swimming lessons

cprtknight4

Hi all,

Wondered what everyones opinions are on the matter of swimming lessons for children.
Was discussing it with my other half that I think it is the right time for our children to start swimming lessons especially the elder of the two, who is 5.
Now we are unsure whether it is best to pay for lessons or do it ourselves, and make a bit of fun out of it at the same time.
Remember when I was young we just had the school lessons, but thought for safety would be better for them to learn now, instead of 10/11.

Thanks x

Ms_Chocaholic

My DS learnt to swim when he was 5. When he was 7 he joined the local Swimming Club and swam competitively when he was about 11 for a couple of years. Only stopped as he became interested in another sport.

DS learnt to swim far better with lessons than he ever would have if I had taught him. If you can swim "properly" yourself then you may be able to teach him well yourself, otherwise I'd give it a miss.

In terms of the age when they learn, if they learn when they are young (5 ish) then it helps a great deal when you go on holiday.

milliebear00001

I recently taught a class of 7 year olds and the difference in swimming ability between those who've had lessons, and those who haven''t, is really huge! It inspired me to enroll my 5 year old and in her first 12 lessons she has gone from being nervy and unconfident to practically swimming without any support at all. If you can afford it - pay!!

IWasWondering...

Took my DS to our local pool after he had his first lot of inoculations. He could swim before he could walk.

ailuro2

My Dd (9) started when she was 5 or 6, in a class with a group of other kids rather than one to one tuition, I'm a pretty good swimmer and tried to teach her, but she wasn't very confident, but she is now, thanks to the people who do it year in year out knowing all the best ways to make them feel confident, build up their skills, and also peer pressure of not wanting to look like a scaredy cat in front of other kids.;)

She stopped when they moved her into the advanced class, the lesson times were just too late at night, but she still swims regularly and when I'm in the pool I have to work really hard to win a race with her!:o

bestpud

We've found the opposite - dd(6) just didn't get on with lessons but is doing great since we started taking her every week and teaching her to swim ourselves.

She will have school lessons though, so we are trying to get her confident enough to benefit from them rather then teach her strokes as such - we are focusing more on getting her to be happy under water and kicking properly at the moment, plus getting her confident with treading water. She just seemed to have missed this in the lessons (partly because she was worrying about having to go under the water rather than listening I think :rolleyes: )

I would say give lessons a go but if it doesn't work out, then don't flog a dead horse. They do tend to enforce 'getting it right' a bit too early imo, and for some children, it is perhaps best to build their confidence and make them aware they can 'save' themselves and won't die if they accidentally slip under, before they start talking about strokes etc iyswim?

I think though, even if they have lessons, it helps a lot if you watch what they are learning and go with them yourself inbetween, to reinforce it iyswim.

BTW, have you read the thread about getting lessons - you may want to start looking into it asap if you want them to go before they are 12!

Paparika

Seems a bit of competition to get the swimming lessons.

Do it yourselves as something to do with the kids, never know you may love it.

See it as good old fashioned family time

webitha

all 3 of mine have lessons and they are aged 9 7 3, DS 9 just going into advanced.
they way i see it is that learning to swim is a neccessity, not a luxury as one day it could save their life

bestpud

webitha wrote: »

all 3 of mine have lessons and they are aged 9 7 3, DS 9 just going into advanced.
they way i see it is that learning to swim is a neccessity, not a luxury as one day it could save their life

I see your point, but learning to swim does not have to entail swimming lessons as such.

Swimming can be defined as being able to travel in water, with some degree of confidence and, yes, to not simply sink to the bottom if they ever fall into a pond or river.

They don't necesarily need to so this with style though!

Surfbabe

Start by getting their names on waiting list and taking them at least once a week for fun time so they are used to the water and are confident going under. Unless you are a competent swimmer who can swim properly then don't try to teach them yourself - it does cause all sorts of problems if they have been taught incorrectly!! ( I should now - I teach swimming for a living!)

The main thing is water confidence. Swimming is a life skill, a necessity not a luxury as webitha says above. I've seen several people drown and rescued a small child from drowning and it is not nice. So take the plunge an go for it !!!

melwright

Hi,

Have 2 DS of 3.5 & 5, both are having swimming "lessons", they love it. The lessons for kids of this age are all aimed at having fun and growing their confidence in the water as opposed to swimming properly. Throughout the term they gradually build up their abilities and go from there.
Mine go to a group lesson of about 6-8 kids in total.
DS2 goes to the beginners class and DS1 goes to the next one up.

They have a fab time and make new friends. We do also take them as a family and it's amazing the difference the lessons are making as we see the progress each time.

The only drawback I've found is that they now treat my bath as a pool!

Whichever way you do it, it doesn't matter, just having the skills will put them in good stead for the future.