional level, competitive swimmers often suffer from a condition literally nicknamed "swimmer's knee"—a chronic pain on the inside of the knee joint caused by the repetitive strain of the kick.

Now, imagine that same stress being placed on the still-developing joints of a young child.

The Local Context: SwimSafer and the "Survival Coach"

The SwimSafer program is fantastic for its focus on survival skills. However, this has created a large pool of "survival swim coaches" who are excellent at teaching children the basics to pass the test.

The issue is that many of these coaches may not have a deep, competitive swimming background or the technical expertise to teach a complex stroke like breaststroke with the precision it requires. They teach the what (the movement to pass the test) but not the nuanced how (the correct, safe biomechanics).

This problem is magnified in a group class setting where a coach's attention is divided. The main objective becomes passing the test, not perfecting the technique. As a result, countless children learn a flawed, potentially damaging version of the breaststroke kick, and no one knows the difference until years later when joint pain begins to surface.

What a Bad Breaststroke Kick Looks Like

A poorly taught breaststroke kick often involves the child using too much of their knee joint to "snap" their lower legs together. This puts immense pressure on the medial collateral ligament (MCL) on the inside of the knee. A correct kick, in contrast, is a fluid, whip-like motion that is generated primarily from the hips, with the feet turned outwards. It is a subtle but biomechanically crucial difference.

The Dreamer's Approach: A Patient, Safer Path

Our entire Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) philosophy is designed to prevent these kinds of long-term problems.

1. We Teach it Last: We will not introduce the breaststroke kick until a child has first built a powerful, hip-driven flutter kick and a strong, stable core. This ensures their body is physically prepared for the demands of a more complex stroke.

2. We Insist on Expert Coaches: We believe a stroke this technical should only be taught by coaches with a deep, personal understanding of its mechanics. They must be able to demonstrate it perfectly and spot the subtle flaws that can lead to injury.

3. We Prioritize Technique Over a Certificate: Our goal is not just to get your child to pass a test. Our goal is to teach them a powerful, efficient, and safe breaststroke that will serve them for a lifetime of pain-free swimming.

Our Urgent Advice to Parents

When your child is learning breaststroke, we urge you to be an informed consumer. Ask your swim coach about their own swimming background. Watch them demonstrate the kick. Ask them about their philosophy on teaching it.

Choosing a coach with a deep technical understanding is not a luxury; it is a crucial investment in your child's long-term health and their ability to enjoy this beautiful sport for the rest of their lives.