swimming leesons

[iloveswimming]

i have recently signed my child up for local lessons, she;s 3(pre-school) and i thought there would be someone in the water with the class helping them, there is no-one. The pool is 1metre deep so deep for little ones(only 1 out of the 8 can touch the bottom) and there are 8 of them in a class.
I find this crazy-if i go swimming with my other kids i need a friend or my DH to make the councils ratio policy of 2 children under 8yrs to 1 adult-yet at lessons there seems to be no 'nod' to this policy.
Its hard to watch as i'm paying good money for lessons, i'm frustrated , the instructor spends more time reining in the floaters than teaching, my daughter isn't 100% sold on swimming being fun.
I used to be a swimming instructor and club swimmer/helper so don't know if my expectations are from 'the olden days' but would like to know AIBU to expect someone to get in the water and help the children learn to swim and enjoy the water??
or at least change their entry policy so that i can take all my kids(with me in the water) swimming at once.

I just think it's better to take the kids swimming and show them what fun it is to be in the water.

I think most 3 year olds' heads are too big and their arms too weak to swim effectively (- not all of course). and they don't have the attention span for lessons so you are setting yourself up for failiure. (I know kids who refuse to go to lessons at all now becuase they hated it so much).

As for drowing, even if my 3 year old could swim, there is no way he'd be going in water on his own. I am only just letting my 8 year old do this.

I reckon pretty much every baby/toddler class/group I've ever been to is over priced and unnecessary. £12 I paid to take my two to Caterpillar Music on Thursday to bang a few drums and look at a few puppets, complete and utter waste of money.

And I also think that lessons from an early age sort of 'formalises' swimming and kind of takes the fun out of it somehow.

In my experience, kids larking about in the water with their parents and siblings...floating around with water wings, trying to chase inflatables etc...all adds to the fun and they don't actually know that they're learning valuable lessons like becoming confident enough to duck under the water, knowing their limits and so on.

When something's fun, kids are far more likely to want to do more of it and keep up with their siblings by learning to do it properly.

First, 8 children is too many for a class. I've had a class of four where I thought ds didn't get enough time swimming. And I wouldn't send young dcs to a class where the teacher didn't get in.

As for doing classes at all... Well some three year olds are ready to learn to swim, some might be better waiting. When my two year old fell in the pool she was able to tun around and pull herself out because that's what she had learnt at lessons.

DS1 made less progress in school swimming lessons than he does in the first 2 days of a holiday. Completely agree than mucking around is the best way to learn.

Sadly DS2 won't try and refuses lessons which I did consider for him as he's dyspraxic and finds the whole thing a struggle. He's very stubborn and I know I'd just be wasting money. Fortunately he's happy splashing around at the edge and hopefully at some point he'll venture in with me.

Does anyone else live in an area where people queue up from early morning to get kids onto swimming lessons? There's a shortage of lessons. It reminds me of the Next sales

I think swimming lessons are overpriced and really boring for the children. Ds has been having lessons for 4 years, at £5.50 per lesson we have spent well over £1,000 and his progress has been slow. Ds was confident from the word go, he was happy to put his head under the water and happy to jump in the deep end. He learned to swim without armbands within 9 months but since then his progress has been painfully slow. His stroke development is not good according to his instructors. I think that they are looking for talented potential competitive swimmers and that isn't ds. We just want him to be a confident safe swimmer.

We could pull him out of his lessons and dh could teach him but that would work out even more costly as it costs £5.00 for an adult swim. I also worry that dh wouldn't be able to teach ds effectively although I am sure it would be more fun as ds hates his lessons with a passion.

Shall we start a mumsnet rebellion? Of all the sacred cows of modern parenthood , the importance of swimming lessons is the most sacred. And it's Emperor's new clothes bullshit.

3 is very young for formal swimming lessons. Id be tempted to wait til child is 5 but take them swimming yourslef in the meantime. Both my DD are qualified as swimming teachers and the beginners classes always have someone in the water with them.

My mum taught us all to swim. I remember 4 of us (aged about 3,4,5 and 6) all bobbing around her in the local pool. Wouldn't be allowed to do that nowadays!

My DD had a bad experience at her first swimming lesson run by our local pool, she could'nt touch the bottom of the pool as well, and when the children were told to swim from one side of the pool to other she got half way and went under, she was clearly panicking, I told the lifeguard to go in after her, he was reluctant to do so as he had shorts and a top on, I said if you don't bloody go in I will fully clothed, he went in the end, It scared her so much, the person taken the lesson saw what was going on but did nothing I was furious! I complained and cancelled all further lessons, we then found a private pool which we hired for £15 on a Sunday for an hour and we all went as a family, she soon got her confidence back, they also did swimming lesson's in the week and the groups were alot smaller, she is now a very good swimmer.

Both of my dds attend classes.

Where they go when children start in teaching pool there is always a teacher in the pool at all times.

When they move over to the big pool there is also always a teacher in the pool.

Now they are in the deep end and much more confident swimmers I would say the teachers are in the pool 50% of the time.

My DS is the same age and has swimming lessons. Someone is in the water with them. The ratio is 1:6 and after two terms teaching he can now swim about 15 foot unaided. I really wasn't expecting much at the start but am so glad he does the lessons now. They have so much fun too.

havent read whole thread--but my dd used to go for lessons a few years ago...i remember the instructor saying some policy or another was changing...and they would no longer be allowed in the water...cant remember the reason why now...was it so they had a better view of all the kids..

eggs you rented a pool every week to teach your dc to swim???

