Is there much point to a 6-year-old having swimming lessons?

[Thesnailonthewhale]

My 6-year-old can swim maybe around 8 to 10. M in a sort of recognised stroke. She's currently in stage 3 lessons . I'm just thinking of taking an eight of lessons because she isn't getting that much from them and spending a lot of time standing around, waiting for her turn to go up and down the pool etc. we swim at least one other time apart from the lessons and would replace the swimming lesson with a family swim where I'd make her practise. We do the practise anyway on our weekend swim. So should be practising at least twice a week, about 10 to 15 minutes each time, which is probably more that she gets out of the 25-minute lesson anyway.

Am I missing something?

I don't need her to be able to do butterfly or breaststroke or anything. Just be able to swim across the pool and then naturally grow her stamina as she gets older. She's a million % confident in the water but also safe. she'll dive down to the bottom of the two to three metre pool to collect weights etc.

I'm just thinking I could save myself 40 odd pound a month

Definitely look into different lessons if you can but children can learn to swim without them. The kind of swimming lessons you get in the UK don't exist at all where I live, my town only organises half term lessons for children around 5/6 years old aimed at getting them comfortable in the water (though last year they did actually do a 10 week course for 4-7 year olds but it wasn't really advertised so didn't find out about it until it was too late). School lessons are 2 or 3 lessons a year where they learn technique but the rest of swimming has to be taught by parents so I taught my oldest (tbh she pretty much taught herself, just started swimming under water one day and after that it was just a matter of increasing stamina and getting her to swim with her face out of the water) and she was a strong swimming by 7 whereas my youngest, also taught by me, is 8 and can maybe swim 10 metres at most (so a non-swimmer really) so different children progress at wildly different rates even with the same teacher. I shall have to try this summer to really work hard on his swimming once its warm enough in the lake.

I don't think this is about how well she should be able to swim. It's that she's not really progressing and it's a waste of time and money in that respect.
At that age she won't get on very fast so you could give her a break. I stopped swimming lessons for my 6 year old because we moved. It took ages before we found another option: private lessons in a holiday park nearby. It was worth it for a massive boost to his ability and I think the break and the fact he was nearly 8 by then really helped too.

Yes. If you stick with only one club/activity - stick with swimming. If you can afford it, do 1-1 lessons or an intensive holiday course to push her on…so less time is spent standing around in the swimming lesson. The reason there is a lot of hanging around in stage 3 is so the teacher can watch each kid in case they drown!!! Stage 3 is not “strong swimmer”. Certainly the earlier part of stage 3 id say is “just about not drowing”. Stick with it. Mine stayed until around stage 7. Both are great swimmers but in all honesty I’d still not put money on saying they’re really strong swimmers in open water - the sea, cold, rough conditions etc.

It sounds like swimming is important in your family? Those group swimming lessons are good for getting kids up to basic standard on a budget. If you want your child to thrive as a swimmer - good enough for competitions and such when they’re older- then you need to be looking at one-to-one coaching now.

If you don’t have the budget for employing retired Olympic medal winners, contact your nearest swimming club, or if there’s a secondary school in the area with a swimming pool, contact them and ask if they have any coaches who take private work.

Obviously, if you don’t have the budget for 1-1, then either stick with the lessons or teach them yourself, I would be inclined to stick with the lessons a little while longer.

Being able to flounder her way 8-10m doesn't count as a confident swimmer IMO.
Being "100% confident in the water" but not even able to consistently swim a width is actually one of the most dangerous stages to be at.

I'd say I was pretty casual with my own kids learning to swim. I wasn't bothered that they didn't know all the strokes etc. The rule my DH and I settled on was that they could stop lessons as soon as they could strongly and confidently swim 2 lengths in a stroke of their choice.

Gently and kindly, please don't give up the swimming, but possibly look at a different school.

I nearly drowned at 5, luckily my dad got me back in the pool and I'm super confident in the water but have no technique at all. I'm a recipe for drowning and keep meaning to go back for classes.

Meanwhile swimming has always been my non negotiable with my daughters until senior school. I did baby classes with them and didn't stop. They did a year of swimming competitively too and quit in years 7 and 8. We just got sick of the mornings.

My girls were like yours at five. Please persevere.

Swimming opens so many doors and gives them so many options with sports later in life, plus it is so hard as an adult to learn to swim and dive properly, so just give her one less obstacle for later, a bit like teaching teenagers how to work a washing machine and clean a house.

I would not give up the swimming lessons but I would consider whether your child should be at a different swimming school. Look for one that feeds into competitive swimming clubs (because you know that they will teach the right strokes).

We had one rubbish one (they missed my youngest drowning), then a good one but the owner sold it to someone who was rubbish, then one brilliant one and then the competitive club. If you can make it work and have time, I would try and fit in an intensive course in a holiday somewhere. Sometimes a solid week of technical really drives the skills home.

Neither of my girls were the best swimmers and had no olympic dreams but those extra years made them super strong and their technique is brilliant. Also learning how to properly train in lanes and do the turns is not for the amateurs to teach!

My daughters have that skill for life now and it never goes. My ex husband swan competitively, even in his 40s and travelling with work, he'll find a pool and my female friends who swam do the same. I really envy them both and wanted that for my daughters.

Saying all that. Dragging them both to a pool every week for years was horrendous.so I do understand why you feel the way you do, but please do try and push through.

ex lifeguard here.

