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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to cancel dds swimming lessons to pay for stage school?

111 replies

smuggler · 14/01/2014 15:01

Dd is 7 and desperate to start stage school but it's extremely expensive. She's been having swimming lessons for around a year. She's always been extremely water confident, she can swim a length of a full size pool but hasn't got the technique of the strokes quite right. She finds swimming lessons boring and isn't really progressing. I always thought I'd continue with them until she passed all stages so I could be sure she was safe around water. But if she carries on swimming I can't afford stage school. Wibu to swap the activities?

OP posts:

Sammie101 · 14/01/2014 15:04

If she doesn't enjoy it and isn't progressing I don't see any point in continuing it. If she will enjoy stage school then that's money much better invested

IAmNotAMindReader · 14/01/2014 15:06

I'd continue with the swimming until she has passed all the stages then swap it for stage school. In the meantime are there any local theatre groups etc which she can participate in to get a taste or classes which can be taken on a more casual basis before making the full commitment of a stage school.
Swimming is an important life skill to learn.

LegoStillSavesMyLife · 14/01/2014 15:07

Tell he she can quit Swimming and do stage school when she has got to stage 7. That should concentrate the mind beautifully on learning to swim. And then she can do stage school afterwards.

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 14/01/2014 15:07

Yeah, I don't see why she can't give up swimming, she is obviously safe in the water and it sounds like she will enjoy stage school a lot more. :)

morethanpotatoprints · 14/01/2014 15:10

Swimming lessons are really not necessary, all my 3 dc learned how to swim on holidays and also schools will keep you going to receive your money every week.
My dd loves music but used to dance a lot. No way would I have stopped any classes for swimming.

Original poster

smuggler · 14/01/2014 15:13

I like that plan Lego - she's in stage 6 now but on the assessment sheet at the end of last term she hardly ticked any boxes so don't think she'll pass this term either despite me knowing she can do most of it. She'd probably progress faster elsewhere as I think the teaching quality isn't great but it's twice as expensive

OP posts:

KiwiBanana · 14/01/2014 15:13

I'd go with Legos idea. I suppose it all depends on how important you feel being confident and able in the water is.

Justforlaughs · 14/01/2014 15:15

I'd drop the swimming for something she will enjoy more.

Picturesinthefirelight · 14/01/2014 15:16

My dd never did swimming lessons.

She's now at full time stage school!

Original poster

smuggler · 14/01/2014 15:17

I agree swimming is a life skill but if she's safe and confident surely that's the most important thing?

OP posts:

TippiShagpile · 14/01/2014 15:18

Agree with Lego. My dc had to get to level 7 before the lessons stopped. Level 7 is hard and there's a lot of slogging up and down the pool for 45 minutes at a time but if she knows there's something in it for her at the end it might just give her the incentive she needs!

Tiredemma · 14/01/2014 15:19

I would.

My DS has been at stage school since he was 6 (now 10)

He had basic swimming lessons at school and I take him about every two weeks- he is a confident swimmer.

LastingLight · 14/01/2014 15:21

It sounds as if she is a confident swimmer and safe in the water. If that was your goal with swimming lessons then by all means stop it and let her do something she will enjoy more.

TwoCatsInTheYard · 14/01/2014 15:24

Stage 6 is a pretty good level for a 7 year old isn't it? She will probably progress fairly slowly simply because she is quite young.

You could give swimming lessons a miss for a while and take up lessons in a year or two when she will go up through the levels quicker as she is bigger and stronger.

ApplesinmyPocket · 14/01/2014 15:37

Of course swap them! she has learned to swim and is water confident, job done.

Don't underestimate the importance of a child showing enthusiasm for an activity. I found mine progressed very much faster and got much more out of the things theychose, that they enjoyed, than anything I chose for them.

MomOfTwoGirls2 · 14/01/2014 15:49

I would swap them too. I did this with my girls at a similar age. They were at a similar stage in swimming to your DD. They were safe and had lots of fun in the pool during summer holidays.

Both get several weeks swimming lessons in school each year. Dd2 has just returned to regular swimming lessons after a 2.5 year break.

Tinkertaylor1 · 14/01/2014 15:54

As a swimming teacher I would say carry on. What stage system are you using as the frame we use! stage six is more than competent in all stokes possibly doing 200 m?

I would not quit because she can do a length , quite weak it sounds . Some people a forced in to a false security because they 'think' they can swim. If she got caught in the tide ect later on she would struggle. as I did myself on holiday

Change teacher if she us bored

Tinkertaylor1 · 14/01/2014 15:59

apple do not underestimate the need for anybody to be a competent swimmer.

It annoys me do much when people think ' pah, they can do a length !that's it!' Then go on holiday and say ' oh yes dd is a stong swimmer " they are not!

Why any one would not want their child to be a strong swimmer to save their lives is beyond me. It's not actually a little hobby! If you can't swim - you drown! Dead.

WilsonFrickett · 14/01/2014 16:24

I agree with pp, get to the level you want her to achieve and then let her change.

Stage School is very expensive. But there may well be local classes around which are a lot cheaper too, so worth investigating. The 'names' do charge a lot and groups based at community theatres are often loads better.

Starballbunny · 14/01/2014 16:51

My two swim like fish, but at around your DDs age DD2 messed about in lessons. It wouldn't have been the end of the world if she had stopped. She'd have carried on swimming at school and weekends and learnt almost as much.

We carried on because DD1 was still doing lessons and we met friends at the pool so had playmates and grown up conversation.

curlew · 14/01/2014 16:54

Do you live next to a river, a canal or the sea? Do you have an unfenced swimming pool? No?

Then why does she need to swim any better than she can already?

mrsjay · 14/01/2014 16:55

your dd might get swimming lessons at school you said she is confident and can swim I think i would stop them and send her to something she enjoys and wants to do does she need to be at a certain level is she likely to be swimmig without an adult anytime soon ddd does drama workshops sh e loves them stage school was too showy for her was a bit to much jazz hands but it helps them to grow in confidence and it is something for them to enjoy

Joysmum · 14/01/2014 16:56

Given where we live, and the fact that I nearly drowned as a child, my DD was always going to go to swimming lessons. She was swimming a length at 4 years old and I do not consider that to be strong enough to then stop as having gained the required level of life skill.

I'd follow Lego's suggestion. Concentrate her mind on the swimming to earn the stage school lessons.

5Foot5 · 14/01/2014 17:04

Why any one would not want their child to be a strong swimmer to save their lives is beyond me. It's not actually a little hobby! If you can't swim - you drown! Dead.

Well only if you get in the situation where you need to be a strong swimmer to save your life!

I can't swim, not really, I always hated being in the water. Yet I have somehow managed to live to the age of 51 and not been in any danger of drowning.

OK, so I might one day be in a boat that capsizes and yes then I will be laughing on the other side of my face - but the chances are very slim.

mrsjay · 14/01/2014 17:25

i cant swim that well i have never drowned or fell in water I think the ops dd is a strong enough swimmer and anyway anybody can drown doesnt matter how good or grade your swimming is

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