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.

Out of interest, are you disparaging about driving lessons, horse riding lessons, football / rugby classes, dance lessons, music lessons?

I really don’t understand (and I don’t mean that in a passive aggressive‘I just can’t possibly understaaaand’ way, I genuinely have no understanding here) of why it is inherently virtuous to teach your children to swim yourself rather than send them to swimming lessons?

Exactly. I agree it's my responsibility as a parent (who has the resources and DCs who are capable) to make sure my children learn to swim. So I send them to lessons. That's not abdicating responsibility, that's meeting it.

But what about the people that can't afford to take their children they will not learn to swim. It's got nothing to do with riding a bike that is free even if you borrow a bike. Then again I have heard of people paying someone to teach their children to ride a bike because they don't have time.

DH and I teach our children many things and I think it’s perfectly ok to outsource the teaching of anything we can’t or won’t teach. The end result is still a child being taught and that’s the crux for most things.

Honestly- this is a bit privileged. My oldest Ds is 14 and his swimming lessons cost £20 a session 10 years ago. Many many people simply do not have that sort of money spare each week.

I used to take DS to a weekly activity in the velodrome where instructors would help show him how to ride a bike.

Why - he listens more to others than me 😂 he enjoyed it, it got us out and about and it was a fun thing to do.

It really is OK to pay others to do things you either aren’t good at or just don’t have time for yourself, see also cleaners.

My son has been having lessons since a tiny baby. He is super confident and can swim 10m but messes around in lessons so still stuck k stage 2 at age 6.

If I had paid many hundreds of pounds and spent hundreds of half hours over six years getting a child to swim 10 metres, I would not be impressed.

Personally I think swimming lessons are overrated on Mumsnet - you only need your child to swim a length proficiently, which can be taught easily enough at 5 or 6 if you just let them splash and doggy paddle until then. Most people aren't going to swim competitively and don't need years of levels and badges.

Just to add to this, my five year old can swim better than this (and is stage three) after spending five years doing occasional family fun sessions at a pool and starting six months of lessons earlier this year.

Yes and so many parents write their kids a slip saying they can’t participate.
There was a drowning in our area and the school were puzzled because they had a pool and it was part of their PE, turned out the drowned individual had always had a letter excusing him. Sad

Apart from driving all the others listed aren’t essential life skills to equip you for life and tbh you can get by without driving but swimming could save there’s or someone else life

i think my view stems from the amount of parents I know who complained that there kids couldn’t swim but they never took them near a swimming pool

Whilst I fully acknowledge not everyone can teach there kids to swim they’ll get far more from a limited school swimming lesson if they are already water confident and used to the environment of a swimming pool
that the overwhelming majority can do but a lot don’t bother and then complain that there kids can swim after a handful of school swimming lessons these are the people I’m on about

If parents do enrol children in lessons they see passing stage 4 as the goal when that is the bare minimum of competent and won't lead to your child being able to save themselves in a tricky situation

The number one most important life saving skill in water is not panicking and staying afloat. That's it. If stage 4 covers that, you're statistically unlikely to ever drown. Swimming is good exercise. But it's only essential to be able to swim well if you want to pursue certain watersports, especially sea-sports like surfing. As has been stated already, most people who drown can swim.

Being generally fit and eating well is far, far more important that swimming. Lets put it this way, in the UK an average of 400 people a year die from drowning while 702,880 die from heart disease. Helping a child find a physical activity they love and want to pursue, is far more important than a focus on swimming.

It's also not necessary to learn early. My DS had lessons for a bit age 6, then due to illness followed by lockdowns, he didn't get back in a pool for four years. A year later and he's working on tumble-turns and he's started surfing and wakeboarding. Granted swimming comes more naturally to him than it does to some but the most important factor in him learning was probably being fit and confident from other activities.

When I swim I am always amazed at the kids who are having swimming lessons, some of them are tiny little dots but they are so confident in the water, can jump in ( and get out again without using the steps) are taught to dive, to put their heads below the water, breathe properly,swim different strokes etc. I can only do swim like a turtle breast stroke and so wish I had been taught properly when young, I can swim without stopping for an hour so have stamina, but no style!

I agree with the OP, it is the best activity to spend money on.