That’s not really true. OP’s DC is a weak swimmer. Non-swimmers are most at risk and can drown easily even when being supervised by parents because normal people often don’t realise that non-swimmers often don’t know how to move from a horizontal to a vertical position. Parents often bring water wings or floatation jackets and turn their back for a moment, assuming that the jacket or water wings will keep their safe. One of my rescues was a child who took off his jacket while his mum was getting out of the pool (no idea why she didn’t make the child get out first).

For a weak swimmer like the OP’s DC, they are unlikely to drown if the parents keep a close eye and (most importantly) stay in shallow water. Rescues of weak swimrners are mostly when they have gone out of their depth and run out of steam.

Mine did not have swimming lessons apart from at school.
I taught them both myself and they are both now very confident swimmers.
If you are a good enough swimmer yourself and feel confident to teach her yourself then you don’t have to go to lessons

I just had a look at oldest's swim certificates just as a guide, 5m end of reception and 50m by end of Year 1, she was in expensive private lessons in a class of 4 kids with instructor in the water. I wouldn't have said she was particularly speedy compared with her peers, but caveat that with we live in an affluent area where people have money to spend money on swim lessons. My youngest was a bit older when he learnt to swim because the pandemic impacted lessons when he should have been starting. Any chance you can supplement with a family swim session and see if she progresses more quickly? Kids don't always pay the same amount of attention to parents as they do to swim instructors, so I wouldn't pull her out unless you are supremely confident in your swim teaching skills and that she will listen in the same way.

that sounds perfectly normal, not like the pretend MN kids who are mini Phelps swimming 50m at 3 years old.

interesting to know the distance jumped so much in a year :)

When I was in school we had free lessons at school on a Friday, all got a coach to leisure centre

If she really enjoys it, you could find a swimming club for her to join. Although be prepared for early mornings for training when she gets older. They would concentrate more on refining her strokes etc

Find a different club. My grandchildren made little progress until they changed clubs. She needs to develop breathing, style and stamina to have a real life skill. When I see mine powering along I know it's Grandma's money well spent.

Well,we just got back from a family fun swim and asked DD to show me her proper swimming... She swam 25m.... Non stop, correct stroke, regular breathing... 🤦😂

Maybe it depends what phase the moon is and Jupiter's angle to Sagittarius 🤷‍♀️

I taught all my kids to swim..I taught myself to swim. I know many people who can swim and did not have lessons.. I think the most important thing is teaching them to float. I don't see the need for lessons.. she's had them she can swim you aren't trying to get into a swim team. I don't see why to continue with lessons.

My 10 year old was much later starting swimming lessons than we had planned due to covid lockdowns and a huge waiting list once everything reopened she was 6 (almost 7) when she had her first swimming lesson , our first swim school was awful and left her petrified so we soon moved her and she started at a fantastic swim school on her 7th birthday, she can now swim 50m in all strokes with the right technique and breathing. , she can actually easily swim iver 100 m but she has not been tested for that badge yet
She has recently started going lane swimming aswell and swam 25 lengths last week , we are carrying on lessons as shes really benefiting and building up her strength and stamina , she really enjoys it now she didnt to begin with and many times over the years shes.asked to skip lessons but they are expensive and paid for in 3 month blocks so i will not let her miss them and now she looks forward to going every week
We also do the week long intensive courses when we can
The right swim school makes ALL the difference

My mums rule was that we all had to be able to swim 100m before we were allowed to stop lessons. There was no expectation at what age that would be. Just that we had to be able to do it. 100m in whatever stoke we wanted (or a mix) but 100m continuously. And at least 25 on front, 25 on back and 25 fully clothed! Then we were free to make our own choices about how much we swam or had lessons.
Don’t underestimate the value of being able to safely swim. It is an essential life skill and one that could save your child’s life.

But, if you don’t think they are getting anything out of the lessons then please try a different approach. Try a different swimming teacher or a different pool. But please don’t give up on the lessons until they are truly competent

Agreed , and the price of 1 family swim where we are is way more than a weekly lesson
If shes thinking of paying that every week instead of s lesson shes not going to be saving money
She needs to move swim.schools and keep persevering

Out family swim costs us £3.50 because we have free work membership. We go every Sunday as a family. And if she wasn't in lessons on Tuesday, I'd take her swimming instead. And we also go maybe 2-3 times a month on a Thursday, and in school holidays more often again. She loves being in the pool and we actively encourage it.

My child is in Year 2 (young for the year- summer born) and has almost completed stage 6 swimming. She is unusual as her friends are mainly in Stage 5.

I would suggest looking around for better swimming lessons if your DD isn’t making progress and doesn’t enjoy it. As a PP said holiday classes which are smaller and they do 30 ish minutes for 4/5 days in a row can really help them make progress.

Lessons generally go to Stage 7 (some places do the advanced stages 8-10).

I would be really concerned about stopping swimming lessons at this stage. My daughter swims 2-3 times a week as it is a favourite activity.

Thats lucky, a family swim session for us for an hour 2 adults and 1 child in the local council swimming baths is around £23 , but no one can properly swim as its a fun pool and they ram the kids /familys in
Theres a lengths pool which my daughters started swimming in the past few weeks she did 635m last week but thats on an evening on a school night so not an ideal.time for us as she then ends up going to bed late
Youve just got to do what you think is best .id move her to a different swim school and see how she goes