To think I'm being ripped off?

[FasterMichelin]

My son was 6 in April and has been attending swimming lessons for almost a year. We chose small groups in a private pool in hopes this would expedite the process although this hasn't happened. It's usually just him and another little boy with one or two instructors.

When he started lessons, he was comfortable in the water but used to swimming with armbands and being held. He now is happy swimming around with a noodle but can't swim at all unaided.

On holiday, he couldn't use the pool slides due to the deep water at the end and I can't help but wonder what we're paying (a lot) of money for!

I've checked in with his swim teacher who has said the next two stages of the swim program he's working towards are aided.

WTF? I thought I was paying for him to learn to swim unaided!

Anyway, I was wondering if this is normal or if, at 6, with a years worth of lessons, if he should be swimming without floats now.

He's strong, agile and listens well. Not worried about the water, if that helps.

AIBU to wonder if this swim program is more about taking ages and making money, than it is about teaching kids to swim? Or am I expecting too much?

Not really, just focused on kicking and using arms, and gradually removed the swim discs as his confidence increased. We played games and made it fun.

When my sons were 4 and 5, they did a week long swimming course. One hour a day for 5 days. By the end of the week, they could both swim unaided. Not very far at that stage, admittedly, but definitely unaided.

Just seen this post
I’m a qualified swim teacher
after a year, unless the child is EXTREMELY nervous, maybe ND, then no, you’d expect some sort of swimming unaided by now
is if a brand or a council run pool? Sometiems expensive ‘brands’ follow very strict lesson plans which is what is sounds like the teacher is implying. General council run pools can have children who can move up at any time. 1-1 lessons you would for certain have them be attempting unaided well before a year xx

No they aren’t if they are using armbands xx

I'd expect at least 5m by then. You'd be better in council led lessons or lessons affiliated to a proper club than paying ridiculous amounts for some weird programme someone dreamt up.

My fil took our son aged 4 to swim while we were at work.
It took 8 weeks and son could swim unaided.
Ok he wasn't left unattended.
Daughter was taught the same way and it was nearly 6 months before she could swim unaided.
Different children have different approaches.
If you don't feel positive then change the swimming lessons.

Take him swimming with a fin. Get the arms and legs moving together ( doggy paddle is fab!) take the fin off in the last 10 mins and practice ( aided to start with) floating on his back and ducking under the water to pick up toys on the bottom in the shallow end etc that builds confidence and breathing techniques once he masters rolling onto his back and floating you can take him deeper to stop him putting his feet down and get him to doggy paddle for a metre to the side and build up on that . Won't take long! The lessons you are paying for are teaching stroke technique and not water safe moving around.

Sounds bonkers to me. Both ours could swim a short way unaided by that age (one timid and one way too confident). Agree with PPs regarding swimming aids being a barrier to long term water confidence - saw this mistake w child #1 and didn't repeat with #2 (could somewhat explain the confidence etc). Early lessons should focus on water safety and moving/floating in water, esp how to get to the side and move along the side to a step or ladder (if they fall in). Then developing strokes. If you're not happy with progress, Move schools. Yes kids can plateau, but I'd expect progress in a year.
We're in Australia, so probably a bit different, but our system is probably based on UK (most things are 🙄). My kids are learning butterfly a lot earlier than I even did, but basics are the same

Mine are 8 and 3. Swimming lessons since 1.
the big one is doing 25 metres. Little one can swim for 8 seconds on his own at the moment.
we pay for lessons as we are not strong swimmers but want the kids to be.
No arm bands.
we work full time and having this 30 min lesson is ideal for us. We have to attend and it forces us to go. Rather than thinking we can wait until next week…..
Fed up of others saying lessons are a waste of money!!!! There is no right or wrong answer to how we live our lives. Kids grow up differently and at different levels.

I think you need to look else where. Some do free taster sessions. See how someone else teachers and see if that suits you. Ask on your local Facebook group for any classes that others have used.

Good luck.

My youngest was a bit older but she did private swimming lessons, 45 mins every other week for 18 months and went from non swimmer to swimming 800 metres. She started at 7. Older kids did the eleventy billion levels over what seemed like 8 years (but might have been 5 each) at the local leisure centre.

We’ve experienced this. 6 yr old daughter made little progress in three months and we stepped in, changed the day to get another instructor and lo and behold she’s swimming unaided.

Go with your instincts here. It’s a waste of time for all otherwise.

