To think it is okay for DS (8) to stop swimming lessons now?

I’d rather have my competitive swimmer caught in a current than your leisure swimmer. Only one of those has even a chance of getting out of it!

I let mine stop at 11 by which time they were swimming competitively but didn’t want to take it any further. No way would I have stopped before they were that competent.

Swimming isn't about milestones it's about competance and a child that stopped swimming age 8 (which is essentially what happens unless you're lucky enough to live near the sea will never be competant as an adult. No matter how many milestones they achieve at age 8.

DS stopped swimming age 7 as he completed his mile badge. I thought that was good enough regardless of age.

It is costing us £80 next term for school swimming.

floating is a confusing one as a swim skill - when I was a skinny kid, I simply could not float. I lay in the water in just the right posture and my face would sink below the surface. now i'm an adult with a bit of fat on my belly, I can float perfectly with the same technique. but my skinny kids can't.

kids should definitely know the principle of how to float but actually doing it is different.

as for weekly swim lessons, it sounds like the OPs kid has a very intensive sport schedule. how about summer swim lessons (every day for a week) instead of weekly?

I don't see £36 a month over just over 50 weeks a year as expensive. I would cut back on other areas definitely before swimming. Plus unlimited swimming card. Living by the sea side you do have a different view. As you know that their teenage years will be down there. Multiple parties and play dates in the lidos paddling pools. Plus a great job for them training to be a life guard if they need spends. Schools offer very limited swimming lessons as funding is lacking. Obviously if you are on the bones of your ass different priorities. And I did start mine two In swimming lessons at different ages as I knew they would engage and not run away screaming!!

It should be a voluntary contribution, it's compulsory for them to teach so if someone can't afford it the child should still go if permission is given.

Our school does one half-term of lessons in junior school and passes the full cost of the pool hire, teachers and coach onto the parents. It is very nearly the same cost as our private lessons. They simply couldn't offer it otherwise; they don't have enough money for books: the PTA fund those!

When I was at school in the 70s we went to the swimming pool every week for PE and did swimming lessons and got a badge for how far you could swim

The only lessons they do at school is about 8 or less lessons only once a year for 2 years so 16 lessons in 2 years

I would stop the lessons if he is now confident in the water and knows all the strokes.

I seem to be going against the grain here, but I live in a hot country where a lot of people have their own pools and those who do lessons, are mostly to learn water safety and being able to swim.

Anything from there on, is training. Obviously water sport is very big here, so training is as well.

So I don't see the point of training for a sport if there is no intention to pursue it. If there is another sport he is more interested in, then that is where I would put the time and of course, the money. If he wants to continue with water sports at a later time, then look at it again then.

Swimming isn’t about how far but about technique.

if he can comfortably swim 400m and have energy he’s doing well - but if that’s 400m stopping at each end and pushing off or putting his feet down that’s not the same.

There’s a huge difference in the standard of swimming taught. Those in smaller swim schools and learn to swim attached to clubs are generally more proficient at lower stages.

I live on the coast though so swimming was something we were brought up to be able to do well.

Although I never envisaged the life as a swim aren’t to a national swimmer - that’s a whole new level of ball game 🤣

I wouldn't stop I'd find another provider free with a more suitable timing. I was in similar position and considered dropping swimming as it was on a Sunday and only activity DS would give up but I switched to a different provider and fit it in after school now

I think 8 is a bit young to retain the skill, going to local pool he won’t maintain the same level of skill. I’d give it a couple more years

YANBU - if he would rather do other things and won't sink if chucked in water then he is good to go IMO

I’d be careful about relying on school swimming. My dd school used a 60cm depth pool and the kids barely got any proper practice.

I would keep up swimming until dc have done the “swimming in clothes” test.

My ds is 6 and swims twice a week (once with me and once at his lesson) and I plan to keep up until he has passed stage 6 minimum.

There was a Guardian article recently about swimming in Australia and the problem of starting lessons too young and quitting too early. Unless you do keep up swimming the skills can be lost quite quickly.

As long as he’s a competent swimmer I’d say this was fine. We only intend ours to take lessons until they no longer need them as they are very competent and safe.

Fair enough. £7.20 a week for a life saving skill sounds very reasonable to me. We choose to prioritise that.

Mmm yes they get swimming lessons as part of the curriculum. They're not free though, albeit heavily discounted, come to think of it I'm not sure if the payment is for the lessons or the coach 🤔.

And I'm not sure how much they actually learn but it's better than nothing I suppose.

@NameChangedSummer1
We did exactly the same when ours were younger. Unless they were the next Olympic hopeful & as long as they could swim well enough to save themselves if they were ever in danger, swimming lessons were done & they just went swimming for pleasure, as & when it fitted in with other stuff. Family life is crazy enough as it is!

My son gave up regular swim lessons age 6 but then he did holiday intensive week courses - sounds like your son doesn’t need those. We also signed up for Swimathon for a few years so that he had something to work towards and he did 1k when he was 9 - so I knew he was working on his stamina. He took up water polo and diving lessons for a bit when he was a teenager. Maybe signing up for a sponsored swim if you give up lessons might help him keep building his stamina and it doesn’t mean he can never go back to swim activities.

We let our child stop about then, we saw they were going through the motions of what they were told but their heart was not in it so sure we could have continued by thinking we are paying for lessons so we can tick a box so we can say to ourselves we are trying but unless you want to have lessons the student would get nothing out of them

it is not the same as putting a health hearted attempt in kicking as football around, how can it actually save them from drowning in a dangerous situation humans are not fish, yes babies and toddlers are more likely to drown in a bathtub, or getting into a pool with no adult supervision in some areas, than older children, teenagers and grown ups but as you get older you have a choice to be in water

so if we wanted to tick a box we would have continued

I think like most things, schools can't afford the upkeep and maintenance of having a pool. If they can't afford teachers and books, swimming lessons is not going to be high on the list!

Don't they do it in school any more?