How often do your older dc (aged 8 to 13ish) swim cycle?

[Myname23]

Just curious after seeing lots of families biking & hiking on insta & sea swimming... My 3 dc 8, 10 & 11 go for a half hour swimming lesson once a week & that's it, no hols this year & no family swim time at local pool due to increasing amount of swimming lessons after covid.. No other pool or beach locally...
Dd8 can't cycle, dc 11 & 12 never go out on their bikes..
Would love to be outdoorsy & think it would be good for my dc's development.. What's the norm?
I never learned to swim or cycle growing up, still can't do either 😢

Swimming 3.5 hpw
bike - as and when, usually as a mode of transport rather than for the fun/exercise of just riding a bike iyswim
Child aged 11

Weekly swimming lessons, we usually do family swim during the school holiday but we are lucky we have several local pools with great access.

We go through phases with the walking and biking but we do a fair bit of hilly walking and family bike rides. I enjoy that sort of thing.

Weekly lessons for swimming and extra on holidays. We are at a haven site just now so they are swimming every day. We don't do family swims because I hate it and I don't think they can just go together at our local pool atm due to still being some covid style pod hire which tbh is just dull. Mine could ride bikes at 5 (dd1) and 3 (dd2) and we used to cycle quite often however since we got our little dog 2 years ago it's not something we do as a family any more. Dd2 still gets bike out occasionally to play in the street Dd1 doesn't bother much. They horse ride though - 3 times a week on average and we go on nice long walks with the dog when we find time, occasionally body board or swim at the beach but we are heat lovers so would do that more in a hotter country 😆so all in all pretty outdoorsy.

Thanks for the replies, no hols this year so the dd won't get the chance to practice their swimming skills which is a pity as I can imagine it really brings them on..
DH has cousins with college aged kids (aged 17 & 18), their insta pics are great, biking & cliff jumping in Croatia & Slovenia with their mates... Their parents were much more on the ball than us.. Would love my kids to be able to do the same confidently & safely when they're at the stage to go abroad with their friends...

Hardly ever. Although strangely enough they have just been swimming in Slovenia. 😊Normally not at all.

Ours cycle one or two times a week, mostly as transport. They swim once a week at a pool, but sometimes in the sea. They ice skate fortnightly on avrage and rollerblade most days.

Mine swim at least once most weeks (mostly in the river over the holidays so not a lot of lengths!)
Never bike (can but badly)
walk ~2 hours at least 4 days a week

Thanks for replying, I guess I'd love them to be more outdoorsy, they are very active but not in a sporty way if that makes sense!

Depends on the season. In the summer my 11 year old usually swims in the lake several times a week, if not every day, and cycles at least a couple of times a week to visit friends (this summer has been an exception, as we've not been home). In the spring and autumn she cycles to school and back every day but only swims maybe once a month or two, in the swimming pool. Winter is the same for swimming, but no cycling (because snow).

What helps with getting her outside and active is not offering lifts everywhere - if she wants to see her friends she needs to bike or walk there and no lifts to school.

OP don't blame yourself. If you can't swim or ride a bike it's no surprise your childre don't do either. Could you sign up for adult swimming lessons?

We swim & cycle quite a bit. Our bikes are quite a key way for us to get around. The children really appreciate it now that they are getting a bit older as it gives them independence. They cycle to sports clubs at the weekends, to the cinema to meet friends or just meet friends for a cycle around the park. It's a lovely, relaxed way to get some exercise, fresh air and to get from A-B. With fuel prices through the roof I'm encouraging them to cycle as much as possible.

Mine are 12 and 14.
They both go to cycling club for two hours on Saturdays. The oldest cycles every day for his paper round. Sometimes they cycle at other times.
We have access to an outdoor pool in the summer but they can’t go without an adult. At the moment the youngest is going two or three times a week, the oldest once a week.
I was not at all sporty as a child but I did go out on my bike a lot, just cycling around, and I loved swimming, it was the only sport I liked, so I had lessons long after I need to, life saving, other specialist swimming things etc.

Maybe just need to find that kind of sporty thing that appeals to them. My DD started jujitsu and volleyball this spring and fallen in love with them whereas football which she tried a couple of times just did not appeal to her at all. Swimming lengths is definitely not her thing but jumping in and messing about under water is right up her alley.

Swimming - very rarely.
Cycle - every day during term time, 3-4 times a week when off school.

He also goes for walks around the town a couple of times a week and does parkour once a week.

They have been doing swimming lessons for ages, dc3 still level 2 & dc 1& 2 level 3, along way off yet but its better than nothing... Only 30 mins each per week though...

