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

It’s getting a bit annoying that the admittedly extortionate cost of my local leisure centre is becoming a bit of a stick to beat me with. We don’t swim there except as a rare treat. Our swimming lessons are with a small swim company and at a private pool.

You haven’t read my updates, I take it

Some just aren’t interested.

All these early childhood things are a bit of a panic over nothing. First to sit, first to drink from a cup, first to walk, first to talk, first to count, first to swim, first to read, first to learn times tables… and on it goes for the over zealous parents who can’t take their eyes off the milestone ladder.
IME it’s usually the lolling, immobile, monosyllabic, sinking kid of hapless parents who suddenly scores top of the school in the iq tests, bursts into eloquent conversation, solves algebra in half the speed of the times tablers and leaves everyone in the dust forever more. Don’t sweat it oP. And equally, he might just never be a swimmer🤷🏻‍♀️ He’s just fine.

I think lessons for little kids are a waste of money tbh. They don't have any control over their limbs!

My two started at 7 and 9 I think, it was a bit late for dd1 but 7yo was about right for dd2. They progressed fairly quickly which then encouraged them to keep trying.

Your pool sounds ridiculously expensive! Our local, brand new sports centre costs just over £120 a month for a family of four to use the pool as much as you like during public opening hours. Dgc have swimming lessons there as well. The older one started in the old pool as a baby and can now swim beautifully at 5 years old. Dil now takes the baby to baby swimming as well and they will eventually progress to proper lessons. Might be worth checking whether your local pool offers a family membership as this might work out less than pay as you go?

My DS had been going to swimming lessons since babyhood ('duckling' classes) but still couldn't swim a width aged about three/four until a neighbour's daughter a little older than him told him she could do it. (Outright fib, as it happens).
This spurred him on somewhat... early evidence of a competitive trait which I was both pleased and not pleased about. (My problem of course. He's ok now, in his 30s.)

My children always had swimming lessons in private pools from being babies to end of primary. Never more than 6 in a class. We once had two consecutive weeks where he was the only child in the class as the others were on holiday. Two weeks of 1-1 and the difference was obvious. And often there were only four students but the 1-1 was still massively better fir his progress.

Not read the thread in full but if he’s not making progress you would be better off having a few 1 to 1 lessons - we did this after not making progress in a group class . Kids ended up doing group lessons up to senior school and are very strong swimmers

In France they begin will fully inflated arm bands then slowly deflate them in increments at each swimming session. So it's a slow process of learning how to stay afloat when the floating aid is gradually reduced then taken away.

Other thought, maybe swimming is just not his thing? At this stage, I would leave it and come back to it when he's older, maybe 7?

Right, just read your update. That must feel good for both of you.

Wouldn't he be better off moving to a normal wave 1 type swimming class with kids his own age at the same level?

Or you could get him in to a 1:1 or small group intensive course so he progresses? That's what we did with my DD - she missed loads of swimming lessons because of covid so still couldn't swim independently at 6, but after 5 days intensive course she was swimming independently and loads more confident- then she went in to regular group swimming lessons

This can be true of musical instruments and other sport too.

I must admit that if he’s still at the same level and everyone else has passed on there does seem to be an actual issue.

I wouldn’t sweat this OP. My DD started swimming lessons the summer before she started school at 4yo. Half an hour per week. She’s now 6 and a really good swimmer.

I had swimming lessons ALL through childhood, multiple instructors at multiple swim schools but never could swim. I used to get a few meters then sink like a stone. I tried to tell them for years that I couldn't breath properly and they never understood, I got yelled at to turn my head etc... as if I was too dumb to not understand to not breath underwater (which wasn't the issue).

Went back as an adult to do special lessons (most are adults with water trauma) to be told I'm doing everything correctly and physically body wise and mentally I can swim something else must be going on.

Go to the doctors and find out I can't swim due to my asthma (makes sense, the same way I can't run or climb). They tried steroids and medications but nothing worked and now I have to accept that likely I will never be able to swim. I can float and do mild doggy paddle though so I could probably save myself in a pool to get to the edge.

Sometime people literally just can't swim no matter how many lessons we have, just the same way as some people can't walk.

Sorry to hijack this thread but my 2 year old is the skinniest little thing and he absolutely cannot get the hang of swimming. I had never even considered it might be to do with his size! He’s so coordinated and strong on dry land but he only enjoys the pool when we are playing - the swimming lessons seem such a waste as he cannot / will not do the movements that the other (younger) children are all happily doing. Thanks for sharing!

I know you have said its a council pool but private company who do the lessons? I would look around your local authority at their swim programme I found council were much better at publishing what was required to move up a level.
When I switched from private to council difference was night and day almost half the cost (and we can leisure swim in any pool in the authority) , 10mins extra per lesson plus my son spent most of it actually swimming compared to private where he spent most of time waiting to be taken 1 at a time. I raised an issue with both private and council lessons private shrugged their shoulders and ignored my messages - council offered a free 1 to 1 30 min session to resolve the issue

My DS started Turtletots when he was 6 weeks old. I took him every week until the July before he started Reception. He then joined Stage 1 swimming classes at our local council pool. He's now in Year 2 (7yo on November) and has only just moved to Stage 2. He still won't jump in from the side of the pool and hates being on his back. He struggles with motor skills so finds coordinating his limbs for floating and different strokes much more challenging than his peers. All children do things in their own time. Well done for getting him in the water.

They are all preschoolers for heaven’s sake!

No @scotstars . It is confusing as I’ve been grilled a bit over why I don’t ’just take him swimming myself’. The council pool is £££££. Private lessons are in a private pool.

Ahh I see sorry there were a lot of messages! I would defo look into council swimming programmes in your area but obv depends on where you are. Our authority is large with several pools nearby

What your paying sounds extravagant.... Our local authority pool lessons for school age children are £30 a month! And they've been brilliant. Get looking at your local leisure centres.

Also perfectly normal for a 4yr old to not be able to swim yet. But get them in a stage 1 class with other 4 yr olds (the instructor will be in pool with them until they move to stage 2)

He’s 4, my 13 year old cannot swim but your child will get there, my middle son was really scared about learning until he was 7 maybe 8 and we did small classes 3 to one teacher max and he learned really quickly and was a bit of a fish, youngest was set to start then Covid hit and he just refuses to go into the water, he is autistic and nothing I do can persuade him. I also took an age to learn to swim, I am dyslexic likely dyspraxic I have no coordination at all and I really struggled.

do lots of fun water/swimming play together lots of toys etc you can buy too. He’s in lessons so you could change to smaller class or go swimming together more often. Good luck 🤞

OP, I'm learning to ice skate and I'm older than most of the coaches, let alone the kids I'm learning alongside! It really doesn't matter. We all learn different things at different ages.