Kids swimming lessons starting again

[Sunshine35x]

Just had a message from my daughters swimming lessons company. My daughter is 6.
She usually does it term time so wasn't expecting them to start back up until September. Just had a text to stay they are starting next week and running all through summer.
I really don't know how I feel about it. I take her in (her elder brother has to come with me too) get her changed in hot humid changing room, she goes in for the lesson and we sit pool side on benches watching. It's incredily humid in there and feels like a sauna.
I really don't know how I feel about her returing so soon. The instructors are hands on.
Any thoughts on this or any advise on what I should be asking them? If they tell us we need to wear masks pool side it you literally will not be able to breath. We've only left the house to go for walks since march, and I'm feeling abit nervous about it I suppose

I love in Texas, high humidity and 40-45C just now. You’ll be literally able to breathe.

A swim class my friend goes to, they change before they get there and hand the child (4yo) at the door and wait in the car. Receive child back at door and get changed in car or back at home.

For our you have to have your cossie on under your clothes. So quick dis robe and in. Limited viewing (which is much better as the world and their wife are usually there).
C and then recommended quick dry off with cossie on. Into a onsie and sit in a towel for the way home.

I wouldn't be happy if we had to leave her at the door.

is this in the uk? Is it an outdoors or indoors class? indoors arent allowed til the 25th (so next Saturday)
my son goes to water babies but as we do it in a school I guess won't happen til September

DD's lessons are starting back up soon & will run over the hols (usually only term time but we're owed lessons from last term)

We'll take them in in costumes, no shower or hair dryer afterwards, parent in the water where teachers used to be (older/more competent ones had teachers on the side), one way system through the building & smaller class sizes. We aren't allowed pool side during lessons & some chairs are being removed to keep people distant. I'll probably wait in the car

We're just waiting to hear how this will work for DD's swimiming lessons. Provisional plans are only 1 parent allowed, no spectators - the finer detail yet to be released, although mention of smaller class sizes.

If she's 6, I would pop her hat, goggles and cossie on with a onesie over the top, then just drop her off and pick her up. She would only have to take her onesie off and on.

Someone on our local radio this morning said that the pools in our County are opening for lane swimming only and with restricted numbers.

In the UK, it is in a pool at a school at night but she doesn't attend that school. It's usually term time but the school are allowing them to use the pool over the summer. It's over 100 quid for 10 lessons. We are owed all 10. The instructor goes in the water with them in groups of 4.

I have to take my 9 year old with me as dad still at work at 5.30pm. Just hoping they give us the opportunity to defer or get a refund if we are not happy with the risks. Kind of feel like we are being forced into it

There will be adjustments made, eg the changing rooms will have a new system or they will ask you to change at home. The instructors will probably now be out of the water etc. Why not ask them how things will be adapted and take it from there, or ask if you can do one week as a trial before committing. I can understand no spectators and this might actually help some children who are more clingy as often they are better once they cant see their parent. The pool itself should be very safe as its chlorinated water.
There may also be lower class numbers, equipment sanitized, people further apart etc, so i'd really wait to see what the swim schools plans are first. Swimming is an important skill and a lot easier to learn when you are 6 rather than when you are even just a few years older.

I'm not taking mine back, they had lessons in a local council pool and it was literally chaos. The most hated hour of my weekend. They can swim really well, stage 7 so I'm happy to pull them out and take them to the local Lido instead. If they weren't swimmers yet I think I would take them, especially to a school pool.

If you look at it another way, this might be a change for the better for the hell that is swimming lessons, once everyone gets used to it. Previously female changing rooms jam packed with mums and grandmas helping children who already know how to dress themselves get dressed. Many many boys over the age of 8 in the same space as their naked female class mates. Child distracted in their lesson by parent watching. If the new rules eliminate this nonsense, then it's all for the better. Drop child at entrance to pool ready to go. Child walks through, leaves towel on hook. Has lesson. Walks out, wraps towel around themselves, meets parent at pool door. Possibly a member of staff on door checking like at school. Much better. Less danger, less embarrassment fir poor girls having boys in their female space, less distraction in the lesson, much nicer for the parent who gets half an hour 'off'.

