If your child is an excellent swimmer, how did you get there?

[ABakersDozen]

Just that really. My child is very slow to swim. I am so keen for him to learn as it is a life skill and could save his life. He has no fear of the water, just not really getting it yet.

Children in his class (Y2) are swimming 100 metres! If you have a child swimming to this level, what did it take?

Did you start them swimming as babies, do they have a weekly lesson, one to one coaching (with you or a teacher), do you swim religiously even in school holidays? Did you do other activities to work on 'core strength'? I have friends with DD's who say gymnastics has helped with swimming because they have strengthened their core. Am I just not putting enough thought and effort into this?!

Actually, yes it might. It will give you the chance to get up above water and possibly float - swimming lessons don't just teach you to swim widths. Any extra time could save your life.

DS is almost 7 and we've recently started 1-1 lessons. He's being evaluated for ADHD, has motor planning issues, low muscle tone and there's no way that he would learn from group lessons. At times you have to physically put him in the position you want him in. He takes a long time to develop "muscle memory" but once he gets something, he's got it. He's going twice/week and in week two he can hold his breath underwater for several seconds & blow bubbles. He's working on kicking with straight legs and floating on his back.

Honestly, it's going to be a long time before he's anywhere near a competent swimmer but he loves the water and I'd love to be able to take him to the pool and various supercool water parks where we live without having to worry about catching him or holding him up.

If you have the money, 1-1 is the way to go.

I have taken all my DC swimming since they were babies, and after a bath have filled the tub up with cooler water so they could 'swim' in that too.
They've all had swimming lessons from being 3-4, but stopped once they could swim and do proper strokes. They have all gone with school at various ages.
I think swimming is a great life skill, wherever in the world you are there is either a pool, lake or sea.

My DS is 5yo and has got his 100m badge, he can now swim easily 300m. He has 3 swimming lessons a week and I take him on Saturday too, just for swimming/fun.

He started swimming when he was 2yo.

Took both ours swimming from 6 weeks old. We have a very warm LA heated pool so we went once a week and just floated about as they splashed around. Then also swimming lessons as soon as they were ready - aged about 3? Normal group lessons.
Both very good swimmers by 6, all badges done by 8 or so.

Both did/do other sports as well, so stopped regular swimming at the end of Primary school.

All children are different, Bakers. I started my own two from a very early age, they had the same lessons, often the same teacher, for the same amount of time. DD was always very controlled and neat, like a little mermaid in the water (she is now a swimming teacher herself). DS is a good swimmer, but it took him longer to learn some strokes - breaststroke he still struggles with. He was/still is like a crazy frog in the water, arms and legs all over the place, but can swim very well, nevertheless.

They just absorbed instructions and learned from their lessons very differently. Keep up with your children's lessons for as long as it takes. They will be able to swim at the end of it, no doubt about it.

Weekly swimming lessons for years!

@CrazyTights:
no, I mean 5000 metres. School couldn't get it right in their Celebrations notices either only took 3 tries telling them There were 2 x 8yr olds who did 4k swim on the same night. That's even more impressive. Don't know if they sobbed hysterically in their first lessons, though

(Total aside) Unfortunately in UK there are no (few?) long distance indoor competitions; 400metres is furthest any clubs do. You have to go for outdoor events to do 1-4km competitions, and most of those are other side of country from us.

I think all children are different but it is important to learn how to swim and I consider it a life skill.

My eldest DD (12) is a club swimmer - beautiful to watch, good at all strokes but not fast. DS (10) swims for club also and is not nearly so graceful but is fast and always wins medals at galas (much to DD disgust!!). My 7year old is in the club and is confident and learning strokes properly and my 5year old is unlike any of the others and comes out of the pool with not a splash on her face and perfect hair - I thought as she has spent most of her life sitting poolside watching older ones she would just dive in lol but she is not keen - my main aim with her is for her to gain confidence and see it as fun.

