Are private swimming lessons worth the extra cost for a non-swimming 4 year old?

[Aderyn]

My dd1 is 4. We take her swimming and she moves about with arm bands on but she's nowhere near to being able to swim (keeo herself afloat) unaided.

I need to enrol her in lessons. We have a public leisure centre near us where the lessons are supposed to be good. But they make the enrolment process so bloody difficult. They run lessons in 14 week blocks. Enrolment takes place during one set week. If you're not already enrolled, you have to hope they have places and go through the enrolment process anyway, just to get on the waiting list.

Alternatively, there is a woman near to us who has a private pool who offers lessons in very small groups at £10 per week (half an hour)

It's more than I would like to pay but if it were only for a limited time, I wouldn't mind.

Would it be abnormal to use the private lessons to get dd1 swimming unaided. And then once she is swimming unaided, we would regularly go to the public swimming pool with her and dd2.

All advice and opinions welcome.

My 4 year old has done about 15-20mprivate lessons in a class of 10 with 3 tutors - she can now swim nearly a width unaided. She loves the classes. They are 30 minutes. I think they are brilliant. They progress so quickly.

What are the strength/co-ordination issues Crunchie? My 3.5 yo is swimming lengths on front and back, and as well as basic "skills" is working on developing the strokes (so proper breathing techniques etc). Can't remember exactly what ds1 was like at the same age - he didn't start as early as ds2, though was swimming a length by when he started school at 4.5.

so you want to pay a lot of money for swimming lessons rather than take some time to get her on the public pool list?

I think your dd would learn to swim either way so make your choice

I treid private lessons for ds2 (now 5) as he was so nervous- hasn't worked at all. For the last year we've been splashing around in the local pool with some increase in confidence. I'm hoping that peer pressure means that he'll learn during the school summer term lessons.

OK it was MY children who didn't learn well until they were 5 then

I think we'll wait until ds is five, for the same reasons as crunchie.

Don't forget to check out the qualifications of the woman offering private lessons!

My ds shared a half hour private lesson with a friend until he was 5.5 - it made it less full on and tiring, and it was fun to have a mate to mess about with afterwards. I do think group lessons are a bit hit and miss with the very little ones - some do well, of course, but the quieter ones often don't, in my experience. The teacher can't really pay a lot of attention to one more nervous child when she's got another 6 clamouring for her time!

Message withdrawn

Message withdrawn

My DD is now 5.5 nd has ben having lessons at our local pool for about 2 years.These are about £45.00 per term and are worth every penny. She could'nt swin at all when she started and now has her 100 metres!!!(Very proud mum, as I can't swim at all!!)
I think onething to consider is the teacher she will have, as when my dd got nervous,or just fed up her teacher was a real star and knew exactly how to encourage her and get her back in the water.

IN a word, yes.

Given that you have a nervy 4yo I'd defintely go for private lessons.

My DD1 started at 4yo in a class of 10 (£4.50 for 30mins). She was very confident, would go underwater and thus learnt quickly. We're now on our 3rd term and swimming short pool lengths. Two other girls that started at the same time are still in the non-swimmers class and are still frightened.

DD1 only swims once a week, either lesson or with me during the hols. But when it's hot we swim in our neighbours pool as often as we can (last summer it was almost everyday, bliss). She improves hugely when we swim a lot and was learning to dive by end of summer. So an intensive course in the summer holidays might also be worth looking into.

4 is a little young for 1T1 lessons, but if quite a robust little girl should be ok! 4-5 is the norm time to learn swimming these days (if have lessons) although 6 is acceptable, in our area of England most children can swim by the time they start school.

Your DD needs to take her armbands off to learn to swim, try a float under each arm, or use a woggle (they are really popular) get her to put her shoulders under the water and her chin on the water, blow bubbles, anything to give her confidence, play swimming is best for that! but I'd have thought if you want lessons she is still young and group lessons should be enough at her age!

Good luck! I have 3yo twins, I feel awful they have only been swimming 4 times, the ratio of child adult makes it difficult in our household! I had lessons when I was 40 so its never toooo late!

