To ask if your children can swim? Is it important to you?

[Lionking1981]

Do you class swimming as important? We spend 100 a month on swimming lessons for our two sometimes leaving us short. My two were swimming with their cousins on holiday recently.My brother pointed out how much we all spent on swimming lessons and remarked none of them are great swimmers. They are 8,7,6 and 5. All in swimming lessons since they were 4. They can swim but we couldnt take our eyes off any one of them such is our confidence in their ability. Me and dbro were left in swimming pools by ourselves for hours from age 9. I have always thought it was essential and budget for it, going without other things.My class teacher told me probably only 50% of their 8 year olds can swim. Do you believe that is right?

[Fantail]

Very important. We lived in New Zealand. Water safety and knowing how to swim aren't necessarily the same thing though.

I swam competitively, played waterpolo and also did life saving and then taught swimming throughout university.

Water sports of all types are pretty big in NZ, but you can't participate if you can't swim.

DD is now 6 and it's looking like she will be a pretty good swimmer. Once she can swim effortlessly then I will be encouraging her to do some life saving.

[Brokenbiscuit]

Yes, it's very, very important to me.

I didn't learn to swim as a child, and I regret it bitterly as an adult. I wish my mum and dad had sent us to private lessons. I tried learning as an adult a few years ago, but I was very fearful and I gave up. It saddens me, as I'd love to be able to swim.

DD started lessons when she was around 5, but made very slow progress - she certainly wasn't a natural fish. Then, when she was around 7/8, she had a very frightening experience in a school swimming lesson, and developed a huge phobia. We stopped the lessons for a year or so, because she was just too scared to get in the pool.

We then re-started a couple of years ago, when she was around 9. It was very traumatic for the first year - paralysing fear and lots of tears every week. She used to cry the night before the lesson and on and off all day afterwards.

I put her in 1:1 lessons at considerable expense, so that she could go at her own pace and work on her fears. She continued to have panic attacks almost every week, even after she learnt to swim a length, and at times, I wondered if it was really worth it and if she would ever overcome her fears. However, she was determined to persevere and I encouraged her in this. I'm so glad now that she stuck at it. It was a great investment of time, effort and money. She now swims well and she is very confident in the water. I'd just like her to increase her stamina a bit more before she stops.

Personally, it wasn't really important to me for her to learn stuff like breast stroke and butterfly, as long as she could swim confidently on her front and on her back, but I think dd actually enjoyed the challenge of learning different strokes. Perhaps it just made her proud that she could do them after all that fear.

I am still paying for expensive 1:1 lessons every week. I don't really think she needs them any more, but she wants to continue and she has worked so hard to overcome her fears that I think she deserves to make the choice about when to stop.

I'm really proud whenever I see her swimming confidently across the pool. There was a time when I didn't really believe that she could do it. We have both learnt an amazing lesson about perseverance and determination!

[DeeDooDee]

Swimming was compulsory in our house. They had lessons (but nowhere near £100 a month) and I took them swimming a lot. We also had pools quite often (expats -overseas).

Swimming is essential for safety and it's a great exercise. My kids are very confident swimmers

[RainyDayBear]

DD is too little at the moment, but she'll definitely be having lessons when's she's 4 or 5, it's an important life skill.

[ememem84]

I'm currently pregnant with my first and am determined it will be able to swim unaided by the age of 2. I could and had no lessons (my dad sort of taught me by throwing my in and hoping for the best...) I'm not the most stylish swimmer but love the water.

We live on an island so most days in the summer we're on the beach in the sea on the water. It's very important to me.

I'm going to do a water safety course too. They're offering it to mums and babies so figured why not.

[DJBaggySmalls]

Yes, its a critical life skill, along with First Aid.

[Westray]

Yes important, but I don't think all kids need structured swimming lessons.
My dad taught me to swim, and I taught both my kids.
I taught my kids on summer holidays and regular trips to the pool in the UK.
We are all strong swimmers.

[Westray]

I'm currently pregnant with my first and am determined it will be able to swim unaided by the age of 2.

