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Original poster

Are pre school swimming lessons worth the huge expense?

83 replies

upwardsandonwards33 · 13/03/2017 11:33

I need to make a decision about whether I renew for next term for two dc. It will be to the tune of £300 for the term. DD1 is 4 and is a bit nervous in the pool. DD2 likes water but I think she has little understanding and doesn't always follow instructions e.g kick your legs.
DH goes in the pool with them (consecutive lessons) whilst I dry and dress the girls and don't have to worry about having fanjo tidied up

When did your dc learn to swim? I didn't learn to swim in the swimming lessons we went to at school as had horrid shouty instructors. Am still not a confident swimmer. So want to get it right for dc but what worked for you?

OP posts:
Doowappydoo · 13/03/2017 12:38

I did pre school lessons and I wish I hadn't bothered -neither of mine enjoyed them and I don't think it made any difference - I stopped in the end and they both started to "get" swimming aged 7 and are now both good but until then I just don't think they were ready. If I had my time again I would just take them myself and start lessons at 6ish. I know of a few children who are brilliant swimmers in late primary who didn't start to learn until 6/7.

Agree that there are some children who swim very early and love it but unless they really enjoy it and money isn't an issue I would be inclined to stop.

Morphene · 13/03/2017 12:46

DD wouldn't have tolerated the lessons (still won't) so we just went every week to mess around and have fun. She could swim a 25m length by 4 yo and is basically competent in 3 different strokes aged 5 yo.

It has probably cost us around 30 quid a month, and of course my time on a Sunday :)

GieryFas · 13/03/2017 12:49

I'd leave it, then do one of those 'crash courses' in the summer, where they have half an hour lesson every day for a week. If they make progress, then fine. If not, they're not ready and try another crash course at Easter / next summer, and see then. I found it was a really good (and relatively cheap) way to work out if the child was both willing and able to learn.

In the meantime, just go swimming and splash around with them, to build up water confidence.

Paddingtonthebear · 13/03/2017 13:00

DD started lessons a month before her third birthday. I pay £8 for a 30 minute lesson which is with a teacher in the pool and one other child. I watch from the side. She has been going for 6 months bar two weeks off at Xmas and has her level one and level two STA badges. She can swim 5m unaided when she wants to Hmm and that is the next badge she will get when she does it properly in front of her teacher. It's a private swimming school. She tried the council leisure centre lessons when she has just turned 3 but she didn't enough it so we stopped after two months. There were 6-7 kids in her class and one teacher so barely any one-on-one time and none of them made any progress that I could see. It really works well now that she's in a lesson with one other child, they have become friends and they spur each other on, they've both progressed really well in 6 months.

Paddingtonthebear · 13/03/2017 13:01

*Month before her 4th birthday!

eddiemairswife · 13/03/2017 13:09

None of my 4 had lessons. It was some time ago, so lessons for small children were not in vogue, and we were strapped for cash anyway. We would take them to the local baths, and they kind of learnt by themselves.

OllyBJolly · 13/03/2017 13:15

I took mine to baby swim and then formal lessons from 3yo. I've since paid for nieces and nephews to learn to swim preschool. They all loved it; if there had been issues I wouldn't have forced it. Both mine could swim unaided when they were 3.

I almost drowned at 8 (fished out unconscious and resuscitated) and I'm still nervous in the water - although a lot less so now. DH can't swim.

DNiece has just stopped lessons aged 10 and she's a very competent swimmer but wants to hang out with friends not boring aunties on a Saturday I was paying £20 per month for lessons. That also gave her unlimited access to pools across the county.

bibbitybobbityyhat · 13/03/2017 13:19

Both my children started swimming lessons at the age of about 5/6.

They kept it up for years and years, and by their teens could easily swim 50 lengths of a 50m pool. It was great exercise for them.

I don't think under 5s get much out of formal lessons tbh, better just to take them for swims as a family and get them used to the water.

BikeRunSki · 13/03/2017 13:22

Is £300 for 1 to 1 lessons? If it's group lessons it's very expensive! (We pay £65 for 10 week terms of small group classes (no more than 6 per class) ). Both children started at 3, both were swimming a length confidently unaided at 5. DS (8) is now a club swimmer, and about to complete the Kellogg's/ASA stages.

EineKleine · 13/03/2017 13:22

i think they are stronger and more coordinated at 6/7 and make much faster progress then.

It's like teaching 4 year olds to read or write. You can, and you get a child who can read a book or swim a length earlier, but british teenagers aren't necessarily better at reading and writing than those who start school later later in other countries. I reckon we've saved £1000 by saving lessons until they were 6 or so (apart from the odd term when they were teeny).

xStefx · 13/03/2017 13:28

I pay £15 per month for 1 x half n hour per week at my local swimming pool. However, I didn't start her until she was 4 and progress is very slow but coming along. I want DD1 to learn to swim as we have just bought a caravan and plan on spending quite a few weekends there so to have her swimming confidently would be a great advantage, although she doesn't like going so I told her as soon as she can swim she can give up. Under 4 I took her on my own and just concentrated on her confidence in the water.

