When did your kids learn to swim?

[Ohdobequiet]

I was planning for almost 5 yo dd to start swimming lessons as soon as pools open up again- but have been met with a fair few comments about her being too young.

When did yours learn to swim?
Aibu getting an (almost) 5yo to learn?

He started swimming lessons at three, they are of course quite pricey, not everyone can afford them. Five isn’t too early, but it isn’t too late either.

@Ohdobequiet 5 is fab!

I started taking my DD swimming (like you've been doing,) at 2 or 3 y.o. but signed her up for official lessons at 5. She had about 10 lessons, and then got her LENGTH certificate.

My dad taught me (45 years ago when I was a little girl,) and he taught my brother 10 years later! (When he was a little boy.)

Good for you for teaching her. One in THREE children aged 11 cannot swim! Shocking really. It's an ESSENTIAL life skill.

Teach her to ride a bike too if you can. Bike riding is SO much fun when you're a kid. And it's a good skill to have when you're an adult too...

Started both with very occasional lessons at 2. DD developed abject terror of water between 3-6 that nothing on earth would get her over (apparently quite common at this stage - the fear vanished a few months after 6th birthday).

DS has poor coordination (ADHD doesn't help) and had lessons from 6-8, I think he managed to swim unaided at about 7 and a half.

I couldn't swim until I was 9!

My 8 year old was invited to join a swim squad at 6. They had finished all the swim stages and were learning to dive and tumble turn at that point....
They started at 5 months and could swim independently before they could walk.
No idea why, my other babies clung on like little monkeys and even now hate it 🤷‍♀️

DS1 started at 9months, he was 3.5 when the pandemic hit and swimming lessons stopped, but we live by the sea and he managed a couple of metres unaided in the summer age 4.

Depends a bit on the child, and depends a lot on the practicalities of where you live, in relation to where there are any baths that do lessons.

Mine started lessons at 4.
We'd taken then all from when they were a few months old and they were used to the water, but waited until they were 4 in terms of them being able to listen to instructions from an adult.

Mine both got their 33 meter badge in the womb. Can't believe some babies waited till 6 months post gestation.

Babies and toddlers love the water so it’s never too early to get them acclimatised and it’s fun for them and you. If you just want to get them to learn to swim for safety’s sake I wouldn’t bother with formal lessons until about 6 or 7. They pick it up so much quicker then. I started mine at 3 or 4 and they went through to about 10 but I always sat next to a woman who’s kids started a bit older and they just raced through the grades. They were more coordinated and able to take instructions and listen. My DS treated as an extension of his already hectic social life and hadn’t a clue what he was doing because he wasn’t concentrating.

DC1 - went to water babies from a few months old until 2ish when he decided he didn't like swimming and would be upset before lessons. He went back to group lessons at 3 and could swim by 4 and loves it. He's not been in a year now but will go back when pools re-open.

DC2 - started same as DC1 but hated it even as a baby so we stopped. He doesn't like the pool on holiday or paddling pool in garden. We'll try again on holiday this year and hopefully get him in to group lessons as he'll be 3 by then.

PS. I didn't mean my post to sound sarcastic. I just realised it didn't read well!

My Ds was about 6 ish. Dd the same, but NOT a confident swimmer despite many lessons.

Lessons as infants but we live in a hot place where everyone has swimming pools. They were able to dive into water and had good breath control and could swim to the side of the pool by about 3.

All good swimmers now, the older two can confidently swim out beyond the break in the sea and one swims competitively. The youngest (7) can swim all strokes including butterfly and can tumble turn.

Where are all these incredible swimming teachers? I took mine swimming weekly from tiny but they couldn't swim. We started lessons when ds was 4 and dd was 3. They learnt so slowly and dd hated it because it was so slow. The teacher said many kids her age just don't have the strength or posture to hold themselves up at that age.
At 4 and 5 (with toddler in tow) it got too stressful after school when everyone was tired, and so expensive. School started doing lessons for the 5yo so we stopped, and did intensive courses in the school holidays instead, which they loved, but never made much progress.
Then we locked down and got our own garden pool. They taught themselves to swim. So I feel like the lessons were a bit of a waste of time and money.

The younger, the better. 5 definitely isn't too young

My eldest started at 3 but didn't like the teacher as he shouted a lot so we stopped for a bit and restarted around 5. My second also stated around 3 but hated putting her face in the water. The teacher then started dunking her which we didn't agree with so took her out and just did fun family swings for a while to build her confidence then she went back to lessons around 5. Both then progressed to club swimming and are desperate to get back in the water.

First lesson at almost 5. Absolutely loved it and still goes (lessons are about to restart).

Mine started swimming lessons at 3. DH is a club swimmer so has strong views on the DC being able to swim as a life skill.

Both at 2 - obviously not proper strokes but very much at home in and underwater. But we were in a warm climate with a pool available much of the year.
Proper strokes, not until 5 or 6.
IMO lessons shouldn’t really come until they feel at home in the water anyway.
But I wouldn’t have thought 5 was too young, as long as lessons are nice and relaxed, with no shouty teachers. (Not always the case.). And of course the water must be nice and warm.

Its important to start young. Dd started at 3 or 4. My granny learned at 65.

DD started lessons at three years old. DS got so excited watching his big sis swimming that he was in the pool by six weeks. Swam independently long before he walked. Your DD isn't too young.

Mine were 4, 5, & 6

All had baby swimming lessons and went swimming with me weekly, so I've no idea why they took so long to able to be able to swim lengths without any floats.

At the place we go they ask that they are 4.5. Most are between that age and 6.

I also took mine as babies but that proved difficult
to keep up with once I went back to work. They started properly at 4 and 5.

Lessons in a group from 3+ until 9/10. Then club swimming until 13 when DD decided to focus on other sport/activities.

Lesson from 4.5, once grommets had come out. Finally got a length sorted at 7.
Club swimming from 9.

Early swimming is great, but don’t be disheartened if it takes a while to come together.

I'm a swimming teacher the average is about 4/5 for starting group lessons. You get ducklings between 3-5 age and stage 1 for 5 years upwards but its rare you see 3 years olds swimming up and down the pool. My Dd started about 4/5 years and is on stage 4 before covid hit. Each child progress is totally different and alot depends on water confidence.

I feel like a terrible mum after reading this! I took my eldest dd15 after all her jabs, she was a few months old, then swimming lessons every week when she was old enough - great swimmer. Twins 10 cannot swim. Impossible to take twins alone when they are babies, then when they were old enough due to nursery costs being nearly £100 a day a simply couldn’t afford swimming lessons.

Then life took over, work, juggling housework and a stressful job, 3 kids, cooking, washing etc I just have not had time ☹️.

Now Covid, I am shielding, it does worry me they cannot swim.