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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

What age can a child realistically learn to swim without arm bands?

58 replies

FrannyandZooey · 17/07/2006 11:56

Ds loves the water and is very confident with his arm bands on. However it costs a fortune to go swimming here (over £8 on a weekend when his dad can take him - I hate swimming pools and am crap so it needs to be then).

I think if it was the right moment for him to learn to swim by himself, we would feel the expense of taking him once a week or so over the summer would be justified. He's 3.3. Is there any point trying to teach him now or is it too soon?

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nooka · 17/07/2006 22:23

I think that armbands are really unhelpful in learning to swim. My two (7 ands 5) are in their third term of swimming lessons and they can both do about 5 meters, which isn't fantastic, but they are learning all the right strokes, which I think is very important (I still have a tendency to doggy paddle, which means I swim very poorly - in fact I have been thinking about having lessons myself) and are very confident with going underwater etc. I take them swimming fairly regularly. I too dislike swimming pools, but they enjoy it very much, and I think that swimming is a life skill, so I am will go along and be bored for a couple of hours (also dh has a perforated ear drum and can't get his ears wet). We pay about £10 for the all singing all dancing sort of pool, and about £5 for the ordinary one. Swimming lessons cost about £45 a term each. They seem to like all swimming pools, so long as there are things to play with (floats, balls, Mummy / flumes, water falls, waves etc). But I think it is easier/more fun with two. If you really don't enjoy it, then I would keep swimming as an occasional treat until he is old enough to go in the water for lessons by himself.

Surfermum · 17/07/2006 22:27

I was frolicking in the surf with dd at 8pm last night Moondog. She looked really funny surfing in on a bodyboard with armbands on!

fistfullofnappies · 17/07/2006 22:28

agree nooka - I used to sink like a brick with armbands on

moondog · 17/07/2006 22:32

Brill SM!
How fantastic to be getting into that at such an early age.
Where are you?
Down south somewhere?

Surfermum · 17/07/2006 23:02

I'm near Poole Moondog. And boy do I love being so near the beach in this weather.

moondog · 17/07/2006 23:03

Oh it's lovely down there isn't it (and v expensive right??)

I am about 10 mins from the beach here in North Wales.

Surfermum · 17/07/2006 23:10

Ooh it's lovely up there too! Although I must admit my one and only trip there was to Butlitz for a Blues and Soul weekend.

Yes, it's expensive here. I think Sandbanks is meant to be one of the most expensive places per square foot or something. I wouldn't want to live there anyway, too many queues for the beach car park and ferry in the summer . Although I suppose they've all got helicopters.

Ladymuck · 17/07/2006 23:18

ds2 is swimming a width without armbands at 3.3 but it has really only been in the last month or so that he has had the strength to keep his head positioned while he swims.

Are you away on holiday at all - mine are in the pool every day then and it is an excellent time to try this out.

suedonim · 18/07/2006 01:57

Dd2 was by far the youngest of mine to learn to swim, at 5yo. I think it was because we had access to a pool which she could use daily. We knew a number of Australian families whose little ones all swum like fish by the age of 18mths/2yrs (it used to terrify me to see these little tots throwing themslves into the deep end!). Apparently, in Australia they believe arm bands actually delay learning to swim. But it must be so much easier to learn to swim in a year-round warm climate where pools are more available.

threebob · 18/07/2006 04:04

8 pounds to take a 3 year old swimming - madness.

It's about 50p here for ds and I to go swimming. And I still only manage about once a month.
.

I would say that 4 is more the age when you would see results from swimming lessons.

Original poster

FrannyandZooey · 18/07/2006 07:52

I agree about the armbands - think it was a mistake to put him in them - and also don't see why he should have lessons, moondog, when both his dad and I can swim. (although they do get the parents in the pool at this age, for the lessons, so one of us would be with him)

I will look at the jackets, thanks for that.

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jenkel · 18/07/2006 08:54

My dds swimming instructor says that she prefers to teach kids to swim who havent been wearing the vest style bouyancy aids, according to her the way they hold the body in the water is all wrong for learning to swim without any bouyancy aids.

