Should I persevere with DD's swimming lessons?

Mine have been going since they were 3 and now eldest 9 and finally able to swim competently. She needs to build up her stamina but otherwise swims well. The 6 year old still has a way to go. They both love it so we keep going

Swim lessons are a 3 year commitment to really see benefit

I've still got 2 going through swimming lessons and I'm a swimming teacher, mainly of young ones. At 4, I wouldn't worry about lessons, they gain so much more confidence in play and once they're messing with the watering can and seeing others jump in, it comes. Most pools here, it is still free to swim if you are under 5, and many do some form of cheap swim in one session e.g. £2 entry or child + parent priced as one. It's a lot of money on an age 4, and you'll miss some for holidays, illness etc. You really can progress so much at that age through just going and playing at the pool. If they are you doing it, they want to join in.

Mine did crash courses at half-term until it looked like she was ready to progress. To start with, she really didn't have the awareness to follow the instructions to improve what she was doing, so although she enjoyed it, she didn't really get anywhere. Once she seemed ready, that's when we signed up for regular lessons. It did still take a while, but you could see the progress over a few weeks.

Is she swimming out of her depth? DD didn't seem to make much progress over 2/3 years(!) as in she could swim but struggled because the pool was so shallow she almost couldn't help putting her feet down (apparently I was the same according to DM) but once she moved to a new pool & started swimming out of her depth she improved loads really quickly.

Are there any summer holiday courses coming up? My DD was a bit of a lost cause at swimming lessons, I booked her on a course where she did a lesson a day Monday to Friday for two weeks, so ten lessons in 12 days. She was swimming by the end of it. Even the teacher said it was a bit of a miracle.

I think a week between lessons can mean you go back to square one every week.

Ask her. If she says she doesn't want to continue, stop

She needs regular fun (ideally weekly minimum) swims to build up her confidence. This may be better than formal lessons for a while.

In my experience vast majority of kids sort of 'get it' around the age of 7 or 8. Of course private lessons will get many smaller ones swimming but if she's unhappy I'd pause them, just have fun as a family in the pool and perhaps re start lessons in a couple of years. Mine did lessons from 6 weeks old, must have spent a fortune and guess when they finally got it? Year 4 school organised lessons which were free!

Hi OP

I think with swimming they all develop at different speeds. It can be a long process.

DS1 made slow and steady progress in weekly lessons from starting age 4.5/5, then we increased to 2 per week when he was about 6, and progress was more rapid. He's 10 and now swims 7 times a week!!!

DS2 had weekly lessons from 4.5 to 7 and made NO progress in that time really beyond developing confidence in the pool, feeling happy to put his head in, and managing a width of doggy paddle!! From age 7.5 he suddenly found his groove and in the last year has gone from stage 2 to stage 8 with weekly lessons! He's now 8 and in a swim club! At age 6 I'd have laughed if you had told me he'd be in a swim club at 8 because his progress was soooo slow and everyone else seemed to be moving on when he was going backwards!!! I think things just suddenly clicked one day and that was it!

I think they click when they are ready! Maybe your daughter won't start progressing til she's 7 or 8, or maybe she'll suddenly start making progress from next week! I think we can never know, but if she's enjoying it who cares!!! Just let her go and have fun and the progress will come when she's ready :) 👍🏊‍♂️

4 is young and they all progress differently.

My younger one could swim 10 metres at 4, whereas my older one took a lot longer to get started. She wasn’t a natural swimmer. They now both swim competitively but the older one is better in age-related terms.

In the end the difference between good swimmers and not do good is getting them to the end of stage 7. I’m not sure what they do at 4 really makes much difference with this. Neither of mine would really swim proper strokes till they were about 7.

So I’d do what you feel is best for now, and I wouldn’t worry about comparisons to others. How good they are in the end is pretty much entirely down to how long they stick at lessons when a bit older. So many people let them stop at stage 5, having paid for expensive private lessons early.

Dd2 went swimming with the school this week and out of a class of 30 year 5s only 6 were stage 6 or above. That’s when the difference shows.

8 weeks is nothing especially at 4. I’ve found with mine that they’ll look like they’re doing nothing and then suddenly crack a skill. Swimming is hard for lots of children. You’ll be in it for the long haul- years not weeks.

Bear in mind if you decide to take her yourself you will have to pay two entry fees. For me that would work out more costly than the swimming lessons.

It depends. If she enjoys going then I’d carry on. If she would rather do something else then I’d let her do the other thing and take her swimming myself. She’s still very young and formal lessons don’t suit everybody. My youngest DD never had lessons as the timing clashed with another activity that she was already doing but she’s an amazing swimmer, very confident and able which I put down to lots of family swim sessions and trips to water parks. It’s not the case that unless she has lessons she won’t be able to swim/swim well.

I think going every week is how the end up ok getting their face wet. Doesn't have to be a lesson but I wouldn't have went as regularly without the lesson and my ds would not have tried to get his face wet for me. Once he got that he could make much better progress with the other skills.

Might be worth going for cheaper lessons as she isn't really benefiting from the small group if not past getting face wet yet. Also at our lesson (local council pool) there are 8 per class but usually only 5ish manage any week.

Making sure a child can swim is totally necessary. I wouldn't pull her out of her lessons, as children of that age can go for ages without progressing much. Suddenly she will progress and you'll wonder what you were worrying about.

Bless him, that's so cute.

I wouldn’t give up swimming lessons for a couple of years if you’re going to be in places where there’s water ( beach, lake, pools etc). It’s a life skill not a hobby as such. With our DD she couldn’t join a class as it had no spaces so she had private lessons for a while which got her started although obviously a pricey option. I certainly remember phases where it felt like she wasn’t really improving. I’d definitely make it a mission to go outside her lessons and just play - throw her around a bit so she gets comfortable with her face being wet.

My friend is a swimming Instructor ,she had a little boy who just wanted to sit next to her for a few weeks in his Spiderman Outfit! and watch the others .Suddenly decided he wanted to join in!

I would persevere. As an adult who can't swim, I wish that my parents had pushed me on this.

My dd wasn't a natural swimmer, and went to loads of classes without making any progress. Eventually we paid for 1:1 lessons, and that made all the difference - she came on in leaps and bounds from then on. So if you are able to afford it, I would definitely recommend considering a few private lessons as an option.

Are you swimming together much? I learnt to swim as a adult and definitely progressed more when I was swimming a few times a week with Dh rather than just one lesson each week

I'd persevere but only because I'm a grown adult who can't swim. I wish my parents had taken me to swimming lessons (they didn't earn enough for more than basic necessities but equally didn't earn little enough to qualify for help).

I decided to sign up for lessons 3 years ago but could only find one place offering adult lessons outside of office hours. After joining the waiting list they shut down for Covid and haven't reopened. Such a valuable life skill, even if she progresses slowly, it's worth learning sooner rather than later.

I would persevere but also take her regularly yourself if you can. This gives more opportunity to just enjoy being in the water, splashing having fun etc.