Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Did you teach your own children to swim?

55 replies

Dogscanteatonions · 15/04/2021 16:39

Having read another thread I realised my kids didn't have swimming lessons. From the age they were old enough to go in the pool (think it must have been 4 months or so) we always went swimming at least once a fortnight or so. Admittedly mine are nearly grown up now but I can't recall ever teaching them much, I just remember lots of messing about in the pool but they could all swim before going to school. Did they just learn by copying me as they got older? How odd I have no memory of teaching them anything!

OP posts:
ZZTopGuitarSolo · 15/04/2021 19:48

We tried some group swimming lessons but they were just a bit shit, and a stressful experience, so we stopped bothering and they just picked it up by going to the beach/pool a lot.

I remember DD1's first day at summer camp age 6 - they told her that if she could swim a width of the pool without armbands then she'd be allowed to swim every day. She duly jumped in and swam a width and from then on she was a swimmer.

DD2 also one day jumped in the pool with no armbands and surprised herself by swimming. We were right there ready to grab her if she started sinking.

DS picked it up one summer at the lake - he just went progressively deeper till he was swimming. Again we were ready to grab him if needed.

After becoming quite proficient swimmers I did sign my lot up to a swimming club so they could learn better style and start racing. They weren't particularly interested but they're probably better swimmers now as a result.

moochingtothepub · 15/04/2021 19:50

Mine did a couple of sessions (so 12 lessons in total) at 7&9 but mostly I taught them

Zarinea · 15/04/2021 20:01

I agree Merry - surely the HT has thought about the myriad financial/ cultural / practical reasons that lots of kids can't swim? It sounds an incredibly unkind email.

Echobelly · 15/04/2021 20:06

No because I'm a rubbish swimmer with terrible technique. Both kids had lessons but didn't manage unassisted swimming until about age 7. DD developed terrible hydrophobia between ages of 3-6, then wouldn't swim without swimming aids until we went to South Africa and she splashed around with her great uncle in his pool and he seemed to get her over the fear!

Sgtmajormummy · 15/04/2021 20:08

No. They would have only learned to be afraid of the water from me!

Mine went to the nearby swimming pool from 3-6 yo until I was confident they could cope with open water at the beach. Then they did swimming with the school.

Gatehouse77 · 15/04/2021 20:14

I taught them (and DH!) water confidence rather than how to swim. Got them used to going under, being splashed, jumping in, getting in/out of the side by lowering themselves (for when you don't know the depth), floating, how to right themselves when under water (finding their feet rather than panicking) and to be respectful of others and the 'rules'.

Actual technique I left up to someone else even though I trained (but didn't complete the supervised part due to pregnancy) as an assistant swimming teacher. Which they started when I felt they were ready to take instruction, be cooperative and not scared to be in the water without me - around 5 ish.

Scottishshopaholic · 15/04/2021 20:15

I think it’s really important to send your kids to proper swimming lessons so they get confident in the water.

When I first met my DP he told me he could swim, I took him kayaking and he dislocated his shoulder when capsizing because he panicked so much.

We went swimming a few months later and he swimming lengths and he looked like he was drowning most of the time. I asked his dad how long he did swimming lessons and it turns out he only did a couple of lessons while they were on holiday in France. So no more watersports for him.

FindingMeno · 15/04/2021 20:20

It depends what you want.
I taught mine because I want them to be safe and enjoy water.
If you want them to be able to swim a reasonable distance, they need reasonable style, so it depends on your own abilities and understanding of the strokes.
If you want them to compete or swim perfectly its lessons.

IdblowJonSnow · 15/04/2021 20:23

God, no! Lessons for both of them.
Also dh and I hate swimming pools. I cant bear the smell and noise
Chlorine makes me feel sick.
Sorry, didn't mean to rant! Blush

zigaziga · 15/04/2021 20:26

Considering it.

My DS (a few months off 5) had lessons for years until COVID, so that all stopped when he was between 3 and 4 years. No massive progress made despite all the money and he couldn’t swim.
Have taken him a few times this week and he has finally managed to doggy paddle a few metres on his own. Thinking just going ourselves might be easier, cheaper and less stressful. School will do lessons too in a few years.

zigaziga · 15/04/2021 20:33

@Wearegoingtoneedabiggerboat

I took my children to the pool when they were babies, however as soon as they were able, probably about 3, they had proper swimming lessons. Most people who say they can swim actually mean they can stay afloat. My breast stroke technique could never be called swimming.
Why couldn’t it be called swimming?

I’m sure my technique isn’t great but it’s definitely swimming. Just because it’s not beautiful technique doesn’t mean my laps don’t count as laps. I mean my running is also not great but I can most definitely run.. My toddler looks funny when she walks but it’s still definitely walking...

AnneElliott · 15/04/2021 21:06

No, DS went to lessons from 6 months and I only let him stop at 11/12. It was important to me that he was a strong swimmer as I am.

DungeonKeeper · 15/04/2021 21:07

I never had lessons apart from at school so yes I can swim but I have no technique and I am not a strong swimmer. My DC have lessons and actually know how to swim, DH swims in a club so can swim brilliantly. There is a major difference between me and how he swims. He is a confident swimmer, me not so much.

Yolande7 · 15/04/2021 21:35

Yes, we did. My husband and I remembered that we learned it in about a week. Well, that was not quite how it was it seems...

It took us a long time to teach our children, because we only went during some holidays and the odd Sunday. However, I researched swimming techniques on youtube, so we took it seriously. They can both swim with good technique and managed to pass some European swimming exams which are hard.

NeverDropYourMoonCup · 15/04/2021 22:17

Christ, no.

