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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:
Original poster
strawberryurchin · 19/05/2023 09:43

@WombatChocolate thank you, that's interesting and useful.

I do think it's strange though that you think a child of 9 or 10 is somehow unable to learn to be a "competent" swimmer by dint of their age!! They are hardly over the hill.

OP posts:
SpringBunnies · 19/05/2023 10:01

@RemainAtHome that's my point from before. Swimming two lengths of the pool doesn't equate to being able to swim at all. That's what I would class as a non swimmer.

peachescariad · 19/05/2023 10:12

All my 3 completed level 6 - plus they could all swim a mile in the pool and dive.
Oldest DS got caught in a rip tide in Oz when he was 19 - panicked at first but got himself out.

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General sports
popandchoc · 19/05/2023 10:37

Stopped my eldest at stage 4 - she had been doing it for over a year and then did a few months lessons at school after.

isthisit83 · 19/05/2023 11:53

strawberryurchin · 18/05/2023 17:40

@WombatChocolate "I think that children who haven’t got to a decent level by the thine they are 9/10 are unlikely to become competent swimmers."

This is quite a strong statement and I am not quite sure why you think this?

I'm a strong enough, and competent swimmer and I didn't ever get taken to proper lessons as a child. We weren't in the water for hours and hours, just occasional lessons from family.

How do you define "competent"?

I've just qualified as a swimming teacher.... and swim England say that scientifically the age of opportunity for girls is 5-9 and boys is 6-10 or 11. It's muscle memory and learning fundamental skills of movement - that's why they include things like log rolling etc. tbh I think it's the same for sports in general. Not enough PE at school in my opinion ! It is pretty difficult to learn to swim as an adult. But agree I guess "competent" is subjective

Original poster
strawberryurchin · 19/05/2023 11:58

@isthisit83 Thank you.

I wonder if people are confusing "competent" with "competitive" e.g. competing in competitive swimming. For most people being able to swim a certain distance, without tiring / risk of drowning, with good enough technique and ability to get themselves safe if they got into trouble, is what they would term competent. Otherwise, how would adults learn?

Most people don't take their kids to swimming lessons for the purpose of going into competition or perfecting butterfly stroke. For my DD it is about fitness, water safety and being able to do the basics well enough.

OP posts:
LittleOwl153 · 19/05/2023 12:07

For me I would have been happy with mine stopping once they reached the point of being in the pool - say on holiday - when I wasn't having to been constantly watching them from a pool safety point of view. I think that happened for both of mine around the ASA stage 6/7 point. I wanted the kids to be able to enjoy swimming to be abke to gonwith their friends and not have to be in the water 4ft away to feel they were safe.

The other aspect is fitness. Mine both still swim and for dd13 it is a fabulous source of exercise which she doesn't get elsewhere so I'd be reluctant for her to stop now (she's long since finished the full 10 stages!)

LadyJ2023 · 19/05/2023 12:19

Oldest swam before stage 5 and then we took him out.loves sea and river swimming now

Monkeybutt1 · 19/05/2023 14:14

DS did to the end of level 6, he's glad he did as he's now doing his PADI Junior open water diver qualification and he had to tread water for 10 minutes to pass one of the levels!

Davros · 19/05/2023 14:25

i knew parents who paid out and dragged everyone to years of swimming lessons but never went swimming inbetween or got in a pool with their kids. a combination of lessons to start off and then regularly swimming with them worked for us. i do like swimming though so would happily go once or twice a week.

garlictwist · 19/05/2023 14:30

I am a good swimmer. Swim 100 lengths three times a week no probs. But could I save myself if I got into difficulty in the sea or open water? No probably not. It's totally different.

So in terms of Life skills then the standard is much higher and probably not achievable for most.

BogRollBOGOF · 19/05/2023 14:38

Stages 6-7 are a good foundation for life with multiple lengths in a range of strokes with good form. From that it's easy to build the stamina for long distance, and it's a gate way to other water sports.

I found that it was nearing the completion of stage 5 that I felt secure enough in the DCs' swimming ability to let them swim around a deep pool freely. They did 25m lengths in stage 4, but the stroke was still weak and could become tired.

I'd be ok letting DS1 stop now, but DS2 swims on the same time slot so it's convenient and it's a weekly exercise session.

Having failed to learn properly through school lessons and going to adult lessons at 16, it took me 4m to swim my first 25m and 11m later I was swimming a mile. Being a non-swimmer was limiting.

BogRollBOGOF · 19/05/2023 14:41

Being an open water swimmer is very different to pool swimming. I swim in lakes, but it is more tiring due to temperature and fighting wind. The sea is a different league entirely!

