to feel I've wasted money on swimming lessons.

[MsColour]

DD7 had swimming lessons for 2 years. Yes, she can just about swim without any swimming aids but her technique is not good and she has lacked a lot of confidence. She spent a lot of time standing on the edge of the pool because she wouldn't jump in (which would have ticked off one of the things she needed to achieve to move to the next group up) and didn't like putting her face in the water. DS4 started lessons last year and watching him trying to learn in a group of up to 8 children with no-one correcting his technique. He still requires a lot of swimming aids.

So got to end of January and was due to renew their lessons but money was tight. So thought about it and decided that paying £5 each a week for them to swim across the pool 5-6 times in half an hour just wasn't worth it. Plus they were always missing lessons due to coughs, parties etc. I decided not to renew but instead I would make a point of always taking them on my weekends and extra in the holidays(they go to their dad EOW) which would work out cheaper and would be more quality family time. The pool I take them to is never to busy and also gets all the floats out for them to use. The children can be in the water for longer so we can have some time to practice their swimming technique and some time to play.

About a month in and I already feel the children's swimming and confidence is improving. DD's technique is much better just when she puts her mind to it and has been happier about putting her face in the water. She will quite happily jump in as she's doing it on her own terms, not just because someone else has told her to. DS is generally swimming horizontally not vertically like he was in his swimming lessons and is also much more confident in the water.

So AIBU to feel group swimming lessons were a bit of a waste of time?

Depends what you (and your child) want to get out of lessons - competent swimmer, competitive swimmer, or enough confidence and ability to not drown.

I bet its just age.

I would never have paid for two years swimming lessons like you.

I would expect the child to be floating and swimming much sooner than that.

however if the child isnt ready like other concepts then they are not ready, i suspect your childs age and knowledge has simply coincided.

All I can suggest if you go to lessons, is to look at the class size.

It stands to reason that less kids = more individual attention.

My ds started group lessons before he turned three and loves it.I cannot take him swimming extra and hes doing great and really progressing without extra swimming.The teachers do point out technique to him and although he cant constantly swim up and down for the half hour because the other children need their turn too he has a fab time practising dipping his face in and splashing his legs.I am pleased with what the instructors do,I think it all depends on the children in the group and teacher.

3.5 year old DS has always been awful when I've taken him swimming - clinging to me or the side, refusing to even try to kick or get his face wet. First group lesson with a firm teacher and he was in the water in arm bands and swimming across the pool. The lessons are quite fun at that age though.

I can imagine we'll do group lessons this year for general water confidence/getting the basics, and maybe some 1:1 or an intensive course when he's a bit older to get the hang of technique.

Find good lessons,if you are in Scotland Making Waves are great.
The instructors are in the water with the children until a certain age and it's all about teaching water confidence first.

Ds1 had lessons for about 6months aged 8 and then moved on to club swimming. He stopped this when he got to secondary school as he was bored. He swims like a fish.
Ds2 never wanted swimming lessons but he can "not drown" when in water and propel himself a few lengths.
Dd has never had lessons but swims like a fish.
We swim as a family and I try to help them improve their techniques.

We started DD when she was 18 months after a holiday when she enjoyed some baby 'lessons' in the pool. It's a parent and child session but now, just over a year later, she can kick well, is comfortable in the water, completely confident at jumping in, and can swim very short distances by herself using a noodle. The next stage up will be small group lessons with two instructors to six kids, which looks pretty well supported. We pay £9 per half hour but it is going really well.

Swimming lessons were exactly what we needed to stop neck-clinging, but I agree OP that once they can stay afloat without swimming aids 1:1 attention from a parent is way more useful than half an hour in a group with 8 other kids.

Totally depends on the child I suppose - my DS went to lessons from 6 months (those awful ones where the parents have to go in the water as well to start with ) and became a confident swimmer by 3 or 4 and really enjoyed it. I was happy to pay, the cost of the lessons meant he could swim 'free' the rest of the week which I felt was a bonus. I didn't feel I had the necessary skills to teach me and once we had got over the 'baby' lessons I was happy to sit and read whilst he had his lesson. Actually I remember that he used to have his lessons in the beginner pool so I did lengths myself during his lesson time. Gave me some exercise as well .

We stopped the lessons around age 10, he'd had enough by then.

For little ones (age 4 to 5) I would recommend group lessons should be no more than 6 children, with a teacher and at least one teaching assistant in the water.

Classes of 8 or 10 for that age means that the kids just won't get enough individual attention to help them progress.

I head years of lessons and still have crap technique.
DD and DS1 have had some lessons, quite sporadic especially for DS1, both have a better technique than me.

I think it really depends on who's teaching them.
I learnt with family and loved the water - it may be that the security of having mum with them helped your DCs.

My brother in law does swimming lessons, however he and his employees actively try to push the children to a good technique etc. and have enough staff on hand to offer one to one support for any children (or adults) that aren't progressing.

