To ask at which age you told your children how to swim?

[Flyingfish2019]

?

DS did Water Babies from 6 weeks and started normal lessons at just over 4 years. He's happy and confident on his front and back and can swim widths and goes under water happily. I dread to think how much it's all cost but it's worth every penny as I know how safe he is in the water.

Flyingfish2019. I love swimming so took my 3DC swimming at least once a week from when they were tiny. They all began swimming at about 3 or 4 yo. Swimming was a fun activity but with a few minutes of proper teaching each time we went. They all joined a swimming club when they were 8 or 9 but none kept it up for more than a year or two. All good swimmers now they're adults.
DGS learnt to swim by the same approach.

Mine both went swimming from about 8 weeks old. My oldest started lessons as soon as they'd take him (four), he's struggled a bit but is coming along steadily now. My youngest will start lessons as soon as she's four as well. I consider swimming to be a vital life skill rather than a hobby, living where I live - surrounded by fjord and lakes it just isn't thinkable to me that they wouldn't learn.

They were 7&9, late but we didn't live near a pool until then. They had been in pool prior but only on holiday. Only took 6 weeks of lessons

Took both swimming from about six weeks old. DS1 started group lessons at 4, DS2 at 3. We moved them to private lessons in December as DS1 wasn't progressing in his group ones. He's prone to messing about and the teacher just ignores him. Waste of time and money. Now they have a one to one who is in the pool with them and the progress they are making is fantastic.
For us, swimming lessons are a non-negotiable.

Mine are 7 and 5 now

DD1 started lessons at 5 (prior to this she refused to go in a swimming pool, even when on holiday)

DD2 started lessons at 3

I took them weekly when they were tiny, even when managing two at a time was challenging! They started lessons at 2.5-3yrs and are all still doing regular lessons/training sessions now (oldest is 11).

The cut-off in my head is end of primary, it’s great exercise and by then they will be extremely competent swimmers and technique will hopefully be ingrained enough that they don’t lose it.

As well as their training/lessons, we still try to take them weekly, it makes a huge difference to their progress when we do.

We taught the eldest two, but they didn’t learn how to jump in without holding their nose, proper form on strokes. We’ve now got all three in really good swimming lessons and they’ve made more progress in five months than in five years of us taking them swimming.

And they learnt around 5-6.

Lessons from 4, DS did parent and child sessions until he was 2 but ear infections and subsequent grommets made us stop for a while.
He started to swim lengths at about 7 or 8. He now swims competitively and trains for several hours a week. Our whole lives revolve around access to pools and training.

Mine is 7 and can't swim a stroke! We have tried but I think some people are just terrible at swimming.

We are overseas in a country with lots of water, so swimming lessons are part and parcel of growing up here. DD started at 4.5yrs old, then weekly lessons until she was 7. A lot of the lessons here are based on survival (they have to swim fully clothed for part of their swim exams), as well as technique. Not stuff I could have taught herself TBH, especially as you need a swim diploma if you want to go into a public swimming pool. Kids without a diploma (and the lifeguards can tell if you're a doggy paddler or a swimmer) have to wear arm bands, they are very strict about that here.