Can I teach my toddler to swim?

[Fiestyfish]

I’m currently paying a hideous amount to a franchise swimming school thing for my toddler. He’s grown in confidence but we seem to do the same stuff most weeks and he loses interest (and hates the waiting about/face masks while waiting/rushed changing after).
A local naice gym has a lovely pool we could go to a few times a week for half the price I’m paying for these lessons.
Has anyone taught their toddler to swim themselves? I’m happy to pay for lessons a bit later on if necessary but was hoping I might be able to teach him to float/tread water/maybe swim a little by myself? Is this mad? I can swim confidently but my technique and stamina could probably be improved on. Is this a mad idea?

Most kids don't have formal lessons until 5 ish, before that they are just fun sessions

My trick was to put less and less air in the armbands each time we went swimming.

DD thought she needed them - she didn't!

@JamMakingWannaBe

My trick was to put less and less air in the armbands each time we went swimming.

DD thought she needed them - she didn't!

That's what I did! We started off with those inflatable rings with seats in to get them used to water, then later rubber rings and armbands, letting the air out a bit each time. Both of them became lifeguards!

Of course you can, but at this age it’s not so much teaching as such, IMO, as enabling them to gain water confidence.
Our two were both very confident in the water by 2 1/2, but there were no actual lessons or proper strokes until they were 5 or 6, by which time they learned those very quickly.

I didn’t have to do anything with my elder - she just wanted to jump in the deep end one day, minus her armbands (I was already in the deep end) and she just came up swimming, in a sort of underwater tadpole wriggle. She never looked back.

I had to make more of an effort with the younger, but ditched the armbands, would stay with her in the water, and repeat ‘swim to mummy’ - just maybe a couple of feet away at first, and so on. It took only a very few sessions before she caught on.

Obviously the more often you can take a very young child - to a pool with nice warm water - essential! - the better, and the faster they will learn.