Good luck with that one then.

My kids were skinny little creatures, no natural buoyancy. I had to wait until they were 6 or 7 and had a little more padding on them before swimming was easier for them.

[Pengweng]

Yes it's very important to me that if they are out and fall in a river/lake/pool that they can 1) not panic and 2) get themselves out or safely to something they can hold on to.

DTs are 4 and have been having lessons since September, one of them just got her 5 metre badge and the other one isn't far behind. They will continue to have lessons until they can swim 25 metres in their clothes. If after that they want to stop lessons then they can (but we will continue to go swimming as a family) but if they wish to continue then that is ok too.

I didn't learn to swim until I was nearly 10 as my mum can't swim and I just think it's such an important life skill that it should be taught as early as you can (whether that be from birth, school age or older)

[MollyHuaCha]

Keep on going with the lessons! Some children find it more difficult to learn, especially if they are very slim (fat helps with floating).

It's more difficult to learn when you are an adult. School swimming lessons tend to be a bit hit and miss. Some schools stop children going completely once they can swim 25 metres, which actually is NOT good enough.

[CoteDAzur]

"I don't buy into the "essential life skill" either. It is very unlikely that bthat in about to swim In warm clean water in a swimming costume is going to save your life. Being able to float, and to know how to turn round and grab the edge if you fall in may well save your life-swimming 100m butterfly? Not so much."

"How to turn around and grab the edge" is highly unlikely to save anyone's life in a RL emergency - the force of the fall usually takes you away from the edge even in a pool, and in most other emergency situations on a planet covered mostly by water, there will not be a nearby ledge to grab.

What saves lives is the ability (= confidence + stamina) to keep swimming or at least tread water for some time. And that ability is achieved through long hours of swimming, including doing lengths on a large pool.

DD's school has been testing this ability in official exams since about age 8, when kids put on t-shirts on top of their swimming suits and swam for 15 minutes. Last year aged 10, this survival test was done over 25 minutes.

"Learn to turn around and grab the edge" is an utterly ridiculous way to look at it. I certainly hope that you were joking.

[Screwinthetuna]

My 5yo can't swim. It's not importnsnt to me at the moment; willl probably teach him when when we're on holiday. I think they start swimming lessons in schoool in year 5 so as long as he can swim by then, I'm happy

[CoteDAzur]

"My kids were skinny little creatures, no natural buoyancy. I had to wait until they were 6 or 7 and had a little more padding on them before swimming was easier for them."

You have complete misunderstood floating in water.

Your children's bodies were no more dense than anyone else, assuming they were made of flesh and bone and not metal, for example.

You float by increasing surface area: Stay vertical and you will sink. Lie horizontal with your hands & legs out like a starfish and you will float.

[MillieMoodle]

Yes, I consider it really important. I took DS1 as a baby but had to stop lessons when I went back to work. I do think those initial lessons got him used to the water; he's never had any fear. We started lessons for him in January, just before he was 6. He's coming along really well and I've booked him onto an intensive course in the summer hols as I'd like him to be able to swim by the time we go away at the end of August.

DS2 is 8 months old and I've been taking him since he was 4 months. Again, he has no fear of the water. When I go back to work DH is going to take him swimming; I want to keep the classes going as ideally I'd like him to be swimming earlier than DS1.

[WhatWouldTheDoctorDo]

DS has just stopped lessons at 8 after going since babyhood. We must have spend a fortune. In hindsight I wouldn't have bothered with weekly classes for years, but perhaps forked out for a short session of private 1-2-1 lessons each year backed up by regular family trips to the pool for fun/practise. We did a block of 6 1-2-1 once as he was really stuck and not progressing and it was more effective than a year's worth of lessons!

[MaryTheCanary]

I put my 6yo into a one-on-one lesson on an irregular basis, and take her to the pool myself when we have the time--either way, she has been in the pool about 10 times in the past 12 months. She can't swim unaided yet but I guess she'll get there soonish.