Mine had lessons in a group of 8 at the local pool from the age of 4. Exactly the same scenario as you - agree it's a pain, but once you're on the course you get priority as the child moves up.
Why not start with some private lessons while you wait to get on the course?

I think small private lessons are worth it because the teacher is more able to go at the pace of the child. I would imagine that in a larger class there will be quite a variation in ability because of different strength/previous experience. I think that unless a parent is naturally gifted it is very unlikely that they will be able to teach as well as a good teacher. As with most sports, most people have an idea of what you are supposed to be doing i.e. float, but a trained teacher can tell you HOW to do it and what you are doing wrong that is stopping you from being able to do it.

spend you r money on something that needs money spent on it.

I have three children the two eldest boys 6 and 4 have been having private lessons for three years and two years respectively. I pay £20.00 per week for them to have joint private lesson. Def worth it, ds1 could swim unaided at four, now does front crawl better than me. ds2 just coming off arm bands now. dd3 will be going into the private lesson as soon as she is two. All have been in the pool since 3month of age.

Def go for private.

mine could swim unaided at 5 and do a fantastic crawl. Breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly followed soon after.

definitely go for good public pool

My DD(4)started swimming lessons at the local pool in July last year. we were going on holiday in September and I wanted her to be a bit more confident. The lessons cost £40 for a block of 8. (£5 a lesson - half an hour)
After we got back from holiday I was told she didn't need her arm bands an more and yesterday she managed a few strokes unaided.
She isn't brilliant but she getting there slowly. I am not a strong swimmer and was VERY embarassed when the school took us swimming in yr 11 and they wouldn't let me in the deep end. I was 16 years old. Even on holiday I can only manage a slow breaststroke. I want DD to be more confident in water and a strong swimmer. I'm not hoping for her to be olympic standard (but her half sister is 9 and managed 126 lengths) just better than her mum.

Haven't had time to read all thread. I paid for private lessons, but then I am a strong swimmer and enjoy swimming and wanted her to have the same opportunity to enjoy something fun and thats good for you too. So heres my experience. My DD went to group mother and toddler, then 2-3 years at a private pool. She made good progress and enjoyed the lessons. I found at the age of about 3ish she started just arsing about and not listening and distracting others in the group, seeing it as a playtime and her progress slowed right down. I took her out of the group. I then booked a 10 week course of 1 to 1 at the same pool with one of the two instructors in the June, by the time we went on holiday end of August she could swim unaided - front and back and could put her head under the water and blow whilst on swimming on her front. Whilst on holiday she had a great time and learnt to dive under water to collect stuff. She is now nearly four she is continuing to make great progess and I am continuing with the 1 to 1s probably until she goes to school in september. I would definately recommend our tutor and pool but of course they are all different. I particularly like ours as she is late 50s and stands no messing. Good luck on which ever way you go

I haven't read the whole thread either but in our case, dd (6) has been having swimming lessons for 3 summers now & still cannot swim! Last summer's lessons (private) were rudely interrupted by dd waking up one morning coughing, feverish & having trouble breathing -- she was later diagnosed with bronchial pneumonia, for which she hospitalised. She's asthmatic & extremely slim, which means she hasn't the body fat to keep her warm in the pool (around 21°C). There's a heated pool nearby where she can get a set of semi-private lessons for around £250, which I can't afford, not unless we eat pasta for a month. Should I do it anyway?

All 3 of mine have had some sort of swimming class since they were 4 months old.
All at the local pool for about £50 a term.
To begin with it's not about swimming, it's about confidence in the water and knowing to swim/get to the side of the pool. It's fun!

My DS was not a natural swimmer but we have persisted with the classes for 7 years. It took him unyil he was 5 to swim properly but soon made up for lost time and is now a really good swimmer, still have classes to develope his stroke and to let him get confident in deep water. He loves it.

DD1 was much the same. Now 5.5, has been swimming 20 metres on her back for about a term and 10 metres on her front.

Holidays with a pool seem to be the best way to get them actually swimming.

I take mine swimming because my Dad drowned when he was 38 (I was 12) on holiday. He had only just had swimming lessons and couldn't actually swim very well.
I always vowed that my children would learn how to swim even if they could do nothing else.