I moved my sons swimming lessons to a different swimming pool because of this specifically - he was in stage 2 for soooo long and they refused to move him up because he couldn't do his arms or something. In the new pool he was put straight into stage 3 and then moved up to stage 4 quickly. After 4 months of being at the new pool he can now swim unaided totally. Obviously you have to watch him and I'd be nervous about him using the slides but still - you can sort of relax a little bit.....!!

If he’s confidently putting his face in and floating on his front/back unaided, he should be learning to swim the swimming strokes by now. I work at a local council ran leisure centre that teaches swimming and we have always get (and always will) people coming from private swim school unhappy as they’re not progressing. We get kids claiming they’ve done their 800m but on their back kicking their legs 🤦‍♀️

Also a lot of people think that their kid will progress by swimming for 15 mins in a half an hour lesson. Every parent needs to be taking their child for an extra ‘play’ at the local swimming pools to build their stamina and confidence. Don’t care for any excuses. Kids who attend football classes play football outside of that to practise so why is swimming different?

My 6 year old DD has never had small group or 1:1 swimming lessons other than those provided at school. She was swimming unaided by the time she joined Reception (so she was 4).

She‘s now is her school’s age 7+ swim team and swims 20+ lengths each week.

I took her swimming at least twice a week from the age of 2, so she’s always been confident in the water.

Stop the lessons and take your child swimming, it’s more than enough.

Having said all the above, there are children in her class who still use a noodle or float. It’s not uncommon.

Just to add - stop with woggles, floats, armbands etc and buy a shark fin float. It straps round the waste and holds your kid flat in the water so they can use both arms and legs freely and practice proper strokes. Plus they look like a shark, so that’s cool to a kid, and you can play Shark Attack.

My daughter started in council run sessions (large classes) at 6.5 years old last summer. She is now on level 4 and can swim 25m unaided front and back. She was a complete non swimmer before that and was terrified of water. She is still not totally confident in water out of her depth but is getting better.

I would change classes personally, I would expect to see him swimming a few strokes unaided at least after a year of lessons!

If he’s not scared of the water and the teacher has had the luxury of small groups in the lessons, he should definitely have progressed more. DC1 (water confident) was able to swim unaided with head in after 2x4 day crash courses at the age of 5. Started regular swim lessons when they turned 6 and almost 8 now - they swim for the school and can swim multiple lengths of all 4 strokes. This was achieved in group lessons

DC2 was more scared of the water but developed a little confidence on a holiday when they were 4. I used the opportunity to put them in group swim lessons at 4.5. They are now 6 and swimming full lengths front crawl and back stroke, learning the rest.

Their swim school is definitely slower on giving the badges, eg they swim 25m length but receive 10m badge, assuming because technique isn’t perfect for all 25m but I’m not so bothered because the water confidence is there, they can do the things you describe on hols with ease - big slides landing in deep water, jumping off piers into sea etc

That sounded like my youngest lessons. A year with aids! My husband said it was a ridiculous waste of money and time. We took them to a.swimming pool, and she was swimming without aids after 20 minutes! Wish I listened to him in the first place. Didn't need lessons at all!

This is why he isn't progressing quickly, he needs to be going swimming in between lessons, to keep up the practice.

You wouldn't expect him to progress well at reading if all he did was ½ hour a week in school and nothing in-between.

My kids have swim lessons in a similar set up. Neither are natural swimmers and have had to work hard at it. But my 5 year old has got her 25m badge and is more than confident in deep water with no aids. She just needs to improve her stroke style to get higher distance badges.

Is there a pool near you that has steps going into it? Rather than the ladder?

If so it's a very easy way to start because the extra height helps them to push into swimming position. You stand a metre away and get him to try and swim to you. Then keep moving back until it's a couple of strokes.

I am surprised he can't swim at all. My daughter is 7 and missed all swimming lessons because of COVID and then local pool was shut for refurbishment. We used this method and she soon managed a decent doggy paddle.

She has now had four lessons (going in at higher level) and although her strokes need refinement she can swim multiple lengths

We had similar with some local swimming lessons. They have an obsession with using aides. Two at a time. Moved him and within a few lessons he did 5m unaided

Can’t you teach him yourself? My teen couldn’t swim start of summer- she never took to it when younger. But wanted to go water parks with her friends. So we just spent two weeks going everyday and now she’s off going water parks by herself. I know mines older but perhaps he’d take better to you than lessons.

That is all my children received in term time. We go away in the big holidays and they get plenty of pool time but fitting the limited public pool availability between school, homework, our jobs and other activities just isn’t possible. They still progressed very well and are excellent swimmers for their age