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Original poster

To think that swimming lessons for babies are stupidly expensive??

77 replies

Reddottys12 · 15/01/2015 22:02

I want my 5 month old DS to start swimming with his dad but am shocked at the cost of lessons! The cheapest I've found was £130 for 10 lessons.

Necessary or can we just take him for a muck about in a heated pool ourselves?

OP posts:
SASASI · 15/01/2015 22:32

£11 per 30mins, must be block booked in 6 weeks sessions.
The most expensive baby thing we do but we really enjoy it.

I understand why they are expensive but I still don't like paying it!
YANBU

MrsMook · 15/01/2015 22:35

My two started at about 5 months at a council pool which is £18 each a month. Taking two on my own is only just becoming viable now my small 4 year old can stand in standard depth pool, so realistically individual lessons has been the only way to take them. We all enjoy it. I'm not expecting any long term benefits other than early water confidence.

I couldn't stomach £13 per lesson though.

Gawjushun · 15/01/2015 22:37

They have two baby swimming groups in my town. £5 a session. Nice, but let's face it, mostly for the parents to be social and brag about how their 3 month old can already swim.

Only one course for toddlers. Costs twice as much and is at a silly time of the week. Booked up weeks in advance. Guess I'll have to teach him the old fashioned way; throw him in the deep end and let him figure it out. Wink

museumum · 15/01/2015 22:43

It's the highlight of my week - ds and I love it. Started at 3mo and now he's 16mo.

He's skinny and still can't really tolerate the council pool for half an hour without a full wetsuit, private classes are in very warm hotel or hydrotherapy pools.

If you're not bothered then don't go, but it's not a rip off if you love doing it.

Norfolkandchance1234 · 15/01/2015 23:16

Expensive and as it turns out a total waste of time and completely pointless.

Shattered2014 · 15/01/2015 23:28

Totally unnecessary to have lessons as it is all about enjoying the experience and feeling happy & confident in the water. Doesn't really matter much what you do with them in the water although some people feel happier in a group session with other parents.

Quite often the council run sessions are on a par with the cost of just going swimming anyway. The same is true for children's lessons for the older ones.

ReallyTired · 16/01/2015 00:54

Swimming lessons are a waste of money before a child is old enough to follow instructions. Dd started swimming lessons at 3 and half years old and she caught up with children who have had baby swim lessons really quickly.

I think with babies the risk of colds and ear infection outweigh the benefits of regular swimming lessons. Babies are happy to splash about with parents.

Theboodythatrocked · 16/01/2015 01:04

Mine couid easily do lengths at 5 and we taught them.

However we did have lessons for them aged 12/13 to teach breathing techniques and style.

Baby lessons are not teaching your child diddly squat and nothing you couldn't teach up to the age of 10 but if you like it why not.

However I always felt a bit sad for the 3/4/5/ year olds holding floats and kicking a class while the parents sat in the side chatting.

Far more fun getting in with them and playing sharks and tig!

They learn to swim best with parents.

butterfliesinmytummy · 16/01/2015 01:08

I am a swimming teacher and used to teach infant swimming from about 5 months old. Actually, I didn't teach swimming at all at that age, but water familiarization and confidence. I can have 18 month old kids independent in the water, able to swim underwater etc and the familiarization lesson are a good basis for that, and can avoid fears of water later in life. Your dc will sleep like a log afterwards and it's a great way to meet other parents and spend time doing something with a little one, but like all classes for under
1s, it's got nothing to do with skill acquisition, rather interaction, confidence and a chance for parents to meet up. Look on it as an alternative to music or other "classes". The water confidence stuff can be done in a bath or shower or the pool by yourselves. Google Laurie Lawrence, an Aussie ex olympic swim trainer turned baby water confidence expert when his grandchild was born. He has lots of tips and videos.....

LemonDrizzleTwunt · 16/01/2015 01:16

Teach him this Smile

ReallyTired · 16/01/2015 02:23

Not all parents can swim or have the confidence to teach swimming. I find that my children want yo play rather than learn when I take them swimming.

sugarman · 16/01/2015 03:08

Absolutely a waste of money unless you get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Babies are not physically capable of swimming. Four is quite early enough and even then some children, boys in particular, are still physically incapable if lifting their arms to perform a full stroke. So you might as well wait, they learn so quicky at 5, 6.

