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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to wonder what he bruhaha is about learning to swim..

167 replies

AtYourCervix · 27/01/2011 11:17

great if you want to but why the years of weekly lessons and enforced cold dripping and swallowing someone elses wee?

what's the point?

OP posts:

bruffin · 27/01/2011 13:34

"easiest way to drown yourself! a drowning person will grab at anyone near and push them under."

DCs should be taught not to rescue a struggling person. They are taught to throw something from the bank and talk to them. If they are unconscious they can go in and rescue them.

risingstar · 27/01/2011 13:36

i made oldest 2 do the weekly, never ending horrible lessons.

never again. DD3 will be taken swimming by us when she is 5.5 and we will teach her to swim.

i am not, ever signing up to duckings, otters or any other form of aquatic life at a leisure centre ever again.

it is hot, the pool smells of bleach (to counteract the wee) and the changing rooms smell of sewer. and do not get me started on the sodding women who occupy the family changing cubicles for an hour whilst their kids swim.

or the suggestion that unless you follow their ridiculous convoluted system and pay months in advance you will LOSE YOUR SPACE.

bubblewrapped · 27/01/2011 13:40

DD3 will be taken swimming by us when she is 5.5 and we will teach her to swim

any reason for the specific age?

Lizcat · 27/01/2011 13:42

We are lucky we have a wonderful private swim school that runs lessons in a private school's pool which is beautifully clean and lovely and warm. No draconian system, you can opt out for a term and then come back.
The amazing thing for me is that DD is actually very good at it, she has rubbish ball skills, poor hand eye co-ordination. But, boy can she swim all four strokes in competitive style with confidence for several lengths at speed. We never expected this and she may never be an olympic swimmer, but at the moment this is where she excels and it builds her confidence.

Lovecat · 27/01/2011 13:54

DD goes for lessons precisely because I am a crap, unconfident swimmer who freaks out if she goes out of her depth, having self-taught (with a friend's help) at the age of 26 . I don't want her to have my issues around water and I want her to be able to have fun. DH is a strong swimmer and I hate that he can do that whole 'diving off the boat into the med' on holiday while I'm stuck dithering on the ladder...

I also want her to swim because if she did fall in, I couldn't do a damn thing to save her due to my crapness!

Both my parents could swim, and swim well, but despite living 5 mins from the sea it apparently never occurred to them to even take us to the baths, let alone teach us to swim themselves (there was no money for lessons).

I could be charitable and guess that as my mum has major weight issues she didn't want to be seen in a swimming costume, also my eldest brother has mild CP affecting his co-ordination and because they didn't take him (there seems to have been a general assumption in the 1960's/70's or perhaps just by my parents that doing any physical activity with children with CP was a waste of time as they couldn't do it 'properly' :(), they then carried on not taking any of us...

I learnt to swim at 26 because my younger brother was murdered when he was 19 - had his stuff robbed and was then thrown/pushed into a dock while the attacker made his getaway - we'll never know whether the ability to swim could have saved him or not, but the fact that he couldn't swim sure as hell made it a given that he didn't get out of there alive...

No child of mine is going to be without that skill. And it's fun, and it's exercise. Why so against it?

pacinofan · 27/01/2011 14:14

Because it's a life skill, and hopefully, a very enjoyable one. I swim a mile most days, my day is not complete without a swim, and I'd love my children to reap the same rewards as I do.

Don't have any issue with the wee you mention, it's what chlorine is for.

lazylula · 27/01/2011 14:19

I was taught to swim by my mum, dh had swimming lessons and we disagreed over the need for lessons for our children. Ds1 now has swimming lessons and I have to say he loves them, so now that is my reason to keep them up. He even tried to insist this week that despite being up half the night before being sick, he was absolutely fine to go swimming. He is 5 and ds2 will be 3 in June and hopefully will start his lessons next November and will enjoy them as much.

Nevereatyellowsnow · 27/01/2011 14:20

I intend to teach my ds to swim as early as possible. Hes a very boisterous toddler who loves water and I think its important that he knows how to get himself to safety if he was to throw himself fall into a river or pool. I totally disagree with muminthecity's comment about mum and baby lessons, I take ds to them and we both really enjoy it. Hes not bothered at all by having water splashed on his face and I think the fact that hes confident in water at 15 months will mean that it will be easier to teach him to swim when hes older and swimming will be a fun healthy activity for us to enjoy together

Unrulysun · 27/01/2011 14:26

God I love swimming. Hampstead Ladies pond on a hot day; Tooting Bec Lido (97 metres long!) in the morning before the crowds get there; a quick dip off a shingle beach on the south coast when the current's running along the beach and you have to swim furiously to stay in one place...

I have missed it so much while pg and then not being able to get out much while dd is so little. This is my summer!

Lollypolly · 27/01/2011 14:27

It's brilliant exercise and opens up a whole new range of sport - scuba diving, water polo, windsurfing, waterskiing, surfing etc. You'll be safer around boats, jetties etc if you can swim.

We live in Asia and both my kids can swim like fish (aged 2 and 6). Pool parties are a regular occurrence (all kids can swim by about 4 or 5 here) and we swim every day. My 6 year old swims every week at school and both have weekly lessons outside school for technique.

Swimming is an essential life skill imho and although we are lucky to swim in a beautiful pool outside, I used to take DD1 swimming in the public chlorine pool in Scotland every week. Yes, we dodged hair on the floor and stood for ages under dripping showers after but we would still be going if we lived there now. I would rather my kids had swimming lessons than music, dance, football, martial arts, drawing, singing etc

OTheHugeManatee · 27/01/2011 14:28

It's one of those basic life skills, like being able to read and write, and ride a bike.

I hated swimming lessons when I was very small, though, and only really learned breast stroke. I ended up joining a swimming club in my teens and learned proper front crawl then.

madhairday · 27/01/2011 14:36

Niecie and Jenai, I also have a 10 yr old dyspraxic dc. She's been going to swimming lessons since she was a baby but after the last lot we've made the decision to stop. It's just too de-motivating for her to see all the children around her keep passing the course and going up, including her little brother, and her getting stuck. Just heartbreaking :(

She has however started running, long distance and cross country, and although her style is somewhat eccentric she can do it and keeps up well which is doing wonders for her confidence. It's just finding something like that that they can do.

Niecie · 27/01/2011 14:36

I would hardly lump reading and writing in with riding a bike or swimming. I haven't ridden a bike since I was 10 nor been swimming but they don't stop me functioning as an adult. I haven't done them as I have had no need to do either of them. I can't say the same for reading and writing.

Riding a bike doesn't even have the potential for saving your life like swimming.

Lets not get carried away.

begonyabampot · 27/01/2011 14:37

because it's fun. fun. fun - feels fantastic when you are confident in the water. And it might save your life or someone elses.

mustdash · 27/01/2011 14:41

YAB completely U end of.

Niecie · 27/01/2011 14:42

madhairday - you are right, it is heart breaking.

I am glad your DD has found her 'thing'. It is so hard finding something that works though, isn't it. There are only so many attempts at new things you can take when they are so often unsuccessful.

madhairday · 27/01/2011 17:49

I know Niecie. It is so difficult, because everything can be incredibly frustrating for them and they can feel 'behind' in, from using cutlery to riding a bike. dd finally mastered riding a bike this summer - so proud!!

How do you explain dyspraxia to your ds? She asks why she can't be like the other children :( We just say that some bits of her body are a little bit broken, and it's not her fault, it's just like other illnesses. Would like to explain better really, as she gets older it becomes more obvious that she struggles with stuff others can do so easily.

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