Young kids swimming and cycling

[parentingsos]

Aibu to wonder how often your young children swim and cycle? We do both but not at the level or frequency I remember as a child and I always question should we be doing more or is life just different for kids now.

Kids 9,7,5 they swim weekly at lessons and about once a month with school.

Cycling is every few months we’d go for a ride round the lanes or take bikes to the park.

Well you are going to get a vast number of different answers depending on what you mean by young and also peoples lifestyles and finances.

My DS2 swims 6 times a week and rides his bike to school everyday. He has a cousin of the same age who cant swim, has never been swimming apart from with school which has been more or less non existent dur to covid and doesn't own a bike.

What detrimental things will happen if you don’t do it regularly? I think it’s important to teach them to be able to do both, but that doesn’t mean you have to then continue with it on a weekly basis. We go swimming when we feel like it and take the bike out when we feel like it - that can range from a few times a week in the holidays and ongoing weeks without at other times. There are plenty of other things to be getting on with and enjoy as well. They don’t unlearn how to do these things - it’s like (ahem) riding a bike… (I’m sorry!)

DC at 9&11, swim weekly at lessons. When it's warm we swim at the weekends outdoors. Sept-June we don't.
DC don't bike to get anywhere, although they will be expected to bike to school in a couple of years. We go out on the bikes at the weekend or in the holidays (~40-50km) if the weather is suitable for biking but not suitable for swimming.

We won't stop with the swimming lessons until both can swim a reasonable distance. I won't discuss it, being able to swim competently and completing a self defence course are the only two things I will not compromise on. We never went cycling as children and rarely went swimming once we could swim.

As a kid (late 80’s) I recall going to the leisure centre just with older siblings as ‘supervision’ and it cost something like 50p or £1 a session with big floats and a life guard. We stayed hours! Then spent the locker money in the vending machine. By about 11 or 12 I went in my own with mates.

Now kids have to have actual adults to supervise, and it cost £27 for us (2kids 2adults) to go for precisely 1 hour including changing which had to be booked ahead (ands it’s always very booked up so at least a week usually two plan ahead).

Bikes - by about 7 I went out with my brother then maybe 11 for miles/hours on nature reserve or trail paths (had to be from the house - bikes were transport not put in a car!). I wouldn’t let my 8 year old out far alone really so the bikes are not used so much, particularly when you factor in school/work/activities/life. She does ride to her tennis lesson every week but that’s like 10 mins away so not what I call a proper bike ride… we need to get out more.

I meant to say - it’s a very different world now.

Swimming... not often enough. They are on the never ending list for lessons after we moved a few months ago and lessons in our old location being cancelled due to Covid.

Cycling... at least once a week locally. Too close to cycle to school, but for Cubs, parks etc.

My parents never took me swimming or put me in swimming lessons and I never rode/owned a bike until I bought one as an adult to take my DC out on.

I used to cycle to the swimming pool with my older 3 most weekends when they were younger or we’d cycle into town to go to the library and McDonalds on a Saturday. Stopped when I had DC 4 and they also got to an age when didn’t want to be seen with me. Youngest (11) still cycles with me to the gym (he has junior membership) very occasionally but kicks up a stink as he wants to go in the car and we went on a almost daily bike rides last spring/summer over lockdown. He has gone off swimming since they were closed due to Covid.

Really miss going out with them actually

My kids cycle everyday to school and back. 2 miles each way. Plus Saturday and Sunday in the park. Swimming was once a week but nothing at the moment as I have a 4 months old so been busy.

We also cycle everywhere, library, shop, park etc.

We only went swimming very occasionally when I was little, but I played out in my bike quite a bit. Saying that, I never went on bike rides.

My kids both have swimming lessons every week, and we sometimes go at weekends, as a family. We regularly cycle. Our just turned six year old probably cycles to the park several times a week and my eldest does that, plus often goes on a longish ride with DH or I at the weekends.

My son had weekly swimming lessons from 5 years old (and at nearly 19, still goes).

Cycling has been more mixed, sometimes he's wanted to get out every day, other times he can go for months without getting on the bike. He used to walk to school but then needed to get a bus to sixth form college.

Swimming- weekly swimming lessons.

Cycling- variable but typically 2-3 times per week. We live in a cycling city so often these are just short trips in order to get somewhere. Sometimes longer cycle rides at weekends.

Weekly swimming lessons and indoor in autumn, winter and spring at weekends (because its cold and an activity and because we have lessons at the pool a whole family swim which is a two hour activity is £4).
Cycling - in appropriate weather so spring, summer, autumn.

My 4 year old swims once a week on average. He doesn't cycle yet though.

At under 12 my DC went swimming twice weekly, once in the week for lessons followed by short play, and once at weekends for longer family swim.

We never went cycling as a family beyond when teaching them road safety. They used to cycle round the park near our house though. Otherwise we are a walk or drive family. (Plus DD1 has dyspraxia so although could cycle she never was very balanced...)

ds has been swimming since he was 10 weeks old! He's now on the school swim team. He is big into mountain biking and disappears up in the hills for the whole afternoon every weekend.

he's 12.

Kids age 2& 4

Swimming: once a week. Lessons for eldest, youngest with me. More often in summer as a family member has a pool & they also swim a lot on holiday.

Cycling: youngest has balance bike, eldest has pedal bike. Longer ride once a week on weekend around local woodland. Shorter rides a couple of times a week to school/park/friends houses etc - they prefer to ride than walk and it's much quicker with the 2 yr old.

Unfortunately not enough of either but we are so rural there's nowhere to cycle. Could only afford swimming lessons recently and then covid came. Such a pity but different times anyway, dh remembers swimming in lakes and rivers locally and now all have signs saying they're not safe for bathing and roads are very different now. Such a pity though, I do feel we've let them down a bit

Kids 11 and 8.

Swimming - weekly for both of them

Cycling - both cycle competitively so rather a lot. Twice a week with normal club training, cycle to and from school each day, extra club training / races sometimes, zwift sessions, family bike rides.

They also both compete in triathlons.

We probably aren’t typical.

Please be aware you won't get a good spread of answers here.

Those of us with children with SEN etc (Dyspraxia in eldests case) aren't going to pile in saying "mine can't cycle at 10"

Or people who can't afford swimming lessons or bikes.

So this will just be a classic MN case of only the ones who do plenty of both reply.

"We swim the channel weekly and my 6 year old is doing the Tour de France"

The basic skill of swimming is good from a safety point of view.
Cycling is a useful skill if it may be used as transport from A-B, especially at secondary school age. This is very dependent on where you live.
Otherwise it is more important to be active. Whether that is swimming, cycling, running, walking, dancing, football or whatever.

Ds swims 8 times a week (15.5 hrs swimming and then another hour gym).

He never rides a bike as he can't really do it.

Doesn't really walk far either as he's also crap that at!

He uses a scooter to get to and from college when I'm not taking him!

Every week. Weekly swimming lessons (I swim a couple of times a week by myself), and they live on their bikes on the weekend. We don't go on family bike rides as often as we should, have all the gear, trailer etc, but the kids are always biking.

DD age 4 cycles 21 miles each week commuting to school. We also cycle regularly during holidays and weekends. She swims once a week (lessons). We're currently unable to swim more because local pools haven't loosened their Covid restrictions.