Swimming lessons should be essential!

[PipersSeaSalt]

Inspired by the other thread.

As a nanny of over 25 years, I've always said that if you can only afford one class for your baby/toddler then make it swimming (unless, of course you are able to teach them yourself).

I've heard so many times that "We didn't put child in lessons because he was fearful of the water" and that attitude absolutely blows my mind! That is the EXACT reason why you should get your child enrolled in swimming lessons!

Why wouldn't you want your child to be safe in and around water?!

I know that not everyone can afford lessons. I know that. Many people can and just don't because they don't want to upset their child.

The majority of people who drown are people who can swim.

Swimming in a calm heated pool is different from falling in a cold sea, river or lake.

Children should always be supervised near water, but teaching them to swim isn't a guarantee that they will be capable of getting themselves out of trouble.

Those are likely 121 lessons. Group lessons are fine and much cheaper. Better Leisure centre gyms up and down the country do group lessons for much cheaper too

I disagree that lessons are essential for babies and toddlers. Taking them for a fun swim to get them used to the water, yes.

From 4/5 I would say it's essential.

A problem for small children can be water overconfidence. I hear a lot of patents brag their toddler is soo confident, they just leap right in.
Mine were young in a hotter climate, and toddler swimming was about water safety and strength rather than strokes. They were taught not to randomly leap in water, to always turn and touch the side after jumping in, to tread water and float etc.

That's not for 1-2-1 lessons. That's the price for group sessions (my friend's child is in a group of 6). The only other option for lessons is run out of one of the private schools; again about an hour away; and that's £60 a month per child. That also has a long waiting list. I think because there are so few pools in our area, and such high demand for lessons, they can charge what they bloody well want knowing people will pay it. My sister lives in a neighbouring county, with four public pools within easy driving distance, and pays £15 for 45m...

I've learnt this year, at 55. There was never the money when I was a kid (and I was nervous of the water). I'm still taking lessons because I can't get to grips with front craw and breathing!!!

The early lessons are about entering the water safely, touching the side, learning to float and getting from a float to a stand, etc. I think these are important skills.

My two eldest learned absolutely nothing from swimming with the school so we paid for lessons. Both are excellent swimmers much stronger than DH.
DS I'm struggling with. He absolutely loves water and the swimming pool but his additional needs means he won't cope with lessons and has no fear.
But in general I do think all children should be taught to swim or at least be confident in the water.

Nah theres no requirement in life to be able to swim. Just dont go near water.

I enrolled my son in swimming lessons 6 months ago just as he turned 4.
if you receive Uc the council gives a discount on the monthly lessons.
it’s still £23 a month with the discount and thats 30 mins a week. if i didnt work I definitely couldn’t afford it.
no option to move lessons around if you need to.

If I’m honest i saw progress quickly but now it’s slowed down and the instructor seems to do the same thing every week- not really teaching just ticking off the tasks to get them to try.

We’re going to give it a few more weeks then maybe take a pause for 6 months or so until he’s old enough to follow instructions better and understand why swimming is important.

Swimming is a great skill to have, but saying it is essential is just another stick to beat hard up parents with. Even going casually to our local, council run pool costs £20 for 2 adults, 1 DC - not something we can afford every week.

We could manage lessons if we stopped DS martial arts club which is something he has been doing since he was 4, loves and also has the potential to be very good at.

We live on the coast so focus on water safety and swimming together when we can. I am a regular sea swimmer so definitely do appreciate the skill, but it can't be learnt and improved at any age

Agree all of mine have lessons and are not allowed to quit untill they can pass swimming in clothes and I don’t allows pjs to count like some parents. I send them with jeans and a hoody. Swim in proper clothes in an emergency situation.

Our swim school makes them line up back to them to get shoved it at any given moment fully clothed so although they know it’s coming they don’t know when and it’s over the diving pit so deep deep.

We now live in NL and all kids, literally, all kids, start lessons aged 5 upwards. Most of them have gone through all stages by age 8/9. It's weekly lessons, followed by swimming exam. Yeah, it's dull sitting by the poolside Saturday mornings - but an essential life skill.

I swim, my kids swim. It's good exercise and handy for holidays, but an essential life skill it is not. I'm sure none of us would stand a chance in a cold river/lake/sea or in strong currents.

The earlier the better

When my DC started swimming lessons at 4 he cried and cried? It took three lessons to even get him in the pool, and months of lessons to manage a whole half hour without tears. He hated the water, the noise, the cold, getting changed, going home with wet hair, everything. We tried two different places as the first place, the instructor just ignored him when he was unhappy getting in the water, the second place was better with smaller groups but still he wasn’t learning, still hating every second and it was a battle every time which was costing a fortune. We persevered for ages but eventually gave up. He still can’t swim without a floaty at 10.
not every child is good at it, not every child enjoys it, not every child will “just get ised to it”, not every family has money to burn on activities the kids hate.

Absolutely essential, especially if you live near open water. My country is full of lakes so most people live near open water so teaching children how to swim is very important. Its a compulsory part of the curriculum every year in school but its only 2 or 3 lessons per term per year so doesn't teach a huge amount, they really need teaching outside of school too. My town doesn't have swimming lessons except for a week-long course for preschoolers every spring, so I taught my children myself (well, my youngest is still learning). We swim in the pool in the winter and in the lake in the summer so they get used to swimming in open water too. And once they can swim well enough, jumping in off the swimming jetty so they learn how to swim with a sudden start, out of their depth. Plus its fun!

Just knowing how to float for a few seconds could be enough to get rescued and save your life.

Swimming has been priced out for many families now.

Here only one pool re-opened anywhere near us after Covid and since it has a few flumes they charge and absolute fortune.

it's £9 for an adult and £6 for a child. They do a parent & toddler session on a weekday and it's £11 for 45 mins. The car park (and you can't get there by bus since Covid either) is £6 for an hour. £17 is beyond many people

Swimming lessons here start at £15 a week for group lessons. Again, beyond the finances of many families atm

Here it’s £36 a month and includes free swimming for the person learning at any of the council pools too. Cheaper than school lesson swimming for the “coach”

My best friend was a weak swimmer because she’d never had lessons and rarely been taken swimming as a child. By the time she had school swimming lessons, she was already petrified.

She has now got 2 kids and to her credit, they both attend swimming lessons and have done since they were little. I think she was keen that her children never felt the way she did.

I was taken swimming as a tot and enrolled in swimming lessons aged 4. I am a strong swimmer as a result.

School swimming isn't a thing in Scotland. It used to be, we were taking to the nearest school pool when I was in primary school, and my secondary school had its own pool. Schools are now being replaced without pools and there is no requirement to provide swimming as part of the curriculum, so schools don't do it.

So it's up to parents to organise lessons, or take their kids and teach them themselves. Lots do, many don't for all sorts of reasons.

if you can only afford one class for your baby/toddler then make it swimming

I think this is largely a waste of money. Take them for a few fun splash sessions at your family swimming pool when they are babies and toddler. Save the lessons for when they are around five or so as they will then learn quickly, but babies and toddlers don’t typically learn to swim no matter how many times they go in a pool.

Once at school, some have their own pools for lessons or share a pool with other schools, but it’s also part of the KS2 curriculum so lessons are available for all of those in state education in England.