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Original poster

What level did you let kids stop swimming lessons?

86 replies

strawberryurchin · 18/05/2023 12:44

I was reading you're meant to keep them in until stage 7, but weekly lessons (now at stage 4) are getting a bit much for us to facilitate in terms of time commitment, energy etc and wondered if we might give up earlier.

Obviously I want to encourage her to be a strong enough swimmer.

Do you think it's feasible we could give up sooner and maybe I could go swimming with her myself more regularly instead?

DD doesn't really love going either. She can swim unaided, up to stage 4 level of competence.

OP posts:

CurlewKate · 18/05/2023 12:50

Swimming lessons are just as big a money making scam as bottled water, IMHO. Unless you have a pool, or regularly visit people who do, swimming for little children isn't a "life skill". Maybe when they're a little older and want to go to the pool with their friends it is- then they'll have the incentive to learn.

SpringBunnies · 18/05/2023 12:50

I think it depends on what you think is acceptable level of swimming? DC1 is doing level 6 and I’m happy for her to stop if she wants to swap it for another sports. However I didn’t think her swimming is any good until she passed level 5! My standard is that they need to swim Bette than me. DH and I are from New Zealand and we found a lot of British parents here have quite low standards. (Just a general observation and I know you have great swimmers at the Olympics). We hear lots saying they can’t breathe properly but to my mind that means you can’t swim. You don’t need to breath to swim a 25m length.

It all depends on how you think your child is swimming?

I didn’t have proper swimming lessons and learnt from my dad. I can swim half an hour non stop at school swimming lessons for three strokes. But I’m a really terrible swimmer. I would say your child can’t improve unless you can teach her well. I suspect she will end up swimming like me.

evtheria · 18/05/2023 12:52

I thought 'officially you can swim' if you pass Stage 5 - as on my DS's trip forms they've always got a bit about if the kid has done it. Interested to know if it's actually S7, as pp has mentioned!

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PuttingDownRoots · 18/05/2023 12:53

We stopped at level 6 since the lessons were increasingly poor.

It depends on your aim. I wanted mine to be able to play safely, enjoy watersports and know what to do in an emergency.

Couldn't care less about some of the nonsense like butterfly

SpringBunnies · 18/05/2023 12:54

I don’t think I can save myself in the sea either. I hear that a lot saying it’s a life skill. DH was caught in the sea when young and was rescued by his friend who was a really strong swimmer. They lived near a surf beach and go surfing. You need to be really good at sea swimming and according to him, you need to know how to watch the rip tides. I totally am ignorant at it!

I do agree it’s more a leisure skills where you use it on holidays.

SpringBunnies · 18/05/2023 12:55

@evtheriai would agree with level 5 judging from DC1 swimmimg.

RhosynBach · 18/05/2023 12:55

Ours are in wave levels- wave level one to six. My son finished after wave level six. Daughter is wave level 4 and I’m not confident she could swim in the deep end for long so she will be continuing until wave level 6 too. Occasional one to ones instead of weekly lessons might be cheaper and more effective though- I did this for my son to get him past wave level 6

toptomatoes · 18/05/2023 13:00

I will let mine stop when they complete level 6. DD has just started level 6 and can easily do 25 m but not 100 m, which is what they get to at the end of level 6.

SOBplus · 18/05/2023 13:00

When they can swim a mile is our house rule, but then we spend alot of time in the water.

spiderlight · 18/05/2023 13:01

At the end of stage 5. He was a perfectly good swimmer and was gaining very little from the lessons, with high turnover of teachers and no feedback whatsoever. He had started to hate the lessons by that point as well. When he did a week of swimming lessons with the school, he was one of the strongest swimmers in the class and was put straight into the 'top' group, so I didn't see the point of forcing more lessons on him.

dizzydizzydizzy · 18/05/2023 13:05

Swimming is a fantastic thing. As well as being fun, it might save your life one day.

DD1 went through all the levels and only stopped when she had to go to uni. She always loves swimming.

DD2 is a natural athlete but never that keen on swimming. She stopped at stage 3, aged about 6. However....... she now works as a lifeguard. So her swimming is good enough for that (amazingly).

Original poster

strawberryurchin · 18/05/2023 13:16

maybe we will keep going until stage 5 then!

OP posts:

MrsT2808 · 18/05/2023 13:17

My daughter has just turned 4 and is in level 2 (Welsh, equivalent of England's 3/4 I'm told) and has said she'd like to compete so I can't see her stopping at level 5 as she'll probably only be 5/6 ish! I swam until swim club/lifeguard training and my husband did galas.
I think it depends how strong a swimmer you want them to be, my grandpas brother drowned and since then everyone has to swim to open water level before stopping x

Plottingspringescape · 18/05/2023 13:17

DS hated swimming lessons so I made him keep going until he could tread water for a couple of minutes. I just wanted to know he would have a good chance of not drowning if he accidentally fell in water.

