Swimming lessons. What's best?

[TitsMcGeeee]

We currently take our two eldest children (5 and 3) to weekly lessons (local authority lessons). Progress isn't particularly fast. It's also a bit stressful at times juggling the lessons with other commitments (and a baby) and although doable, we're wondering if this is the best way to do it.

Seasoned parents, what do you do/have you done and what works best?

Would intensive lessons in the holidays be better? Private one-to-ones?

We just want our children to get to the stage where they can do all the basics and be safe in the pool independently (swim a length used to be the marker when I was a kid!). If swimming appeals to them as a sport, we'll happily continue to support that, but in the meantime we're just focused on the 'life skill' part of swimming and getting there as quickly and efficiently as possible! Particularly for our eldest who (it feels) has been in lessons for ages!

Following with interest. As I’m wondering what’s the best way to start my 3yo I lessons. She is super keen when we take her swimming, but is a bit of a liability, so I want her to get to the reasonably safe and confident stage as quick as possible!

Anyone? I have biscuits...

My ddd has done group lessons, but progress was so slow and she was scared to put any bit of her face underwater so she never really did what she was supposed to do anyway.
I booked her some 1:1 lessons and after only 3 half hour sessions the progress is incredible! She’s putting her whole face underwater and swimming a length (using a noodle) whilst blowing bubbles in the water at the same time (she refused to do this before). It’s not the cheapest but it’s been worth it for us. We will keep them up until she’s doing the basics unaided and then try her in a group again.

Private 1:1 lessons are best. We had to get some for DD after she failed to progress for over a year. When we monitored the time she actually spend swimming during class lessons the reason was obvious (she spend less than half the time doing any swimming).

Wish I’d just done private lessons. I wouldn’t have wasted so much money and she’d probably already have hit what I consider a competent/safe skill level

My DC are happy and confident in water so we simply take them to the pool and pretty much teach them ourselves. All need at this stage is for them to be safe, which they are and to enjoy being in the pool which they love. If they are interested in swimming as a sport I’ll look at lessons but until then I don’t see the point.

I taught my children myself. Just put one child in arm bands and a rubber ring so I could concentrate on the other one.

Depends on the child and how they learn in a group. Can they copy from other children, or do they need more teacher input? Are they scared of putting face under water?
Lessons were a waste for DC1, it would have been far more cost efficient to pay for private. DC 2 fared better in lessons (and allowed me to be with DC1 in the water) because learns better from other children than DC1.

If I had to start again, I think I'd try some private lessons to cover the basics first before putting them in classes.

1:1 lessons seem to create faster progress.

DS has group lessons but the groups are only small. 3-4 kids in a group. He has gone from not being able to swim, to being able to swim a length in 9 months!

I do local authority pool lessons. Progress isn't the fastest, and sometimes I've done a block of extras in the holidays, either 1:1 or targeted at their stage if they're stuck. DS1 has dyspraxia which probably goes a long way to explain his rate of progress. DS2 is ahead of where DS1 was at the same age.

A lot of school friends go to a private local pool, but they pay about £13 per lesson to my £18 per month. The rate of progress is quicker, but with two DCs the price difference is eyewatering. Yes, we're going the slower route which will add up over time, but also my DCs are keeping up the regular exercise and maturing as they learn whereas many of their friends are approaching the confidently swim a length, tick, job done stage. I'm happier on the slow, cheaper by the month route.

I would say that as long as a child is confident in a swimming pool, there isn't a rush to formally learn to swim as many pre-school children aren't necessarily ready. Waiting a year or two and they catch up quickly.

We used to do swimming lessons at the council run leisure centre and profess was sooo slow, but that was because there were up to 12 children in the lesson and the teacher didn't have enough time.

We moved to group lessons at a private pool and the children have progressed. These lessons are about £10 a month more expensive but the groups are much smaller (2-5 children in each group).

The biggest improvement was when we go on holiday and the children spend lots of time in the water, having fun.

1:1 all the way

And now my DD has a full swimming scholarship?!

Mine didn't have lessons. We just took them to the baths, or to the pool at my husband's school on a Sunday and they just picked it up.

Private swimming school here, small group with 2-3 teachers in the water and not more than 7-9 children. Teacher stay in the water until they are able to complete swim independent and even they normally have a trainee teacher in the water.

DD swam there from 3, absolute beginner, to 11 years rookie life saved and we only swapped schools as they had to change pool locations.

She was able to swim independently in 9 months with some help during the holidays from DH in a holiday pool.

Thanks for this. I will look into 1:1 lessons in my area and see how this compares.

Just done day 3 of holiday swimming crash course for my 4 year old and she's gone from clinging to an adult like a limpet to swimming independently holding a pool noodle. 1:2 ratio teachers to kids. It cost me £40 for the week, so worth it. We are going to continue weekly lessons with the same swim school now she has got going.

DC1 fares better with Intensive courses. Half an hour, once a week is counter productive for him. So we stick him in swim school for a week every school holiday. We go swimming for fun once a week too (daddy takes them!)

DC2 has a weekly group lesson (5 kids but past few weeks it's been just her!). I also put her Intensive lessons. She is getting on really well.

Private lessons are £22 per half hour for one child, £40 per half hour for two

Weekly lessons are £20 a month and Intensive are £25 for a 5 day course.

I found swimstars really good only 6 children per session Instead of 10 at local authority. I found them to be run so much better the staff firm but full of praise. My child progressed really quickly.

Take them yourself, play with them, mess about, let them jump in, throw them about. Start them in armbands and soon enough they will probably want to take them off themselves. My kids learned to swim dog paddle pretty much under water coming up for the odd breath.

They started lessons at 5 or 6 and moved very very quickly up the classes. Did about a year’s classes and were pretty competent.

All my kids are very confident swimmers; both my twentysomething daughters swim a mile a couple of times a week for fitness. My boys are happy holiday swimmers.

I’m reading about these kids taking nine months to learn with my jaw dropping. Nine months! Tend them yourself until they can dog paddle and they’ll be swimming strokes in a handful of lessons.

I did baby lessons with mine (from 4m-3y) as well as taking them most weeks. Both could swim to save their life by 5 (end of reception) and we had ditched all aids by 6.I think it's just putting in the hours tbh.

I see X post with Tinkly- yes I agree.

We are currently weighing up post waterbabies options as our ct is on his last chapter now.

Intensive courses and private 1-1s from
time to time. Both mine are better than the majority of their peers who have been having swimming lessons for years. They just make such slow progress in those classes.

I'm happy with what I did.
DC had weekly fun swims from toddler age.
No formal lessons until 6yo.
Only had group lessons (our groups = 6-15 kids in each lesson).
I found I could get to point where I could relax, take eyes off them in pool, at about 6yo.
On/Off swim lessons until about 10-11yo.
I took them out of lessons for spells when they seemed to plateau.
I never learnt to swim as a child. All 4 DC are strong swimmers who know multiple strokes. 2 DC them have 2000m badges, other 2 DC have 5k badges.

Lane swimming is an activity I can get my teens to do with me. I see other adults with teen offspring at lanes sessions.

ime, most parents are happy enough with dog paddle competence and stop lessons at barely better than that if they do lessons at all. Dog paddle, tbf, is all I could do until adulthood and I was quite safe in water.

One of the swim instructors at our pool is a dragon; her 3-4yo DDs swim like fish but doesn't look like they ever enjoy it.