My ds was quite a slow learner. I took him swimming once and he was terrified so I left it. Then he went with his childminder when he was about 5 and liked it, so I decided to strike while the iron was hot. Fortunately my local leisure centre, which usually has a huge waiting list, had a new class starting and so he started at Easter of reception year. It took him a while to make real progress as the class sizes were rather large and some of the kids (ds included at times) messed around quite a bit while waiting for the next thing. He had one lesson a week and from time to time has been able to go in the pool every day while we've been on holiday. He's also done the odd intensive course during the school holidays eg to concentrate on breast stroke or to learn to dive.

We stuck with it - some teachers were better than others, and as he got older, progress was faster as he and the other kids paid more attention and he saw the point. He was confident in the water even though his stroke technique needed work but that improved as well. He did his ASA silver and gold awards in the autumn term of Y7 and now just goes along each Friday evening really just to keep fit.

I have spent the past 13 years sitting at swimming pools whilst DD1 and now DD2 did competitive swimming. Both took to it like a duck to water and DD1 got her 3K distance badge aged 7. She ended up going to the national championships 4 years ago. She is a natural and loves it. DS meanwhile (the middle child) absolutely hates the water, took ages to learn to swim and was not a pretty sight to watch. As soon as he could he stopped lessons.

All children are different. But from what I have seen some children just have a good 'feel' for the water - their bodies can glide through it easily and swimming is not a chore for them; they love it. Some children have naturally larger lungs and this gives them great buoyancy which helps with skill and speed.

DD1 (18) is now a part time swimming teacher (alongside doing A levels and swim training 10 hours per week) and she gets into the water with the younger children during the lesson. It gives her a huge kick to see a nervous child gain in confidence and suddenly produce a 'swim'. A lot of the parents ask her for private lessons (which she can't do - we don't have a private pool!) because she has a natural affinity with young children and they seem to progress well with her.

So, OP, do not worry, your DS will find his level and that may not be at the same level as his classmates who have different physiques and genes. Check that he has an engaged and empathetic teacher whom he trusts and wants to please. That will make a huge difference.

We have used a mixture of two different swimming schemes and 1-2-1 lessons. DD1 did fine on the normal "stages" with group lessons. DS started in the stages, was an embarrassment to watch, then moved to a different scheme where they started with breastroke instead of crawl/doggy paddle. This suited him a lot better. After we moved, he did a few months of 1-2-1 before rejoining the "stages" scheme to plug in gaps between the two schemes. DD2 was stuck on stage 1 for three years. She is a competent swimmer (lengths!) with an unorthodox underwater-only technique. She now has 1-2-1 and I'm hoping that she can rejoin the group lessons in a few stages time once we have some more official strokes.

They are all different, and I think that if something isn't working then it's a bit silly to keep on doing it the same way.

As a family we love swimming. Ds1 (4.5) and ds2 (2.5) are like little fish, they've had weekly lessons since a few weeks old and we often take them for fun at the weekend, too. I have no idea how far Ds1 could actually swim as we've never tested him on distance, but quite a way I imagine as he's very confident. Ds2 can do a good few metres - underwater though, he needs to learn to come up and breathe! :) ds3 due in a few weeks and I can't wait to get him in the water too.

I just love that they love being in the water and are happy - it's the best way to spend a few hours!

Started aged 7. 20 weeks of half an hour sessions. 1 tutor to two children (DS and his friend). Could swim lengths easily after 20 sessions. Last year after 1:2 lessons moved into normal length swimming class.

The 1-2 lessons probably saved us a fortune and saved hours of sitting by the pool side. One normal class lesson can cost £4.50/£5.00 but if taking turns a starter swimmer taking turns might only get 5 minutes of direct tuition. A 1-2 class works out at £8/9 a head and the improvements are often drastic week to week.

family I know who are good swimmers have regular lessons but also have lots of fun activities in pools. On the weekend they are often wanting to go to the swimming inflatable sessions. They are then having to do lots of swimming without really thinking they are swimming. To them they are just playing around with inflatables? I think most pools do this at some stage at the weekend so worth trying that?