Eldest was always hysterical at the thought of water. Five years of taking her to sit in baby pools whilst she shrieked and howled and wailed (and drew blood clawing at me) - then not wanting to get out after 3 hours when I'd managed to coax her into letting the water touch the back of her head if I held her all the time and not one drop touched her forehead, ears, face or neck. Come the following week, the shrieking and howling would start again.

Couldn't enrol her in lessons. School managed to get her to stand in the baby pool. I managed to get her to do about 2 foot of doggy paddle when she asked me to start taking her to my gym pool aged 10.

No way I was doing that with DD2 as well, but as her father was a strong swimmer, he took her off to show him what she'd learned at school whilst I dealt with the screaming or sitting/standing.

LadyofMisrule · 15/04/2021 22:25

Ours went to swimming lessons. I wanted them to learn proper technique; swimming efficiently will keep them alive for longer in times of emergency. I didn’t want them to have to un-learn poor technique from me.

reluctantbrit · 16/04/2021 08:24

@Looneytune253

Yes we did and it actually makes me quite proud. I think we owe it to our children to do this for them. I remember when my eldest started her school lessons she was defo in the minority that could swim and the HT sent out an email showing her disappointment that most of the class hadn't been taught yet (baring in mind they do the school lessons when they're about 8).my youngest was one of the strongest swimmers in the school swimming class.
I think it all depends on how good a swimmer you are, how well your children respond to your teaching (DD didn’t at all) and what you call swimming.

We wanted DD to be able to swim confidently when doing water sports like kayaking or paddle boarding and not panicking when she falls down. For that she needed more than doggy paddle and unfortunately this is what most children end up doing when taught by parents.

Your HT is out of order, swimming as a family is expensive in my opinion for what a local leisure Center pool is. In our pool teaching would be pointless as the 70cm teaching pool is overrun with babies at the weekend, no space to properly try and do something. And no swimmers are not allowed in the big pool, so stuck between a rock and a hard place when you can’t go under the week.

Macncheeseballs · 16/04/2021 08:37

We started lessons but the teachers were mean and grumpy, we ended up teaching them ourselves on holidays, but we are both strong swimmers and love the water

bonbonours · 16/04/2021 08:46

It depends what you want. If you want them to learn "proper" technique and strokes then they probably need lessons. If you want them to be confident enough swimmers to safely enjoy the water you can totally do that yourself.

My kids hated putting their face in the water. But they loved playing in the pool. All the swimming classes are completely obsessed with putting face in water. I didn't want them to start hating going swimming because they were made to do something they hated.
So I chose just to take them swimming lots and let them enjoy it in their own way. Aged 10,12,14 they can all swim well enough to enjoy the deep end of the pool safely, though they wouldn't win any prizes for technique or speed (which they are not interested in).

Interestingly the time I saw the biggest improvement in their strength and confidence in the water was after a holiday where they spent every day messing around in a pool ( hardly any"real" swimming).

Personally I think there's a bit of a cult of "swimming lessons as a necessary life skill" which is just a way of making people pay out a fortune for unnecessary lessons, and making some kids absolutely hate and be scared of swimming along the way.

pointythings · 16/04/2021 08:57

No, mine had swimming lessons. I finally learned how to do front crawl properly through watching their teacher explain the timing of the breathing. They're both extremely strong swimmers, as am I.

I had lessons too, from a very young age.

bruffin · 16/04/2021 09:38

My kids hated putting their face in the water. But they loved playing in the pool. All the swimming classes are completely obsessed with putting face in water. I didn't want them to start hating going swimming because they were made to do something they hated.
They might have got over it if they were allowed to continue

You have to put your face in the water to learn to breath properly, it makes the world of difference to how you enjoy swimming. Ive seen adults that could barely swim being taught breathing etc and out of covid swim a mile 2 or 3 times a week. By the way i am not a swimming teacher so not part of your "con"

museumum · 16/04/2021 09:42

My ds learned to survival swim himself before the age of three by going regularly and playing. He could tread water for ages and also get himself across the pool (15m roughly).
I still sent him to lessons from age 5 to learn strokes so he could do sport/fitness swimming if he wanted to.

Theimpossiblegirl · 16/04/2021 09:45

Yes, swimming as a family when they were little, lessons from age 5, every Saturday morning. It cost a lot but was an investment into a life skill. I wanted them to be confident enough to jump off boats into the ocean on holiday, to not worry about them going swimming with friends and to be able to enjoy it.

bonbonours · 16/04/2021 10:47

@bruffin

My kids hated putting their face in the water. But they loved playing in the pool. All the swimming classes are completely obsessed with putting face in water. I didn't want them to start hating going swimming because they were made to do something they hated. They might have got over it if they were allowed to continue

You have to put your face in the water to learn to breath properly, it makes the world of difference to how you enjoy swimming. Ive seen adults that could barely swim being taught breathing etc and out of covid swim a mile 2 or 3 times a week. By the way i am not a swimming teacher so not part of your "con"

@bruffin Yes, they did get over it, in their own good time, and now have no issues putting their face in the water. If I had forced them when they were young I could see them getting really upset and hating going to the pool.

I feel that swimming classes focus too much on that over actually being able to stay afloat and move through the water. I did send them to a batch of lessons when they were a bit older in fact. My daughter was about 9 and could swim 25 metres without floats, however, she swam with her face out. So they put her in a group of children who couldn't swim at all and were learning to put their face in the water. As a result she learned absolutely nothing from the course, and still wouldn't put her face in.

The time she got used to putting her face in the water was on holiday in a fun pool.

Pinkyavocado · 16/04/2021 10:49

I can’t swim myself. My kids had about a year of lessons. . Neither of them really go swimming so I’m unsure how good they are.