To feel a bit embarrassed my nearly four year old is in a class with two year olds!

[notaswimmer]

I know I shouldn’t but …

We have been going swimming since ds was a baby. The final class before they are able to swim independently is aged from two to starting school.

DS can’t yet swim independently, not even a little bit. So he’s still in that class - but all the other children are aged two. Now we’ve gone back after summer the difference is quite marked.

its my issue I know

My now 14 year old has dyspraxia and we had years and years of lessons up until he was about 10 and he could not even get his feet off the ground. I spent literally 100s of pounds on it.

He can now swim, but is still a weak swimmer. What changed is that I started going to family fun splash sessions at the weekend where we just flopped around with bouyancy aids and balls and had fun. Then a summer holiday where there was a pool and he just all of a sudden 'got it'. He is still not a strong swimmer but at least he can actually swim now. I think the key was waiting for his coordination abilities to develop. (He still can't tie shoelaces).

£70 for 2hrs swimming!

You could join a club for far less than that if you plan to go every week.

David lloyd is £210 a month for my family of four. Indoor pool and heated outdoor one plus all the gym/ spa facilities/ kids clubs etc.

I'm also in the Midlands. Not a posh part but not a cheap part.

I never learned to swim in lessons. Hated them. My dad took me to the local pool and persevered in encouraging me to swim… one day I just finally got it. I think I was eight or nine. I don’t think group lessons work for everyone.

Look for an alternative OP. Your DC won’t make much progress with toddlers who are just starting.
There is no hurry though OP . My DC had a break with lessons due to Covid and started again at 6 . The teacher had floats on their back with a little belt. Concentrated on putting faces in water and breathing. Within weeks our non swimmer was doing 25m .
A slightly older child and good teacher getting the level right makes much better progress.

Good Lord!
My DD went weekly for 10 years and still sank like a stone. We tried every class within a 15 mile radius. Some kids are just shit at swimming .
She surfs now but we seriously nearly gave up.

What do the class teachers say about how he's doing? If they aren't concerned then I wouldn't be worried - he's still only little himself. If they think he's not 'getting it' in that class, could you ask them for advice on how to progress more?

I decided not to do weekly swimming lessons with mine and do a few sets of intensive lessons (I don’t work in school hols so was easy for me)

I would take them swimming a few times a month when they were younger and then did two sets of intensive lessons of 1/2 hour everyday for a week. My son swam first then was my daughters turn straight after.

They were 1 adult to 3 kids, and they were swimming really well quickly.

I think I did October hols and then Feb hols.

Do you take him swimming at other times or is it only for lessons. Try taking him to other swimming sessions with you so he has the chance to practice the skills that you have seen him being taught. As with many physical things , riding a bike, kicking a ball, skipping etc it is often practice and confidence that leads to mastering the activity.

Agree with this. Mine took ages to learn to swim but with hindsight I started them too early in group lessons where they just didn’t progress. I did private lessons in the end at a swim tank place that focused on technique, they both learned to swim v quickly then, not to any particular standard but just so they’d be safe.

I read something once about how most children tend to catch up with each other in terms of swimming or riding a bike by about 7. That was definitely true for mine, couldn’t do either at 4 but both fine by year 3-4.

I know how you feel though OP I remember when my youngest started reception and everyone’s child seemed to be whizzing around on 2 wheels and doing full on front crawl in the pool!

OP I can understand, my son also wasn't making progress at about the same age (probably a bit older in fact) and I eventually paid for a holiday intensive course and he got there. I think he needed more individual attention than was available in the classes. I'd definitely advise getting some private lessons just to get him over the hump and able to swim, then rejoin the appropriate group class. But I think lots of 4 year olds can't swim independently so nothing to worry about.

Everyone develops at different rates. Lots of different factors to consider. I wouldn't worry. My two didn't start swimming lessons until they were after 3 years old and one is top 10 in the country for age group now.

You need to pay no relevance to any lessons you took him to before 2.5-3 years old, don’t think about them, ignore it and don’t factor it in as being “swimming lessons” they don’t add to when and how he will swim at all they are no different to going in the bath really. Good for getting him comfortable in the water but not swimming itself.

Then need to remember this is the same for most preschool classes of anything, they are all pitched at same level whether 2/3years old or almost 5yrs old. If you child is 4 and preschool still then (if in UK?) must be oldest in year, others a few weeks older would be in school now. It can be very meh for the older preschoolers continuing with preschool classes in that last year before school, that’s all it is not that your son is behind.

But as others have said, many swimming lessons will take 4 year olds into stage 1 rather than preschool lessons given many 4 year olds are in school.

I agree. I was 12 when I learned to swim and my son, despite my efforts, was about 9 I think. I became a good swimmer and he is marvellous.

Op, don't worry about it, he is very young and will swim when he is ready.

I’d say take him to a cheaper pool a bit further out, just the two of you to bring the cost down further. If he’s not making much progress with once a week then practicing with you in between will help. It doesn’t have to be all serious, make it fun and build the serious stuff in without him realising, using inflatable balls as floats, pool noodles as hobby horses etc

£20 for you to go swimming?!?! That's like spa/leisure club access prices. You need to find a council pool.

4 is young to be swimming but it seems like your current classes aren't working for your DC. Maybe try another provider.

Your money would be so much better spent on some 1:1 lessons than the courses.

Take him out and get him into a Swim England scheme, usually in a council pool.

It is a council pool.

Total waste of money and the class sounds useless.

Take a break for a few months then start lessons with a different swim school. One for 4 years+, not toddlers

If it's a council pool and there's been no progress in years, you need to move instructor or pool.

These ones are useless.

Honestly there are many children who aren't capable of swimming until 6/7! I had my girls in swimming from 2 and they made very little progress until they were 7/8! My boy I didn't start lessons until he was 7 and I saved myself the wasted money. All three of my children are dyslexic and dyspraxic (although I didn't know that when they were little) and have issues with motor skills. I found it depressing when they were little and my friends kids were like little fish. If you can pay for him to do one to one lessons, it made a big difference to my children and they reached the level needed quicker than they would have in a big group lesson.

Weirdly he just did a bit of independent swimming and is going up to the next class. It is like something suddenly clicked.

Just take him swimming in his own loads. At this age he just needs to have fun and learn to go in and out of the water with ease. Once he can go underwater then the swimming part comes naturally.

We’re all talking at cross purposes.

Out leisure centre is extortionate and that is council.

DS has private lessons and has since being a baby. He hadn’t seemed to make much progress but suddenly did … so maybe my thread spurred him on as I was about to start making enquiries elsewhere.

My DS is like this. He has ADHD and is unteachable when it comes to swimming. He just doesn’t listen and wants to carry on and ‘play’ in the water.

It has really made me realise how difficult classroom is ( though he manages really well at school)

now he’s embarrassed about being eldest in swim class. Says he can swim ( he can- but not great)

private lessons really helped though to push him up the skills level. Maybe try that? Then he can re enter at more appropriate age group?
its more expensive- but will be cheaper than 18 months of group classes with no progress.