Romeorodriguez · 16/01/2015 04:03

I did it with my firstborn from weeks old. They saw me coming. We just took number 2 with us and he was the one swimming unaided at age 2.

sanityisamyth · 16/01/2015 06:10

I take my 1 yo son for swimming lessons and have done since he was 6 weeks. They learn water safety (he has been able to hold on to the pool rail unaided for 4 months - useful in case he ever falls in by accident), learning to kick and dive. He can hold his breath underwater so he's much safer. You can't teach this by taking a baby to a pool to "muck about". £13 a lesson is good value for an appropriate pool and specialist instruction.

spidey66 · 16/01/2015 06:58

I'm not a mother, but surely they can only learn something like swimming if they can remember what happened last week and then add onto it? 5 months seems a bit early for that skill.

My 4 year old niece loves swimming but it's only really now she'd benefit from structured lessons. Until now, my sister's taken her weekly but it's really just playing and getting her confident in the water.

Lonecatwithkitten · 16/01/2015 07:09

I never did baby swimming classes as I was back at full time work when DD was 3months.
She started proper swimming lessons and could swim all four strokes 'legally' by the time she was 7.
Not going didn't hold her back in any way.

QTPie · 16/01/2015 08:13

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

Bunnyjo · 16/01/2015 08:21

I never did any baby swimming lessons with either DC.

DD (7yo) started swimming lessons just before her 5th birthday and is now ASA stage 8 and can swim over 1300m without stopping. She is s very strong and competent swimmer and would like to start squad swimming soon.

DS (3yo) is finishing his first block of ASA stage 1 swimming lessons and about to move into stage 2.

I think if it's something you want to do with your DC then fine; if you both enjoy it and you can afford it then I'm sure it's a great activity. However, I would caution against thinking that it will mean your DC is a much better swimmer as they get older, as I don't think that is necessarily the case.

soverylucky · 16/01/2015 08:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

PicaK · 16/01/2015 08:25

The classes teach you how to be confident with your baby in the water - if you don't need this they're a waste of money if you're a nervous swimmer like me they're brilliant. I still can't put my face in water so it was worth all the money in the world for my ds to have complete water confidence. Plus it was lovely and warm.

Professormoriarty · 16/01/2015 08:31

We took our ds to a baby swimming class for the social aspect and due to the fact I can't swim at the moment due to an accident and my dh is a very poor swimmer it would be the only way my ds could safely be in the pool. He and my dh enjoy it but it is hugely expensive and I'm not sure we could afford it for two. We haven't opted for any of the photography sessions which can run into hundreds of pounds!

skylark2 · 16/01/2015 08:31

Our local pool had mum and baby swimming time. No teacher, but you were guaranteed no bigger kids / young adults shrieking about and splashing.

I'm a rubbish swimmer and can't put my face in the water either, but that doesn't matter - just stand in the shallow end with them!

MrTumblesBavarianFanbase · 16/01/2015 08:33

If you have unlimited money they're probably nice, but there not necessary (perhaps unless you live somewhere with a high risk of drowning, like a part of Australia or the USA where lots of people have pools, or right by a lake...)

If you take them to the pool yourself semi regularly you can just play and that'll mean they aren't frightened of water. They can properly learn to swim from age 4, in a few weeks, if you do intensive lessons (my big 2 did a 10 week course with 3 lessons a week at 4.5 and could swim 25 meters at the end, as well as a few other things like jump in, retrieve a driving ring from water shoulder deep on them, required for the end of course badge) without having do one any kind of baby swimming or lessons before that. Youngest will dothe same at 4.5

There is also a nice Usbourn Teach Your Child To Swim book with lots of sensible advice - excellent if your DHcan take your DC swimming 1:1 once a week (and tthere's also early stuff like playing splashing games in the bath before getting face wet in the pool in the book).

bruffin · 16/01/2015 08:43

How can you teach a 5 month old to swim?! People pay for this?
Because its fun and it was the best "baby" group i did with my little ones, they loved it and carried on having lessons until they were teenagers and got their bronze medallions and then onto their NPLQ. They teach babies to automatically turn and grab for the side when they jump into the water. To hold their breath under water etc and basically have confidence in the water. Its panicking underwater that causes drowning. I dont regret a penny of the thousands of pounds i probably spent on swimming lessons over the last 20 years.

But £130 is ridiculous price, they would be about £70 for 10 lessons at our local pool, the same as all the other children and adult classes.

treeshine · 16/01/2015 08:50

We really love our baby lessons and if you can afford it are great fun and help to teach a great skill. My eldest got her 5 meter badge at 2 and now at 3 has got her 10 meter badge. My youngest has just turned 1 and has just started to swim a short distance unaided.

We also made some great friends through our classes. Have taken both of mine from 7 weeks. Sure you could just take your kid to the local pool, but I personally didn't have the skill or confidence to teach them myself. Each to their own though :-)