I want my kids to have lessons because A) they enjoy them B) so they get into the important routine of taking exercise regularly (which hopefully will continue into adulthood) C) swimming is a useful skill to have

we have a great local pool. They do a toddler splash where kids go in with mum and it is a sort of semi structured lesson. Going swimming on your own is just as good, but they like having lots of other kids their age around.

They won't take them into lessons as such til 4-5. This is because the way they teach the group is suited to that age I think.

At the 4-5 group there are 7 kids, one instructor on the side, one life guard on side and one instructor in the water. The one my dd goes too is at a time when there are no other lesons in pool so very quiet and calm. Teachers voice attitude and approach is key I think, our teacher is lovely.

All my 3 have learnt to swim on holiday, messing around in a pool and then choosing to take their arm bands off and mess around. They all hit actual swimming at around 4 years. I agree with those who say you don't need lessons, BUT my 3 are all pretty strong in the water (older 2 can do several lengths easily) very water confident, diving to the bottom etc. But their stroke skills are rubbish. dd1 does a glorified doggy paddle, she can keep it up for hours, but she really is hopeless at breast stroke, front crawl etc. I did my swimming teachers qualification and can teach swimming, but my dc refuse to take any swimming instruction from me at all. So swimming lessons it is. I have no intention of doing it for long, Ds is reluctant anyway, so he has been told that once I am satisfied he can do 20 m well in each of the strokes he can stop. He is making quick progress!

MrDobalina, the pool we hired every Sunday for an hour was in part of a house where the owners used to hire it out for pool parties, family swimming sessions and a couple of days a week after school they had a qualified swimming instructor from the local school who use to give lesson's. The couple ran it as a buisness along with some other things.

DD (turned 5 at the end of Aug) has been doing lessons for the last 12wk and the instructor is in the water with them, with a lifeguard at the side. She is down to using a float, or very deflated armbands and appears to be making excellent progress. The lesson ratio is 1:8.

Doesn't anyone ever think "hang on, I've been paying megabucks for ages and my child still can't swim?"

In my day we went swimming with school all through primary once a week

Nowadays they get one terms worth in year 4 as the curriculum insists

It's crap

Seeker - mine can swim
They learn the different strokes
They also have fun
And get some exercise
I don't pay for ballet or dance classes so it's worth the money for us

when they are very little, lessons are more about water confidence than actual swimming. Getting their faces in the water and enjoying the feel of the water, feeling a sense of trust in their instructor.

I think its important to teach them confidence (so they do not panic) and how to float (so if they get in trouble they can starfish) and how to doggy paddle to the side of the pool.

I found that lessons held by the pool themselves were not good - my son made zero progress until he moved to a club teaching scheme. Within 3 weeks, he was moved 3 levels. I think the pool lessons were keeping him down because they didnt have capacity in higher level classes , so they kept him in level 1. The club have an interest in getting kids swimming at higher levels (not just maximising revenue through endless lessons at the lower end). Club swimming also tends to have a better staff:child ratio (at ours its usually 1:4 in the water;) utilising older swimmers as pool helpers.

Seeker - no I think 'this is money well spent, my DD 2.9 is water confident, ha a fab time on holiday because of it''. She loves her fun lessons, can swim down and pick thing up off the bottom, can jump
In turn around and swim back to the The side and hold on and can swim short distances by herself. I wouldn't have the first clue how to get her to do those things herself.

But why do you need to have swimming lessons to instil water confidence? Unless, obviously, neither parent is water confident- that's different. But for most people, a Sunday afternoon trip to the pool is more fun for everyone, cheaper, and dispels this myth that swimming lessons are an essential part of the modern child's life.

I used to take pre school DS1 swimming with me, and one half of the pool would often be sectioned off for swimming lessons. My DS would be messing about, playing, having fun etc, and he used to look at the kids being shouted at to swim up and down and say he never wanted lessons because it didn't look much fun.

Then along came DS2, and being a single parent I have found it hard to take them both swimming, so it doesn't happen very often.

DS1 goes swimming at school now, and sadly he finds himself surrounded by kids who've been having swimming lessons since they were toddlers. So at 7 he's the worst swimmer in his class, which makes him sad.

I try to take him when I can, but it's hard to fit it in with everything else, and it spoils the fun if we're having to do it rather than going because we just want to.

I hate the culture of formalising activities that should just be fun. When I was 7 and we went swimming with school, none of us had had lessons, so we all swam with floats and had fun and felt equal. There seems to be an obsession these days with pushing kids so that they're ahead of their peers from a early age. I remember being told to send my child to a particular pre school because "they'll teach him to read before he starts school, so he'll be ahead of all the others in reception"!

I think water confidence is important, but I don't think it needs to be in a formal setting at such a young age.

Ds has swimming lessons every week at school where there's two teachers in the water and one on the side!

He also has lessons outside of school but in his group there isn't a teacher in with him. There is with the younger, less abled though.

worra I'm 44 and I had swimming lessons outside of school, as did most of my friends. I can't even remember going swimming with school until late juniors!

seeker I think swimming lessons are as important as learning to read. Well no quite as much but nearly.