Swimming teaching making kids put face in water

[SliceOfCakeCupOfTea]

Sorry it was hard to sum up in the title.

DS is 5 and in stage 2 swimming lessons at our local, council ran pool. I know they've struggled with swim teachers a lot over the last few years and DS seems to have a new teacher every few weeks. His current teacher is brutal when it comes to swimming with faces in the water. She isn't addressing why the kids don't like it or teaching them ways to overcome it (I hate having
my face in the water too so I always breath out my nose and am quite a confident swimming). She shouted at DS last week because he kept bringing his face out to breath which then made him stop swimming.

He's now told me he hates swimming lessons and really doesn't want to come back. It's very important to me that he learns to swim and we can't afford more expensive lessons nor do I feel I have the right skillset to teach him myself.

Is there some techniques we can do to help him overcome this? Is this normal for stage 2 to be so forceful about it? Am I going to ruin swimming for him if I keep him in these lessons or should I make him see it through?

What do you mean she wouldn’t allow him to bring his face out of the water to breathe? How else is he supposed to do it?

Maybe ask the teacher? Or ask reception if it's likely to be a different one next time.
Fwiw, when my kids resisted I tried pushing but also backed down and took them off classes for a year.
You could do that too - just go for fun sessions together and then try formal lessons again in six months time.

Sorry probably explained badly. So he's using the foam board thing and swimming on his front. When he brings his face up to breathe his feet go down so he stops swimming then starts again. She shouted at him for stopping swimming but hasn't actually taught him how to take a breath while still swimming. He told me he feels like he can't breathe.

Normally this is covered in the earlier stages where they get them to put their face in the water and blow bubbles. They need to be a one to put their face in the water to effectively learn any of the strokes however shouting isn't likely to help a child who is sensitive in any way. Maybe worth having a word about that

I'm a swimming teacher tbh it sounds like he shouldn't be in stage 2. My stage 1s don't move up until they can swim with one float stretched out with their faces in blowing bubbles. Aquatic breathing is an important skill which is learned first to enable them to progress to swimming with arms. Before they move up to stage 1 I get them to have a go with their arms thats just me though. At stage 2 they should be putting their faces in others they will struggle with learning front crawl. It's not the teachers fault but the fault of the teacher who moved him up. Effectively she's having to teach him a stage below what he is.

Stage2*

She doesn't have time to speak to parents as she goes from pool to pool in the area to do lessons and life guard duty. I've tried to approach her before and she brushed me off.

Pool have no idea who is turning up to teach lessons as it's managed centrally and the phone lines aren't open before his lesson on a Sunday morning.

Could he go back to stage 1 for a bit until he’s got the hang of putting his face in the water? At DD’s lessons they don’t move up until they can do that. He’s only 5 so it wouldn’t be a big step back, just a pause.

This isn’t helpful. He’ll be in the same situation and have the same lack of ability in 6 months.

Ah in that case I agree with PP, he’s been moved up a stage too soon

Agree with others that he's not ready for stage 2. He needs moved back down.

The shouting is obviously wrong. However, is he ready for stage two. Where we go, you can't pass stage one until you can confidently put your face in the water. Maybe he has been progressed too quickly, which won't help with finding classes stressful. My preschooler's class also work on face in the water but it isn't a requirement for moving up to stage one (that is based on starting school).

Maybe a few trips to the pool and working on this element in a non class environment would help. We did this with dd2 in regards to jumping in. In preschool class they start by getting them to blow bubbles as they move across the pool and tipping water over their head with a toy watering can

What you can do is maybe consider moving him down a stage. Also work on his breathing out through his mouth and nose in the bath or taking him swimming holding the side he should trickle the air out, it should be done slowly say 10 seconds. Watch the lessons and take him. Many of my parents do that to practice what we have covered in that lesson.

That would make sense.

We were just told one day he'd completed stage 1 and had to wait for ages for a space to open in stage 2.

There are no spaces left in stage 1. I've asked to pool about him swapping with another stage 2 class but there's no space for that either

Yeah, he’s moved up too soon, he needs to go back to Stage One until he can breathe while swimming. It took me AGES to learn, but he’s not really doing the strokes right if he can’t breathe during them.

Move him back down and plenty of praise for trying. Swimming is a vital skill.

He does love going to the pool with us. We tend to come once a week but it's more for water confidence and play.

SliceOfCakeCupOfTea

That's great there's many ways to teach skills in a fun way op.

Here's a couple of examples.

Shark game

Holding the wall tell him stretch his arms and legs out. When you shout 1 shark get him kick his legs keeping them nice a long

When you say 2 sharks

Chin down in the water blow bubbles and kick legs

When you say theres 3 sharks

Face in the water blow out nice and slow and kick legs until you say he's gone.

Another is to get a woggle/noddle fold it like a pretzel shape and play motor bike races. The fastest is the person who puts their face in the water and kick their legs. To make it harder say the floor is lava so you can put your feet down. When you need to take another breath just lift your head up but keep kicking and face back in the water.

Basic water skills could be getting sinkers, jumping like a kangaroo and sink down in the water.

Ah that's such a shame, but all makes sense.

He can and will put his face in the water but it's being able to move and breathe that he struggles with.

Ah that's dead frustating

If there are ok one stuck waiting to move up line your ds was then they'll be able to swap places and have him effectively jump the wait list for stage one as he's creating a needed place by moving. Approach the swim school with this suggestion

Meant to say if there are dc stuck

At stage 2 it's early days and DSs actions are quite normal. Have a word about going easy on the kids. No one should be shouting at them. DS is now on level 7 and is used to having his face underwater. I, on the other hand still can't coordinate face in the water front crawl and have to stop to breathe

Sounds like he's definitely in the wrong class op he should be able to put his face in and kick with the float for atleast 5 metres with his face in. I had a boy move into my class too quickly and I mentioned about moving him down as he couldn't manage with one float and defintely couldn't use his arms with his legs, it was very evident when the rest of the class could do this skill. A good teacher should pull you side and say I can see his struggling make some suggestions or maybe suggest moving down.

I had a girl in my stage 4 she struggles badly with going on her back doing back stroke. It's very difficult as by that stage I'm teaching out of the water not in. I recommended and explained that to mum and if she took her swimming to work on her back. It's somethings frustrating as a teacher when your colleague moves a child up that isn't ready for that stage. I'm very strict when it comes up moving up but I can see a difference when mine moves on to a stage than another swimmer who moves up each teachers standards are different doesn't help when you've had several different teachers.

If there isn't spaces anywhere else can you get him a float and go fun swimming once a week with him but also practice bubbles?

We do that and like I say he will happily play around and blow bubbles etc with us but he can't move and breathe through the water

My little one is in stage 3, it seems they haven't taught him how to turn his head to the side on front crawl to breathe so he sort of ends up doggy paddling taking a breath and then goes back to front crawl.

I was starting to wonder if the teacher was a bit crap to get to stage 3 (and I've seen the ones that get moved to stage 4 and it's no different re breathing, other than they can hold their breath for longer as they are bigger), however I now wonder if it not taught till much later in the stages.