Original poster
strawberryurchin · 19/05/2023 14:44

Does anyone know if they cover open water swimming safety in regular pool lessons? Or do you have to do a different course to do that?

OP posts:
Piony · 19/05/2023 14:47

strawberryurchin · 19/05/2023 11:58

@isthisit83 Thank you.

I wonder if people are confusing "competent" with "competitive" e.g. competing in competitive swimming. For most people being able to swim a certain distance, without tiring / risk of drowning, with good enough technique and ability to get themselves safe if they got into trouble, is what they would term competent. Otherwise, how would adults learn?

Most people don't take their kids to swimming lessons for the purpose of going into competition or perfecting butterfly stroke. For my DD it is about fitness, water safety and being able to do the basics well enough.

I absolutely agree with this, but in the later stages they can be kept down because their butterfly or turns are not up to scratch yet. Our swimming school used to concentrate on one stroke per week so they'd get 3 breaststroke lessons and 3 front crawl lessons a term. They did do a bit in other weeks, but all in all progress was very slow and it started to feel like an exercise in keeping taking our money towards the end.

Stages are not always that transferable between swim schools. I had a child move from stage 6 to stage 4 by moving schools. I think she only completed stage 5 in the end, but she is fine now to get in a pool and swim 20 lengths or so of reasonable breaststroke or crawl. She'd probably have been stage 7ish at the other swim school.

lljkk · 19/05/2023 15:28

Stage 7 or 8 for me.
i got to adulthood very safe in all sorts of water conditions, fine in waves or lakes, etc. But I could only doggy paddle. it was important to me that DC grew up to be good swimmers.

lljkk · 19/05/2023 15:29

Does anyone know if they cover open water swimming safety in regular pool lessons? Or do you have to do a different course to do that?

Ours (in pool) does regular sessions where the kids swim fully clothed (albeit without shoes), at least once a year.

RoseAndRose · 19/05/2023 15:42

Mine didn't do the levels formally and never did much butterfly. But I think for the rest of the syllabus, they were around stage 8 or 9.

It was expensive, but we paid for private lessons and I think they leaned faster and better than in group sessions. (And I think the only value of school lessons is for DC who would have no opportunity otherwise)

Changes17 · 19/05/2023 15:43

Stopped at 200m. They've both done water sports with no issues since then.

mauveiscurious · 19/05/2023 17:24

We went privately at age 7, competent swimmers in a few weeks and cheaper we didn't bother with badges. My DS ended up swimming competitively in a club and they perfected his technique on more advanced strokes through the club.

We started with lessons and they were so poor the private option worked much better

SpringBunnies · 19/05/2023 17:42

I am not confusing competent with competitive. I think those posters refering to 200m or being able to swim with clothes in open water for a reasonable amount of time are more realistic about competent. I can't find a UK standard, but this is from Australia the minimum competency for17 year olds
https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/educate-participate/swimming/national-swimming-and-water-safety-framework
and
https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/32167/RLS_Benchmark_A3-Age-17.pdf

It does say 50% but surely what we are talking about here are about being the better half and reaching those swimming and water safety benchmarks. So they mention : tread water for 5 min, swim continuously for 400m, rescue, perform survival sequence in heavy clothing. The rescue one is actually really crucial for anyone doing any water sports. I've mentioned how DH was rescued by his friend. They were just kids playing out in the surf. He wouldn't have been here if his friend wasn't a competent swimmer.

https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/32167/RLS_Benchmark_A3-Age-17.pdf

Eurodiva · 19/05/2023 17:50

Cannot remember what stage my lot got to but they didn't have lessons once they could swim well enough to fall in a pool and swim to the side. The only swimming they did was on our summer holidays and occasionally at friends houses.
They are all adults now and can swim as well as their friends.

RedHinge · 19/05/2023 17:52

No idea what those levels mean but I made mine continue until they could comfortable swim a length. I then got the (private) teacher to do a few sessions on pool safety for holidays and diving. They were around 8/9.

One went on to train as a lifeguard when he was 16.

Original poster
strawberryurchin · 19/05/2023 19:21

@SpringBunnies your assertion that children after 9 or 10 can't learn to "competently" swim was what I was particularly questioning rather than the definition of competent (which is also why I questioned your definition of "competent". I would strongly dispute that it is as age limited as you suggest.

Regardless of the definition of competent, you will find that children over those ages, and adults can learn to do all the things you mention. It may not be as easy for them to learn but they will still be able to learn.

OP posts:
SallyWD · 19/05/2023 19:35

My daughter's going strong at level 7 and wants to go as far as she can. My son's recently stopped at level 5. He hated lessons but loves swimming so we still go as a family. I wanted him to learn for his own safety really and he's a strong swimmer so job done. I don't see any great need for him to perfect the butterfly if he doesn't want to.