To think we might aswel stop?

[Swimornoswim15]

Hi my just 5 year old isn't very confident. Last year I decided to pay £12.95 for her to learn to swim at a quiet swim class at a hotel pool. She would be too nervous to go to the leisure centre where it's cheaper. I thought it would really be good for her. Learning a new skill and mixing in a new way.

I've seen small bits of improvement in her in the pool. Obviously we are proud. But I've clicked on that we've paid £300 and she can't swim yet. They have a list of what she needs to complete to finish level one. She's got four green ticks so far. The rest are still red crosses. The ones she's passed are showing good disipline in class, exiting and entering the water safely and showing understanding of rules. This week it now says she can tread water with a seahorse.

None of the 3m stretched positions, or 3m swim with legs in a circle action or swim 3m with Wiggles are ticked off. She also won't jump in or happily get her face wet.

My niece is 7 and did her first 3 lessons this week in the holidays and has passed level one! That cost my sister £25. I've also got three friends who's kids are the same age and in level 3. Two started after my DD.

On the website it says up to a year in each group.

Would you say pull her out she's not ready?

Or would you say keep going?

Her dad's going to try and start taking her at the weekends occasionally. I just wanted her to have something she enjoys doing. She seems to like going but I was expecting better progress.

I'm just not sure if we are wasting £52 a month. Not to mention they close for all school holidays. What would you do?

I'm not the best at advise but I would ask her what she wants to do, if she lacks confidence it may take a while for her to pass level one, but once she does I bet she will flourish. She just needs that nudge of confidence.
Have you spoke to the swimming instructor for their advise? Tell them you're concerned and see if they can encourage her a little more.

Hey!

I’m a teacher in a primary school with a swimming pool. On occasion we have some children who make barely any progress during the school year and this is usually because they don’t swim enough for fun outside of the swimming lesson. The best way for children to build confidence in water is to swim for fun with family/friends. So taking your DD swimming at the weekends would be hugely beneficial and you’d likely notice a change in her swimming lessons. I wouldn’t stop the lessons as 5 is a great age to learn to swim! Xx

Do you watch what they're doing in the lessons? How are they teaching her? Are they showing her what to do, coaching her through it then letting her try by herself? Or are they just going through the motions with no real challenge?

One of the best things I found to do when it comes to swimming is also take them swimming yourself another day - where it's more of just a play session than a lesson. Our youngest really seemed to struggle with lessons so i started taking him to the local leisure pool (that has a beach-type shallow end and wave machine) and being able to paddle himself around in the really shallow water did wonders for his confidence

What’s she like when she goes swimming with you?

My DD was like this last year. Not very confident in the water at all, would cling to me the full time. It was an indoor water park with slides etc we would go to. It was not fun at all, I ended up stopping taking her.

For the past month or so, I’ve taken her to a local pool. Standard swimming pool, no slides or anything to distract her. When she realised she could stand in the shallow end she was quite happy. Now we’ve ditched the arm bands, she’s jumping in and out constantly, and trying her best to swim.

She was apprehensive last year about lessons because I couldn’t be in the water with her. But since going here she has seen other boys and girls learning, she knows the floor level rises to shallow etc and she’s desperate for lessons! She’ll be starting in a few weeks when she turns 5.

She’ll have one official lesson with them a week, then go with me another 2 or 3 times a week to keep her confidence up and make sure she doesn’t forget what she’s learned.

TLDR - ask if she wants to continue, and take her more yourself outside of lessons to get her confidence up.

Take her between times, do the things she is unsure about. Build her confidence

I think it could knock her confidence taking her out if she enjoys it. My 4 year old loved his classes but really didn't seem to be getting anywhere the first year. Since he started back in his second year last September he's doing great. He just seems more ready now and I'd say one of the better ones in his class. I'm expecting them to move him up so. So he will have moved up twice within his two years learning I'd say. His sister on the other hand just keep moving up quickly after starting a year and a half ago being unable to even float. After Christmas she started a new level and seemed to be struggling. Last week she flew through the class with no issues and did really well. She will probably be moved up again before the next term. What I'm saying is they all go at their own speed and sometimes when it suddenly clicks they can improve at such a fast rate! I think for you the worst bit is the classes are so expensive which makes it worse. But if that's the type if class she needs for her confidence and you can afford them I'd stick at them.

My daughter was similar, the main problem was not wanting to put her head under water, she couldn't progress until she would happily do that. The swim school were really good though and when my daughter was the last child in the group not to move up to the next stage they organised a few lessons with the instructor on a one to one basis and got her confident with going under water. I'd ask the instructor for tips on getting more confident going underwater, and although the group size in the lessons was small, only about four or five kids the one on one lessons were amazing and she progressed so quickly, they probably were more cost effective because there was no time sitting waiting a turn.