In all our local pools its free swimming for under 5s. The only reason that we do lessons is that I have a 18 month old also and I cant take both of them in the pool on my own and the pool is so packed at the weekend, not a good place to learn to swim.

snorkle · 18/07/2006 11:10

Message withdrawn

MerlinsBeard · 18/07/2006 11:17

i have only skim read posts so forgive me if i repeat anything here.

I could swim confidently by the time i was 4 and my little sister was 3/4 when she could swim too. We were bothe taken sporadically but often by our gramndparents and i only remember proper lessons at butlins! and school.

Theres no need to pay for lessons yet, ur dp could encourage him and increase his confidence and maybe show him the basics until u feel that lessons are worthwhile

snuffy143 · 18/07/2006 11:27

My kids have both learnt, aged 4, at the local Dragons club. Lessons are £3.50 and the teacher is fab. DD (7) has done 1000m and loads of survival badges. DS (4) is just out of discs and getting there! The best thing is if yuo miss a lesson through illness or holiday, you can make it up by doing 2 lessons one week. They keep going through the holidays and usually the groups are smaller with people being away and the kids make loads of progress. I would go for a summer intensive course.

Clary · 18/07/2006 11:34

franny still cannot believe the price of yr pool.
Is this council owned? Where on earth are you - even £5 for 2 of you is a lot frankly. I wouldn't expect to pay for a 3yo at all. In fact like Jenkel, it is free here for u/5s and quite right too.

Original poster

FrannyandZooey · 18/07/2006 12:24

We are in NE Essex. I think it was free for ds up until he was 3. There is as I say a plain teaching pool which is cheaper but ds likes all the slides and waterfalls and stuff. It's quite a smart pool, with lots for children. Just horribly expensive. I think it is council run, yes (feels stupid for not knowing)

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snorkle · 18/07/2006 12:33

Message withdrawn

Original poster

FrannyandZooey · 18/07/2006 12:43

Yup that's the one snorkle - Ds adores it. I guess it is fairly luxurious as far as pools go.

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CarolinaMoose · 18/07/2006 12:53

isn't it worth learning to float unaided before trying to learn to swim?

I don't really get the point of wearing armbands for lessons (as opposed to wearing them for mucking about in the water before you can swim).

Clary · 18/07/2006 13:02

franny sorry, not trying to berate you (keep sounding stroppy when I post).
I'ms sure it's council run if you don'y have to be a member in a posh health club sort of way.
To be fair, there is a pool nearish to us which charges for over 3s. It has a slide too but nowhere near as fancy as yrs sounds. Still think that weekend price rise is a bit much tho.
Lots of people I know like it but I've not been since I was charged £7 for me and the older 2 compared to about £3 in Derby.

Clary · 18/07/2006 13:04

carolina they wear armbands at our lessons before they can swim because otherwise they would sink!
DS2 can't touch the bottom even in the toddler pool but he can swim a length of it with 2 arm rings on each arm doing a not bad leg kick and arm scoop.

madmarchhare · 18/07/2006 14:53

DS (2.7) doesnt wear arm bands at all for lessons. Of course I am supporting him unless he is holding on to the side or has one of those long tube type floats under his arms that they use as part of an exercise during the lesson.

Anyway, there are others at around 3.5 that can swim unaided that have been going once a week since 2.5.

CarolinaMoose · 18/07/2006 15:34

I am playing devil's advocate I spose Clary (about armbands ffs!). I just think why learn swimming strokes before you can float?

Aaaaaanyway, to go back to F&Z's question, these floats are rather lovely, if a bit pricey, and you can reduce from 3 per arm down to 1 as the child gets more confident, unlike inflatable armbands which fall off if you reduce the amount of air in them.

Ds is 20mo and loves his - he doggy-paddles around in them quite happily.

mumtoone · 18/07/2006 21:06

Where do you take your children for swimming lessons? I would like my ds who is 2.75 to learn however I have been told I can't put his name on the waiting list until he is 4 and he is likely to be 5 before he gets a place. He swims quite well with arm bands on and he loves the water so I think he is ready to learn now.

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