I guess she might make faster progress if I took her more often and committed to a regular lesson, but swimming is just the biggest pain an time-suck ever. Packing the swim bag with all the bits and pieces, getting there, fiddling around with coins and lockers, changing.... then afterwards you have to shower, dry hair, lug wet heavy swim stuff home and wash everything. I can't imagine a more intense hell than having a child who "does swimming" seriously and as a competitive thing.

[Mumzypopz]

Swimming lessons in our school are rubbish. They get six lessons per year, with only twenty mins water time in each. The first lesson is spent sorting them into groups, so that's one of the six wasted as they all just stand around. If they can't swim by then, these lessons won't teach them. I'm told half the class is in the 'can't swim and stand in the shallow end category.'
Kids don't necessarily need lessons, it's water time they need, to get confident in the water and be able to float in the water without panicking. Having said that, learning the strokes correctly is also very important.

[FunkinEll]

My almost 9 year old started swimming with school this year in Y4. I wished I'd saved the £££S we spent on swimming lessons for him to be honest. He's much more able and willing to learn now. I'd say at least 2/3rds of his class are doing the lessons, those who can swim more that 25m don't though.

[Wando1986]

Very important. But to have 4yrs of lessons and not be very strong then I suggest you look at new teachers. We were left from the age of about 5/6 in pools when younger. Teach them float methods and they don't panic then either if they get in to trouble.

[MaryTheCanary]

I prefer to do a few private lessons here and there rather than group lessons. I figure they make faster progress per lesson and thus need to go less often. I think I would find it intensely irritating to do all the work and faff associated with taking a child swimming, knowing that they were only getting a small amount of actual swimming time and very little individual time with the instructor.

[operaha]

Mine can all swim and apart from brief lessons for the eldest (19) when she was a toddler, I've taught them all (Just didn't have the money to spare). Eldest is the weakest swimmer, younger two (17 and 11) are really strong. But... i love swimming and am in the pool 3x a week. I guess if the parent doesn't swim, lessons are kind of essential...

[FiaMarrow]

My DD (6) had over a year of weekly lessons with an instructor who used to start by throwing a bowl of water over her head. I feel awful that I made her carry on with it but because the other children in the class didn't mind I thought "oh she'll get used to it".

She never did get used to it. It caused her so much anxiety that she'd complain all week of stomach pains so we stopped going. She could swim a width at that point (with a float) but had no confidence at all.

She'll pick it up again when I find another class where they can help her with building confidence and I'll help her as well. It's important for her to swim but totally agree with Pp that it's confidence in the water that's important.

My Dad grew up by the sea and never learned to swim but he is very confident in and near water, if that makes sense!

[WhooooAmI24601]

DS1 is 11 and swims at Stage 10. This means he could probably save his own life in an emergency, now, and he's learned to snorkel with me at a properly-run class. I swam for my schools and University, so swimming is a huge part of our lives even now. DS1 loves swimming, though, so works incredibly hard.

DS2 is 6 and swims at Stage 5. Oddly, he's the more natural swimmer out of the two DCs but he's also a lazy oik and would quit if I let him. I've said he can quit once he reaches Stage 10 like DS1, hoping that like DS1 once he reaches Stage 10 his love for swimming will have grown and he won't quit.

It's essential as it's a life skill for me so I do push the DCs hard. They both began lessons before 6 months old and I think more children/families should have access to lessons at a lower price. They also horse ride and do various other activities, but swim club is the one I refuse to compromise on.

[booellesmum]

Both mine can swim and yes really important.
I could not afford lessons so took them each week myself which was far cheaper.
Their technique is not fantastic but they won't drown which is more important!

[daddyorscience]

Since I separated, I've taken my 2 at least one a week, the last 3 years. In the school hols we could go daily. Due to my physical issues, I learned to swim around 8/9..DD is 7, DS is 5. Sooner the better, I feel.

We've started lessons, but I have to try and fit them in on "my" days, so it's awkward.

Their mum doesn't swim/wasn't very water confident at all.. So I said I'd do it. It's expensive, but... If it means they're safer, you can't put a price on that.