@rwalker but that completely ignores the fact that for many of us the days when you could rock up at the local leisure centre and have a family swim for a few pounds have gone. If I want to take both my children to the pool, I need to have DH with me because of ratios and it’s an absolute fortune, it really is. Berating parents for not doing this reads unpleasantly. There are shit parents, I know that, but for the most part most parents want to do their best for their children.

My children’s primary did it in year 3, but I agree that’s much too late. Mine were both already swimmers by that time (despite pandemic interrupting my son’s yr 1 and 2) and I felt sad for those who went into these lessons as non swimmers.

That said, it’s a money thing for many people - yes it should be a priority if you have money for hobbies but some don’t have money for anything beyond food and bills sadly.

I think schools should be funded to offer this from the start, every year of primary. But from the position we’re in now, that’s going to be a long time coming.

See also music lessons for all children throughout primary!

None of the kids I know (nor my own) do swimming lessons. The nearest pool is an hour away which isn’t realistic, and when DS was younger and tried doing lessons he wasn’t interested at all, it wiped out half our Saturday and every time we went away, wanted a day out somewhere, had someone visiting, etc, we couldn’t make the lesson. It became quite expensive with the 2 hour drive on top!

Now another busy summer is out of the way I’ll try to take him swimming myself at the weekends when we have time, but we won’t bother with lessons again.

The top thing parents need to tell their children is to not panic and float on their backs, so keeping their airways open. That was always the top water lecture we got as children in a school right by a beach, so water safety was paramount.

Thinking you can swim and going to save someone by getting in the sea is often the most dangerous thing you can do. Call for help, make sure help is coming and knows where the person is located is the most important thing to do.

Nobody, no matter how good, should be swimming unsupervised in a public pool. Even at the Olympics they have lifeguards.

When I was young we nearly all learnt to swim, nowadays I don’t know why but my DD is one of a few who can swim in her whole year. Even then the others that ‘can swim’ can only do a couple of lengths… I’ve heard people say once their kids get to level 4 or 5 ‘oh Billy can swim now, so we are stopping lessons!’… or ‘oh they only need to be able to swim a length’…. I never understood this thinking as much of being able to swim is about strength and stamina… my DD swam her first mile for charity at age 7… I am a single mum and scrimp on everything else to pay for her swim as a member of a competitive club now, admittedly I don’t go to hair dressers, or have nails done, wear the same clothes all the time, don’t drink or smoke/vape or visit costa/star bucks etc… but I’ve always prioritised her swimming, now she swims 8 hours a week and it’s so good for health too… both physical and mental. Not to mention the amazing friends she’s made, they’re all such good kids, Disciplined, polite and kind to each other..
My friend can’t swim, she always said how sad she felt she couldn’t go in the pool or sea with her kids, she’s ensured her kids learnt to swim and one even became an instructor!
I do think lessons should be subsidised though, and schools should do swimming every year throughout primary rather then just year 4….

When we wete young, there were more pools, entrance was cheaper, they were more open swim sessions, bus fares were cheap... it was just easier to go swimming!

So many schools with swimming pools have had them removed and turned into car parks. Both my Junior and Secondary both had out-door pools. It was thought to be very important when they were originally built in the 1960's. Sadly the safety of our children seems to have a low priority for the bean counters who run our councils.

The cost to run them is too much. That’s the issue for many schools in poorer areas.

I don’t go to hair dressers, or have nails done, wear the same clothes all the time, don’t drink or smoke/vape or visit costa/star bucks etc…
I didn't do any of these things but still couldn't afford to take them swimming let alone for lessons.

admittedly I don’t go to hair dressers, or have nails done, wear the same clothes all the time, don’t drink or smoke/vape or visit costa/star bucks etc

This is horrible. You think parents who don’t take their children swimming are just selfish, is what you’re saying here.

I really don't see the need to babies and young toddlers to go to swimming lessons- unless you live near water or are frequently around water / have a pool, that sort of thing.

I think learning to acclimatise to water with parents and the occasional pool trip at home or when you go on holiday is more than enough.

When they're 4 or 5, you can pick it up a notch and take them or teach them yourself. Before then is overkill unless you really enjoy taking them / are near water a lot.

Yes I think parents should make sure their kids can swim and ride a bike.

Riding a bike is probably even more important than swimming - it is a method of transport and teaches you road sense which is handy to have as a pedestrian as well as a driver/cyclist.

Yes and you didn't need to book in advance. Now pools seem to be booked out with swimming clubs and lessons - I assume it's more lucrative for them than individuals turning up.