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

A lot only start lessons at 4/5. DD was nearly 6 due to Covid. Cant you change classes and put DC in a beginner's class with older DC?

My little boy was exactly the same but he suddenly just came on. He much preferred the baby group as they had more fun and games and a warmer pool but he's eventually moved up and can swim a little now. He's 9 now btw but was the biggest kid in the lower group!

I mean 4 yrs classes at anything and to not be able to do it would suggest to me either the teaching style isn't effective for him or the teacher is no good.

I wouldn't expect him to have mastered front crawl but to be able to swim independently seems reasonable after 4 yrs.

Does he have a fear? A difficulty? Is it a bad class? Does the style not work for him? I'd try asking him gently if he likes swimming and the teacher for their opinion to see if this is a good fit

I’d give him a break from lessons. Why are armbands detrimental to progress? Once they have the basic doggy paddle and are comfortable in the water, just let the air out a bit. Do this gradually over a few sessions until there is no air in them and they should be able to swim on their own. Take him to the pool yourself, focus on lots of water-play, blowing bubbles, picking up sinkys etc. Your child isn’t ready to progress yet, so be patient.

It's not that you've done anything amiss but it is an unusually long time. My son also could not manage to learn in a group and we ended up getting 1:1 swimming tuition. He was later diagnosed with dyspraxia which explained it in his case.

Just do more swimming with him. Lots of practice. At least one extra swim each week. During holidays, every couple of days. Go for it Mum.

I’m sure loads of people have said this but mine didn’t even start swimming until he was 4.5 and in reception. He has picked it up fairly quickly despite being in a massive council-run (cheap!) class.

I think all of these water babies type things are a massive con - you can teach them water confidence in the bath and then by taking them swimming yourself. It’s not even very sociable for the kids or adults. And they cost an absolute fortune!

My boy didn’t swim independently until he was 6, the other children were at least a year younger than him if not more. But once he got it, all other parents were so chuffed for him. They saw his struggle each week( anxiety about the water). Now he loves it

Mine didn’t start until 5 ….they were swimming in a couple of months….,same now with my GD …..4 is young ….they will get there

I’d just stop for a year or so and try again later. I found my kids would plateau after a while, so not worth paying for the lessons.

My DS hated the “baby” swimming lessons so we’ve just started him again in a non- swimmers group where I don’t get in with him- every other kid is about the same age (nearly 5) and he’s really enjoying it so far!

Im pleased for you that he’s suddenly swimming. Get him as strong a swimmer as possible when young. This is one thing less to learn for him when older. I’d up the practice because we are an island and many children who don’t know how to swim find themselves in troubled waters. (Well done Mum
Perhaps when he’s older he’ll take up sailing and have his own boat. (Although on a different thread, men who own boats are not so loyal - but that’s for a different age)

Maybe it's because of the age of the kids he's with that makes him so ambivalent about swimming independently

Give him time he's not training for the Olympics.
I couldn't swim till I was 9.
To much pressure on kids I think.
I have a cousin that never learned to swim until he was 27.

Maybe move him, my daughter wasn’t progressing and when I flagged this they said she’d been messing around in the shallow end with a friend and not listening so asked for her to be moved with kids she didn’t know.

Wow. Your pool costs are super high!

Good that it has started to click with him.

Other suggestions would be to look into local swim clubs- there will be a list on the swim England website. Sometimes they have a academy / lessons section. They might also be good to contact re small grp sessions , different pools etc.

Both of my DC were self taught. Never bothered with swimming lessons at all, partly because of the expense and the waiting lists so me and my DH took them swimming twice weekly instead. Huge improvements were made on family holidays as we were in the pools a lot. Both able to swim properly by the ages of 5 and now one swims for school. I’d look to either change whoever is providing the lessons and go somewhere else or do it yourself where it would be more relaxed and fun.

God my daughter was like this, it was so painful at the time. She suddenly just for it though and is a great swimmer, just took about 7 years!!

My child didn’t start till she was 8 and learned in two weeks, maybe stop for a while…

It took my ds till age 6 for it to click, despite lessons since 2, lots of practice with me and an intensive course. Possible ND, but remember not everyone learns at the same pace.

When he's old enough ditch the water babies and go for proper lessons. My DS started in the summer hols before he started reception. Made a lot more progress than he had been in the water babiesesque class

Yes it can. I literally taught myself how to swim while on holiday aged 3.

I really do think swimming lessons for babies and preschoolers is a marketing gimmick

We did Waterbabies style classes in a private pool where you go in with them for 3.5 years. No progress for the last 18 months of that. Moved him to the local council pool where he could touch the bottom and they go in without the parent and he had made more progress in a month than in the last 18 months. Like a different child. I'd definitely recommend switching.

It's also less than half the price which is a winner.

It’s not unusual at all for children to take time in learning to swim, my 6 year old has been learning for years and has only recently been able to swim a width independently and she’s in a class all the same age. If we hadn’t enjoyed the lessons when she was younger I wouldn’t have bothered, kids naturally get stronger and more boyent as they get older, if you start learning at 6/7 years it would take way less time for the majority.

This was us OP. My Dd, now 14, was in a class of toddlers. Her older siblings also had swimming lessons and were quite good. This is for context, as I don’t think the swimming teacher wanted to puss me off.
At the start of the year,, when DD was starting to stick out like a sore thumb, I had a quiet word with the teacher. Kept it pretty factual.
Dd has had lessons for 3 years….. everyone else has moved on…..DD hasn’t and it’s becoming obvious. What we have done isn’t working, can we try something different?
The teacher agreed. She actually gave me a couple of private lessons at no extra charge. This gave DD a boost. Have a word with your teacher and see what they suggest.
Good luck, OP.