Have they told you what the new arrangements are? Have you read the full guidance on how pools will operate? Instructors are no longer allowed in the water with children except in emergencies, people are being told to arrive ready to swim (i.e. with swimming costume on under clothes), most pools have said they will shut showers (although this isn't in the official guidance) so people just get changed quickly and shower at home. Etc.

Our swimming school is currently looking at what they will be able to do.

How can instructors teach if they're outside the pool? Most younger children need in-pool support.

I am a swimming teacher. We have planned to start back as soon as we get the green light. We have strict measures planned which include sanitizing surfaces and hands, altering changing facilities and children coming dressed in their swimmig costumes, limiting spectators, adapting our lessons so that we have little to no contact with the children. We'll be operating a one way system and time will be allocated between lessons for cleaning and change over. Hope this helps.

@APurpleSquirrel instructors don't need to be in the pool and some pools actually don't allow it for safeguarding reasons.

I was taking my 2 year old to swimming lessons pre covid. I was in the water with him and he was just starting to get the hang of it. I can't wait to get going again but I feel like now is too soon. I'm expecting an email from the swimming class this week but we wont be returning for a while.

If you are in the UK, they can't start before 25th July at the earliest.

Do they mean the week after next? Not that this really helps the other issues you've mentioned. I'd not be happy about leaving a younger child at the door either but you won't be able to take in your son, if you look at the government guidance it's clear that spectators aren't allowed and it's the same for things like hairdressers too - clients only.

much nicer for the parent who gets half an hour 'off

oh you evil person you . Don't you know that you are supposed to watch your child lovingly for the whole 30 minutes. Anything else and you are a ghastly parent. You are NOT allowed to read/browse on your phone/do work/anything else. See www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3687749-to-think-that-it-is-up-to-me-what-i-do-when-my-child-in-swimming-lesson

My swim school has also said lessons stat back on 25th - again normally term time only but we are owed about 5 lessons. If you Aren’t happy to go back that’s fine but I think you could expect to lose the money - they’re offering lessons In line with current government guidelines, it’s not their fault if you want to live more cautiously.

Mines baby swimming...the instructor is normally in the water and handling the babies regularly for underwater swimming and so on. Not sure how well it will work with them on the side.

DD is older so I don't have the same concerns about leaving her. She swims competitively, it's not unusual for parents to bring camping chairs to sit out on the school playground whilst children swim and the weather is nice, is there a reason you or at least your son couldn't do this?
Otherwise parents sit in the car. They can sit poolside but it tends to be roasting.

DD arrives dressed with a dress over her cossie and flip flops, whip the dress off and she's ready.
End of lesson the weather won't be cold so just throw a towelling bathrobe or changing towel over her, wiggling out of cossie if possible, towelling hair turban or bobble hat/beanie on her head and youre good to go.
DD will probably wiggle into a onesie or similar in the back of the car.

The class will be a low ratio plus the lifeguard, I'm not sure what the issue is unless SEN is involved.

You can protect the car seats from damp body's by laying one of those picnic blankets over the top that is waterproof oneside but soft the other.

@modgepodge our swim school is adapting the lessons and using dolls for demonstrations so we won't need to have physical contact with the babies/toddlers. All underwater swims will be ones which the parents submerge the baby/toddler.

We're not taking DD (3) back when they resume in September.

The changes they've announced (from the company we go to) is that the teacher won't be in the pool with them, won't touch the children, no singing, no woggles or floats and no spectators so there really doesn't seem to be much point, as all the parts our DD loves are being removed.

When things are a bit more sensible we'll take her back.

Swimming teachers are not allowed in the water under new guidelines so if a child is in Level 1 or 2 or a class that usually has a teacher in the water, a parent will need to go in the water with them under the new guidelines. Spectators unlikely to be allowed poolside and absolute minimum time to be spent in changing rooms. Will most likely need to take your own equipment too (woggles, goggles, kick boards, dive toys etc)

@cologne4711 as a parent I agree that those precious child free 30 minutes are so valuable. As a swimming teacher it is so sad when the child has mastered something new, and they look up to their parents to find that they've missed it because they were preoccupied with something else.

Just check that you can socially distance when sitting, from other parents. If it is very hot, you could wear your mask and perhaps sit in a bikini top?