Original poster

strawberryurchin · 18/05/2023 13:18

@MrsT2808 what is "open water level" number please? thanks!

OP posts:

Comefromaway · 18/05/2023 13:19

We stopped when ds could swim a length of the pool. we didn't intend to stop then but he is autistic and found the environment of the pool incredibly stressful.

Dd never had swimming lessons. She went to holiday club aged 5 during the summer holidays and was able to swim at the end of the summer.

MrsT2808 · 18/05/2023 13:20

strawberryurchin · 18/05/2023 13:18

@MrsT2808 what is "open water level" number please? thanks!

Haha not really a level, just would you be happy for them to swim in open water? I swam with wild dolphins in 2m swells off the coast of NZ and definitely wouldn't of been allowed to do that if I'd stopped lessons too soon x

JellyComb · 18/05/2023 13:22

My son hated his swimming lessons and we gave up as soon as i thought he could swim ok, however i think we were only level 3 or 4.

To be honest, he rapidly taught himself to be a much better swimmer when we next went on holiday and he was in and out of the pool all day long for 14 days. He is 16 now and rarely swims outside of holidays, but probably enough to save his life.

ehb102 · 18/05/2023 13:26

I have stopped before level 4 was passed. Two terms and no personal comment or coaching. Child can swim well enough to be in pools and the sea but won't be swimming laps any time soon. Water confidence is excellent and that's the key aim at this age. 400m in efficient style is the basis for good adult swimming. The stroke style I think needs more individual tuition that we get in a 8 to 1 ratio class.

TripleDaisySummer · 18/05/2023 13:31

My daughter has just turned 4 and is in level 2 (Welsh, equivalent of England's 3/4 I'm told)

I've never been told this before - I assumed they were equivalent levels.

Mine stopped end of level 5 mid Level 6 - but learnt in Wales.

We started much later than most and did a lot of holiday intensive lessons on top - though they only went up to level 4 and then we started the more fun one life saving, jumps/dives game ones mermaid tails - went to all the cities pools.

During the intensive lessons I had the experience of other parents there for later events asking what level they were as it turned out their kids were higher levels but not as good swimmers.

But what got frustrating was the one thing for months not being ticked off and it wasn't cheap paying for three - and often turned out they were delaying as no spaces in higher groups - but weren't telling me this so I could stop for a bit.

DD1 started secondary and found her swimming was better than most of her peers so wanted to stop - DS got to level 6 and within three lesson had 80% of it ticked off - and DD2 had similar and I was struggling to pay for an aboard school trip so decided to leave it for a bit. They've had chance to do more with secondary school PE lessons anyway.

Most of the can they swim form for school groups here ask for 100 m badges/abilities so usually tick no as never sure if that was done it's impacted on anything - though when DD1 did need to be swim assessed for a river activity they said there was no issue with her swimming level.

TripleDaisySummer · 18/05/2023 13:32

so usually tick no as never sure if that was done it's never impacted on anything.

CaramelicedLatte · 18/05/2023 13:37

We let them stop when they'd completed Level 6 too, beyond that it's just more of the same skill but longer. Which is fine, but DD in particular is more than capable of level 7 already, but it's not in the interests of the swimming pool to pass them early is it? She was in level 6 for a year and I'm not convinced I was paying for much for the last 6 months.

She can comfortably swim 500m, in any of four strokes, and she's only 9. I think she'll be alright in life.

ImNotAsThinkAsYouDrunkIAm · 18/05/2023 13:56

My 6 year old is currently learning level 4, and my 8 year old level 5. I don’t consider the elder one to be a strong swimmer and wouldn’t trust him to swim in the sea or to be able to swim for any length of time if he needed to, so he’ll be continuing. The younger one is definitely not ready to stop, for the same reason.

I do wish they didn’t have the ridiculous requirement to learn butterfly at levels 4 and 5. I mean, let’s face it, the only people who will ever swim butterfly are those who are swimming competitively, I really think it shouldn’t be introduced until later in the levels. It comes before treading water, ffs!

Beachhutnut · 18/05/2023 14:03

My DD is stage 8. I would have let her stop after passing 7 but she loves it. My ds is stage 4. I would like him to keep going until stage 7.

reluctantbrit · 18/05/2023 16:33

DD stopped when Covid meant her junior lifeguard lessons were stopped and never re-started, she was 13.

We told her orignially that she has to continue until they covered the "swimming in clothing" stage, can't remember when that is. But at that time the lifeguard club was having their lessons and DD was interested and we let her continue.

The reason for the clothing bit was that she was in a Scout group which lovesd doing watersport activities. So they were often out with kayaks or now SUPS and it helped her getting a feel for being wet while wearing clothes.

She is now an Explorer Scout and feels confident to be on open water, not just a pool.

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