To think DD should get swim badges more often?

[Tiredtoday22]

DD6 started swim lessons 2 years ago. In the first 6 months the badges were frequent. However in the last 18 months she's only received 2 and it's nearly a year since her last one (5m). She can competently swim 10m and the lessons advertise that they work through skills badges alongside distance awards. AIBU to think a 6 year old needs badges more often to keep motivated? She's rapidly loosing interest in her lessons despite making good progress. I know if she felt she was working towards a badge she would be more enthusiastic.

it sounds like she can swim though - does she need to continue?

Yes, there's still lots for her to learn and it used to be something she loved. I hope she'll start enjoying it again.

My daughter wasn’t getting badges- turns out the swimming teacher is just lazy at handing them out and I had to go to the front desk and ask for them in the end- I’d try that

Talk to the person who runs the lessons! They are the only people who can answer this. Perhaps some parents complained because their child felt badges were demotivating or competitive

Or help her to define the distances she wants to strive for, and make your own badges.

Definitely speak to the instructor.

I had similar issues though when my son was first learning with the local council pool. Other parents said similar. The instructor was hopeless at updating the tracker.

We moved to a private swim school in the end.

My DC’s swim school had seven levels with 3 or 4 swim badges per level. Definitely helped with motivation. YANBU: more swim badges needed, especially at that age.

We don’t get badges. Do you mean your daughter can swim 10 miles? If so and the badges are only given for distance then they probably don’t go up higher and it’s right to focus on skills and technique. If she can only swim 10 metres, and is able bodied without SEN etc, then after two years of lessons they aren’t teaching her properly!

You have to pay for them here when you move up a stage….my DD has 2 girls….she never bothers with the certificates and badges and my GD are not fussed…..they just move up to the next stage

Is this really the road you want to go down, OP? Only focusing on the external validation? The aim should surely be for your child to have her own intrinsic motivation - learn because it's fun, because she likes the water, because she feels proud of herself for doing her best. Not because some adult gives her a badge.

I was about to say something along these lines! Completely agree

10 miles yes?
cos if it’s 10m you need to find another swim school….my GDs we’re swimming over 10m at age 4 after a couple of months of lessons

Meters that is

Round here they only get badges when they actually go up a level. Kids still very motivated to swim.

Spent 2 years learning to swim 10 m?
Find another schiol.

10 metres after 2 years is very slow progress which will be why she hasn’t had more badges. Should be more like 10 lengths/250 metres.

DS (7) is level 4, he can swim 50m without stopping (he hasn’t tried further yet) and is currently learning the butterfly, I’m stating his ability for context as I now know not all swimming lesson levels are the same! His instructor is excellent.
It’s taken him almost 2 years to get here. He only gets a badge and certificate when he passes the level, so to date he has only received 3.
His lessons have an app which allows you to track progress which is good as you can see what he’s done during the lessons and what he still has to complete to pass the level.
He isn’t overly bothered about the certs and badges but is happy when he does receive them. When he does something that takes him out of his comfort zone, ie diving in, I get him a little treat for his effort. He appreciates the treats a lot more than the badges!

Polite email to the pool or swimming instructor, depending who you usually contact

'Hi XXXX
Bessy has been asking about whether she'll be getting any more swimming badges soon, as it's been quite a while since her last one, and she's loved collecting them. The last badge she got was last year for 5m. I'm reasonably confident she can now swim at least 10 meters, is there a badge for this distance?
Please can you let me know what the next milestone badge is, so she can practice and work towards this distance, and whether there's anything I need to do for her to gain the badges?
Thanks
YYYYYY
Bessy's Mum'

Unlikely the average 6 year old can swim 10 miles!!

I do mean 10 metres (never known a 6 year old to swim 10 miles?!) as she's only swimming widths in her lessons. That seems to be the way they do it, the focus is on stroke technique, front crawl with alternate breathing, breaststroke lifting head out of the water to breath, backstroke, retrieving objects under water, tumble turns. I will speak to her instructor.

We had to buy the badges. Dds weren't bothered, so I didn't.
I used to show them the progress on the App.

Incidentally... different swim schools classify the badges differently even if on the same scheme. For some its 10m with a proper stroke...others its can get across the pool using an approximation. 10m is fine at 6yo!

Yeh I doubt if this is a 6yo who can swim 10 miles...

@Tiredtoday22 I agree with others, 10m swimming ability after 2 years of lessons is perhaps disappointing - I don't mean your DD is not doing well, but rather that the lessons don't sound great. For context mine all did the Beavers swimming badge which requires a 50m swim when they were 7yo.

I might be looking for a new swim school. Do you take her much outside the lessons?

yes like others have said there’s 10m / 25m /50m /100m~5000m badges plus stage 1-8 main badges. Children often get stuck for a year around stage 4-5 depending on ability due to stroke development unless they get extra practice. For context my youngest did not put her head in the water until aged-5 but then did all 8 stages in 2yrs and joined her sister in the swim club doing competitions. We took her weekly along with lessons to play around and practice plus loads in the school hols to encourage a general love of swimming and then the strokes just fell into place once she was confident in the water.

Those are the basics of swimming. It's how swimming teachers teach.

Good stroke technique means you waste less energy - important for when they increase to swimming more than widths. Too many children flail uselessly about wasting all their energy and can't actually swim more than about 5 meters before they sink.
Front crawl with alternate breathing - this is the most basic fundamental. Breathing to alternate sides helps stabilise your body in the water. Again to help preserve energy. It also strengthens both sides easily. It's well known that high-level athletes only breath to one side for two reasons (1) exhaustion and (2) to see where the competition is.
Breaststroke - if you don't lift your head properly, you can develop serious neck and back issues. Really important this is learnt as otherwise it can, in serious changes, impact a childs growth.
Retrieving objects under water is just for fun
And tumble turns are again, for fun.

I have both competed (to the highest level) and taught swimming (to children). I still swim and teach. That is how I was taught and how I would teach a child your DD's age. There are many badges that can be given and likewise many 'certificates.' Progress in swimming is not just going up to 10m, then 20 and then 50. It's about learning a bit of everything - as it is with any skill/sport.

You can ask about badges. But the swimming teacher isn't just going to change the course/priorities for your daughter. If you want badges to be given for distance etc, and on your terms, you need to pay for private lessons.

Do you also take her for extra fun swims? Is there anywhere that does intensive courses over school holidays for your DD? It sounds like she has really stagnated and probably just realising she is capable of doing much better will be enough of an incentive.

If she's following learn to swim there's usually a stage badge and distance badge when you complete each stage?

The time between completing a stage will increase as they move through.

So stage 2-3 where they tend to go shallow baby pool and then shallow end will be shorter than between 3-5 where the go from shallow end to deep end to lengths in general.

And the badges go 5,10,25,50,100,400m

There's a huge different in going from 5-20m to then going up to 25 and then to 50 etc.

The lessons should be fun and motivating. The badges shouldn't be the only thing they get from it. Maybe try a different provider if the lessons are boring?