Yes. We like swimming in our family, but I have done weekly lessons with my 4 for years and years.

I think it is important to persevere and get them swimming nicely. Lots of kids give up when they can swim a length or two, but it is a fantastic sport, and if you know how to swim well you can still do it in your 90s.

My son is severely dyslexic and it has taken him 10 times longer than my other kids. He finds procedural learning really tricky. Not a lot of swimming teachers understand that.

7 is quite young to be swimming 100m. Don't feel pressured. The core strength will come.

depends on natural ability and 'floatiness'

ds2 is too skinny to float easily. he has had exactly the same no of lessons as the others for years but is still crap

ds1 started age 6 and went right thro to level 10 and gold by age 9. he is a natural

dd is in between. once a week lessons from reception n now level 6 after 3 years

DD (7) is a good swimmer (ASA 8). Our house backs onto a canal so we figured that it was a priority to start early. We did baby-swimming from about 3-15 months, then just fun swimming as a family until she was about 4. Nowadays, alongside a 30 minutes lesson she has 7 hours of other sports (gym/ballet etc). She has great core strength but, more importantly, she loves being in the water. She definitely struggled with floating until recently (but wasn't too bothered bobby under water).

What made a massive difference to DD's progress was how teachers described what to do. She (still) finds it tricky to have somebody describe what needs to change versus getting hold of her arm/leg and showing her how it should feel. This is something missing from a lot of lessons once the kids can doggy paddle.

We've probably had about 10 one to one lessons in the past year or 2 with former competitive swimmers who just happened to run a swim school near where we lived for a while. The progress after each lesson was amazing (and we'd be back with them in a flash if we lived nearby).

Hope this helps

Being an excellent swimmer is a combination of things. My cousin's kids are excellent (eldest two competing at national level), they have a combination of genetics, coaching, lots of practice and family support. Their DF and GP were both good club swimmers and so the kids were swimming a lot from a very young age and worked their way through the local swimming classes and clubs. They are all super well-balanced hard-working kids and have a lot of family support (lots of family holidays are to Galas and swimming trials all over the country) which helps as well. They are all skinny rakes so not convinced it's a case of skinny kids can't swim.

My DC are still too young to be considered excellent but they are definitely improving at the local classes. We're just emphasising that the more they practice the better they get, it does go in stops and starts. Both DDs have stuck at some levels for a long time then suddenly improved a lot and found the next level easy. It's a hard skill to learn and some kids might find the early stages easier, that doesn't mean that will always be the case, my cousin's best swimmer was not the best swimmer until about 1-2 years ago when he suddenly improved massively.

My kids are fantastic swimmers, because nearly every holiday we take them on involves daily swimming. It's how often you go that determines your swimming ability when young, and whether you are having fun doing it.

Honestly, one to one private lessons are worth every penny. Even if it's just four or five times. It got my very reluctant DS to swim...there was nowhere to hide, so to speak.

(Remembers VERY moving moment when DS swam his first "length", cheered on by lovely coach. A large group of elderly ladies doing aquafit cleared a path for him and joined in the cheer!). Sniff....

Ds2 took to it naturally when he started and loves it. He's only five but goes to a class older children and is often asked to show how he does it.

We haven't done anything differently really, just started taking him to the pool at age 3 and he asked to go 2 or 3 times a week.

Dd1 has swum 200m+ in lessons (not got the badge yet but she can do it!) and is working toward ASA Stage 6. She's 7 and a bit. She's the youngest in hee class. I wouldn't say she's amazing but takes direction well so does progress. She was moaning to quit but lately seems to want tons of badges so wants to carry on.

Dd1 just 4 can swim 10m unaided (sculling on her back - teacher won't give the badge until she "demonstrates over-arm recovery).

Regular lessons for both from the age of three with family fun swimming regularly on top. Both prefer to swim than the play centre which is fine by me!

DD2 just 4, sorry dd1 I know you're 7!!!