FreeButtonBee · 13/03/2017 13:39

My twins started lessons at 3. They go in by themselves and have googles/swim caps/back floats and they are coming on well. It's in a small school pool (about 5m by 15m) with 4 kids to 1 adult (and 2 classes at a time). It's £200 per kid per term but I am in London so 🙄

FreeButtonBee · 13/03/2017 13:41

Also I have an 18mo too so doing family swims is very fraught and requires all of us and I couldn't take them all on my own so lessons keep us going when at the weekends we'd likely not bother

maxmissie01 · 13/03/2017 13:50

I'm not sure how beneficial lessons are before the age of four, maybe helps with confidence and enjoying being in the water. DS and DD started lessons at age three but on reflection not sure that extra year made a massive difference to the level they're at now. Taking kids to the pool every now and then for fun before they're three probably helps with confidence and any fears of being in water.

However I think lessons from four onwards can be a good idea, but is dependent on whether children enjoy it and can concentrate enough to benefit from lessons. It can sometimes be a fine balance between starting them too early and forking out for lessons which they're not ready for and aren't progressing with, and leaving it too late so they are more nervous of being in water or nervous of starting lessons.

Crumbs1 · 13/03/2017 13:53

Ours didn't start lessons until school age when they could already swim reasonably well. We love swimming so they just joined us from birth - 12 weeks if public pool younger in private pools that were warmer. Our nanny used to take the youngest one regularly too. They all could just swim and have never shown any nervousness about water.

TheNoodlesIncident · 13/03/2017 13:55

That is very expensive.

I agree with pp and think you would be better leaving formal lessons until they are older - when they can concentrate on what the coach is telling them, less likely to get distracted, etc.

In the meantime, if you and your DH go to the pool fairly regularly and just have fun, build up their water confidence, get them used to having their faces in the water, then by the time they are ready to do lessons they will be half-way there.

And I recommend a costume like this for you!

witsender · 13/03/2017 14:57

You don't need to teach them at this stage, just muck around in the water and get them enjoying it.

Boiing · 13/03/2017 15:10

I recently bought swimming lessons for my 4 year old. My thinking was that (1) he loves swimming (2) it's a safety thing.

The classes are lovely but he hates them so much I have stopped taking them. I can see his point: he spends loads of each class waiting for his turn, splashes along for a few seconds then has to wait again. (Plus the posh private school pool that the swimming teacher borrows is actually pretty freezing and the showers are appalling). So we really wish we hadn't signed up.

GeorgiePeachie · 13/03/2017 15:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
upwardsandonwards33 · 13/03/2017 15:35

I don't understand why this much cheaper option isn't being considered...particularly if your partner is going in anyway

I had to find a place which did Saturdays as that is the only day both DH and I can do. Otherwise there is the childcare consideration of what to do with dd2 who is only 1 yo while dd1 is in the pool.

OP posts:
Original poster
upwardsandonwards33 · 13/03/2017 15:37

TheNoodlesIncident that swimming costume is not a bad idea.

OP posts:
TealStar · 13/03/2017 15:38

I haven't RTFT (sorry - in a bit of a hurry) but from my part I remember feeling very smug about the time and money we saved by not putting the dds in for swimming lessons until they were about 5 and 7. They progressed very quickly and were level 10 by the time they were 10. In fact dd2 recently won a biathlon!

WattdeEll · 13/03/2017 16:04

DS1 is a competitive swimmer, he's taken part in galas and championships. He started lessons at 5. Before that age we dabbled a bit in the pool to get him used to it.
DS2 will be starting lessons age 5 too. We have seen friends pay out loads for preschool swimming and we don't feel it gives much advantage for the cost.

Hissy · 13/03/2017 16:16

Invest in swimming lessons for yourself! You'll get far more out of it at this stage than the kids will, and but the time you've cracked it, they'll be starting their own lessons!

I was like you, very uncomfortable swimming but signed myself up for adult lessons 2 years ago.

My average session is 1000m now, at least a couple of times a week.

It's addictive!! Please do this for yourself, it'll come in amazingly handy to support the learning they will do, and they'll be so prions that their mum can swim so well!

ThermoScan · 13/03/2017 16:26

As the lessons are expensive I would stop,especially for the younger child,but I would take them swimming regularly. Water confidence is the key at this stage.
My child has gone from looking like he was drowning to swimming lengths of breastroke in about 9 months ,he re- started swimming lessons at just over 5 as was too terrified at age 3 and it was distressing and pointless.
Playing in the water & having gradually built up confidence ,now he loves swimming.