Thanks.. They're going for lessons but seem to have been on level 2 & 3 for an age😭 just nowhere to practice outside their 30 lesson time.. DH is a strong swimmer & can cycle, trying to enlist his help on us all getting more outdoorsy!

Fwiw i think learning to swim only through swimming lessons is similar to learning to drive with only lessons - much slower & less confidence than you get from some relaxed practice with family.
if your DH can take them even once a month they'll improve more quickly also if there's an opportunity to do a week of daily lessons over a holiday it really helps them improve

dont beat yourself up you're doing your best - my kids all swim like fish but can barely cycle! And they don't play any team sports etc they all have different strengths & different families provide different support

I never learned to swim or cycle growing up, still can't do either

Both swimming & cycling are the kind of activities that you do need a parent encourager to develop, so if you can’t be that parent (and if your DH isn’t intrinsically motivated to encourage it because he enjoys it as a leisure activity himself) then it will be harder.

(That said, I definitely taught myself to cycle and none of my parents ever came on a family bike ride, but different times with more freedom, I guess).

I’ve been swimming this week with the kids, my youngest has also been river swimming & will go again with a friend later in the week. They’ll both swim on holiday next week although less swimming, more mucking about in the sea, I guess. Both stopped lessons during the pandemic and we didn’t see any benefit in restarting as they’re perfectly good swimmers. In a typical month we don’t go much, though we always enjoy it when we do. It’s more expensive as an activity now they’ve left lessons, because kids used to go free in general sessions if they were enrolled in swim school.

Cycling again hit and miss mostly because I don’t prioritise it - like a PP says, we have a dog so often I want to walk her when I’ve persuaded them on a family outing. Both can cycle competently though and again, I feel we should do more of it.

My daughter does surf lifesaving, so in summer two 45 minute sessions in the pool and at least 4 hours a week in the sea, depending on the weather.

But she and I like the water. We hire kayaks sometimes in summer too.

She can ride a bike, but we don’t get out as much as we used to.

We often do new activities together in the holidays, horse riding, kayaking, stand up paddle board etc

Ds, 13, has a swimming lesson every week and we swim together every couple of weeks. We cycle a lot at weekends and holidays and this summer he has asked me to go running with him. Not far, 1-2k, but this is new for him.
He doesn't swim in the sea - no opportunity. He does karate too, but isn't keen on football or team stuff.
I think he's just developing that teenage excess energy.

We live abroad where the weather is fabulous so this makes a difference.

Went to the outdoor pool yesterday. Will go again tomorrow. Went biking at the weekend, we're on our bikes most days tbh.

But in winter there's none of that, too much snow (ice skate and ski instead)

The weather really is a big factor

We go through phases. For about 3 years before and over Covid we cycled at least 3-4 times a week. Sometimes to school and sometimes in local woods.

Since COVID we made conscious decision to improve swimming. In term time my 10yo swims three times a week (once at school) and my 7yo swims 5 times a week (once at school, three times for a club, once for fun). This holiday we swim 5 times a week or so.

Echo comments above that a half hour swim lesson a week is not enough. They need to have at least one or more times in the pool where they are playing and using / practising what they have learned. Time in water more important than time in lesson.

what is stopping you from putting in more time, especially as it’s light?

Bikes are our transport, so 8yo cycles most days. We often do a 2 hour ride at the weekend.
Swimming probably once a month. We need to go more. Lessons didn’t really work for him.

Like MinnieMountain we use bikes as transport, so that's that one covered. 10 year old cycles to school three times a week - but I ride too so that makes it easier/safer. 13 year old only cycles to football practice, but is old enough to go alone. Swimming is harder. 10 year old is still in lessons. 13 year old loves to swim but we rarely make the time.

@BluePassportsAreBollocks the pool they go to is only doing lessons at the moment due to covid backlogs.. There is no family swim time for the foreseeable.. Also no beach near us & the only river has a no swim notice.. DH took eldest 2 for a cycle last night, youngest aged 8 can't cycle without stabilisers so went for a scoot & DH is getting her a new bike this week

We are lucky to live close to a lake so swimming lessons are very important. The kids go once a week for a lesson and then twice a week for family times (more in holidays, every other day usually). DD is on the swim team and so she swims 5 times a week.

We cycle every other day as well (often to the pool or lake). The kids use their bikes just to pop around the village.

We don't go for family walks as much as I would like, but when I organise a hike, the kids do it without complaining.

However, yesterday DC4 rode his bike into a metal barrier and ended up with three stitches, which was fun... so we are living a quiet life for the next week until it heals. Thank goodness he had his helmet on.