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?

But he doesn't have a teacher he likes...that's sort of the whole point?

I stopped DD's lessons because I could see there were two boxes that needed ticking to move up a group that she just didn't have the confidence for yet (face in, and lying on her back). Because she'd been in the beginner class for longer than usual I could see the teachers start to push it with her. Also, these two things meant she was being held back from actually learning other keeping float basics so her lessons consisted of being pulled around on a pool noodle while she kicked her legs rather than ever trying anything else.

I really didn't want swimming to become stressful for DD so I decided to stop her lessons for a while. We're nearly a year on from that point and she's now able to do both of these things so I'm thinking about restarting her lessons.

I swim alot and was a lifeguard previously. It's actually really important part of swimming is to build the confidence and resilience of having your head under the water most of the time. This is how you properly swim eg. Freestyle. Breast-stroke, is not really swimming, more dragging your body.

How about showing your kiddo some videos of Olympic swimmers and how they glide through the water when swimming to change his mind. Don't project your fears of having your head under water on him.

You misunderstood my post! I said before that clearly his teacher isn't very good and I agree you should change teachers and maybe just swim with him a bit yourself so he gets the enjoyment back.

This 2nd quoted post related to how lots of discussion seems to be going back and forth about stages which seems to me to be unnecessary angst. The whole point is to not worry about stages as they don't prep so well for real water safety anyway, and just find a class he likes even if it's a lower stage.

I got a similar issue with my daughter, she won’t put face into water, I’m thinking to stop lessons as she cries before, stressed. I opened my own thread about it today but I am not sure what to do.. She is learning since 2019 but no success at all.

@INeedNewShoes im thinking doing the same.
My daughter won’t put head into water , also won’t float on her back. In her lessons she is getting dragged by the frustrated instructors from one end to another. She started in 2019 however she hates it.

Someone must manage the rota and the lessons, so find out who it is and raise it with them. The pool should not be fobbing you off.

Neither should the teacher, she is being very rude to brush you off, even if she's busy.