Swings and roundabout, but in your case YANBU ;p

A short course of private lessons achieves more. But group lessons have their place too. And are more affordable to do on an ongoing basis.

Some children do very well in group setting, especially the more capable children who can be spurred on by the accomplishments of others in the group.

Some children need private lessons or even just more time in the water having fun to make a breakthrough.

Group lessons didn't work for my 2. DD needs help with confidence and DS needs help with strokes. So I pay for them to have private lessons together. They have come on more in 3 lessons than they would in a whole term of group lessons so it is good value for money IMO. I pay £16 for half an hour for both of them. I also take them to a local pool once a week - it is a fun one with a lagoon style pool and wave machine etc so they have fun with swimming too. It helps a lot to go twice a week. Fingers crossed they will both be swimming well by the end of the year!

Depends on the child - DS has no interest in being taught to swim my myself or his dad, so he "needs" swimming lessons to keep him focussed. I also found that having paid for swimming lessons, this did guarantee the DC went once a week (the most they ever missed in one term was 1 lesson, think you must have been very unlucky)- we simply don't have time in our weekends to go every week, it would be about 1 week in 3 if we had to teach them ourselves. Plus the cost of 2 DC swimming lessons is about the same as a family swim, so we consider to be cost effective.

I think it depends hugely on the quality of the group lessons. My DDs were in group lessons from just shy of age 4 and they really progressed. Yes, DH had been taking them weekly for fun since they were babies and so they were happy in water to begin with, but seeing the teacher explain and demonstrate the components of stroke made a huge difference. Even in a group of 8 the teachers regularly got into the water to demonstrate and correct. Both my DDs could swim several lengths by age 6 using backstroke, breaststroke and front crawl. They could also dive in, pick up an object in 6 feet of water and swim under water. They were taught about streamlining, arm and leg technique and breathing.

Best of all, watching their lessons finally helped me work out how the heck you timed the breathing in front crawl so that I could do it myself at the ripe old age of 39. Group lessons can work really well if taught by someone who really knows what they are doing.

imo - Some kids do well in group lessons ( for any sport) and some don't, and that can be the same child at different stages in their development. Equally some kids learn skills well from their parents informal teaching and some don't, again this can be the same child at different stages.

Ime- my DS is currently very "coachable" in a number of sports and does well in group sessions, he wants to do what the coach is asking them to do and he can take on board the techniques they are explaining to him and get his body to "do" stuff. He has been in the same group as children who do not do well in a group or who struggle to change their technique ( get their body to "do" new stuff) and their being in a group makes it a much harder group to learn in ( and to coach).

I coach in one of DS's sports tho I try not to coach DS if I can avoid it .

YANBU at all. My 7 and 5 year old went for two years of swimming lessons and pretty much got nowhere. Neither can swim more than a few metres. Took them in on my own, turned out nobody had bothered to tell my 5 year old you're not supposed to breathe underwater - that was why she never liked putting her face in. No teacher had spotted that in two years. After 15 minutes once I told her to hold her breath she was doing handstands and somersaults. My 7 year old did loads better with me helping her directly too.

They've had several swimming teachers between them over the years, with different styles, and whilst I don't think the teachers are necessarily rubbish at all (and indeed plenty of children do seem to flourish with them) it's clear my DC work better with one on one.

As a last ditch attempt I sent them on "crash courses" this past half term with a half hour lesson every morning for the five days. They finished right about where they started, again, I don't blame the teacher. Bless them the DC tried, but they need more personal attention.

Now looking into private one on one somehow - I don't feel qualified to teach them properly. And besides, I have a two year old and am about to have another baby by ELCS in a few weeks - there's not a chance due to ratios I could go in the pool with them and nor would I want to with all four!!

Big group swimming lessons got DD into the water and gave her some water confidence.

Taking her to the pool myself and going on holidays where there was sea and a pool increased that confidence and her ability, but then she hit a level and stuck there.

I ended up paying more for smaller classes and now she is being taught technique and is improving again.

I'd love to teach ds myself, but that would mean shaving my legs/bikini line every week! On happy to pay £5 not to do that!

I had this OP. My ds2 was just not getting anywhere and stopped seeming to enjoy it. I found a teacher who would teach him one to one and he literally improved before my very eyes. It was amazing. It costs me £10 for half an hour rather than £5.50 which the group ones were but he's got 100% attention in that half hour rather than the 20% attention he had in the group so in the long run it's cheaper! I wouldn't have group lessons for a beginner again.

I couldn't afford to run one-to-one lessons for £10 for 30 minutes. Sounds like you have good deal there.

I think I must be lucky. The pool we use is free for under fives. Then if you sign your 5 year old child up for swimming lessons for £22 a month they can swim for free any other time. So we do both lessons and have a family session every week. The kids love it and all three are confident in the water which is our aim.

£10 for 1-1 is amazing value. When I looked into it they wanted over £20 per half hour. I pay £9 for a very small group lesson.