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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

Swimming lessons - Should Ds actually be getting somewhere by now ??

19 replies

IllegallyBrunette · 15/06/2008 12:06

He is 5, and has been having group lessons since just after easter.

He is getting absolutly nowhere, he is no better now than when he started, infact he could even be worse.

Two boys that started the same week as Ds can now swim quite well.

There are about 10 in the group and on the weeks where the helper isn't there, it is just the one instructor on her own, and so the amount of time spent 'swimming' is very little, as the instructor has to take each child across seperatly.

I have no problem with the instructor at all, as I have seen others come on well whilst we've been there.

Is there a chance that he will just suddenly pick it up ?

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OnACaffieneHigh · 15/06/2008 12:21

He may have picked up more than you think. He's only young and may be a little nervous about stricking out on his own but if push came to shove he might be able to do it.

Is he enjoying it? I only ask as I remember my neice didn't like being in a group for swimming as she was self concious.

Original poster

IllegallyBrunette · 15/06/2008 12:26

He enjoys being in the water, whilst he is at the side and holding, splashing about, but as soon as the instructor comes to get him to take him across his face completely changes and you can tell he doesn't like it.

I think he'd benefit from one to one lessons, but I don't think they do them at the school he goes to, and also I don't know if I could afford that anyway.

OP posts:

OnACaffieneHigh · 15/06/2008 12:31

Could you go into the pool with him yourself? He might be happier with you and more prepared to give it the occational try?

MissV · 15/06/2008 12:38

Hi
My ds is just 4yrs old and has been having lessons for a year and to be honest i have wondered if its worth it as he never seemed to be progressing like the others were.
Only recently he has come on in leaps and bounds and yesterday he got his 5 meter swimming badge ( did put is feet down a couple of times but i dont care - very proud moment!)
I think my ds enjoys the splashing around more than the actual instructon but its obviously working.
I have asked if he enjoys it and he always says yes. maybe you should ask your ds what he likes/dislikes about the swimming?
Could you teach him yourself?

Original poster

IllegallyBrunette · 15/06/2008 12:42

Parents are only allowed in the water for the last lesson of each term.

I have tried to teach him myself, but he has very little concentration and seems to think that as he can get around by floating and splashing about, he doesn't need to actually swim.

I have booked him in for the summer school, which is half hour lesson a day for 8 days, so perhaps doing a lesson a day for so many days in a row might help.

OP posts:

snorkle · 15/06/2008 12:59

he sounds a bit like my dd used to be. She could actually swim but with no discernable stroke and was very water confident. So when she started club they put her in the group just above complete beginners where she stayed for aeons. Don't think she understood the need for lessons at all. Looking back I can't help wondering if it was all a waste of time, but she did get there eventually.

LIZS · 15/06/2008 13:06

There are several kids still in the non swimmers group dd joined 2 years ago who are simialrly frustrated. They have made some progress but are yet to consistently do a width and like lots of kids that age mess around and don't listen . The reason dd has made more progress relatively is that she also swims once a week with school. It was a sudden change from floundering about to getting it and she then moved up 2 groups in a short space of time.

seb1 · 15/06/2008 13:06

I have found swimming lessons now appear to be (yet) another money making scheme to fleece parents , when I was young you had 10 lessons and could swim at the end. Whereas now you book 8 lessons and by lesson 5 you get a letter to book the next 8 and so on and so on and so on with no end in sight.

SlightlyMadSweet · 15/06/2008 13:10

My DTDs were painfully slow to start.

Then I changed their teacher and they were taught with a totally different style. They are now motoring. So just because other children in hte class are progressing and your DS is doesn't mean it is the right teacher for him.

What has also made a huge difference is that I made the effort to take them and actually make them swim rather than just play.

Can you see what he is doing in lessons? Can you take him and give him more encouragement to swim with you? For example when I take the DTDs all they would want to do is jump in (which is actually great for water confidence). I would set them little goals and allow them to jump in after they had done what I wanted them to do. I have to say I did also "bribe" them a bit by telling them they won't have as much fun on holiday as they won't be able to go on all the slides...which is actually pretty much true.

I have to say they once it clicked they started motoring...he will get their too.

RubberDuck · 15/06/2008 13:11

Ds1 started swimming 2 years ago and has just suddenly "clicked" and is making rapid progress. If you were in a real hurry then private lessons are probably cheaper in the long run, but for us it was a fun and social weekly activity for him that's not high pressured.

He enjoys it and has made several friends in the group (which he wouldn't have done in a 1-1 private lesson) and has no fear of the water. I don't enjoy swimming, so if he'd learned in 10 lessons he would probably never have gone again, which would defeat the object somewhat!

Ds2 is now really looking forward to starting in September - and I'm sure that's because he sees his brother having fun in the pool.

SlightlyMadSweet · 15/06/2008 13:11

(oh and it took DTDs 5 terms to get out of their first group....the first 3 terms were with the crap teacher and I wish I had a) moved them sooner and b) taken them myself sooner)

Elibean · 15/06/2008 15:04

Interested by thread, as dd (4.5) is totally against having swimming lessons, though she loves going to the pool with dh or myself. She's not at school yet (primary) so no lessons as part of that, and I'm not pushing it - no point, she knows her own mind, IME. She keeps saying 'not yet, Mummy, when I'm a little bit older I'd like swimming lessons' - and she's probably right.

What I'm getting from this thread is that mostly, kids just swim when they're ready - sometimes they're not ready, so no amount of teaching will make a difference. Like walking, really. Up to a certain age, anyway.

In which case, re the OP, if he enjoys the lessons then I wouldn't worry - he'll suddenly get it when he's ready; if he doens't enjoy them, maybe drop it for a term or so then start again?

Original poster

IllegallyBrunette · 15/06/2008 15:21

I don't think he trusts the teacher, which is going to hold him back isn't it ?

I trust her, but then she isn't holding me up in the water LOL.

OP posts:

TwoToTango · 15/06/2008 15:27

With my DS the instructor told me that it was more about having confidence in the water and enjoying himself. If he's enjoying the lessons I think he'll "get it" when he's ready.

After a bad experience with a bad swimming instructor when he was 3.5 it took me nearly 6 months to get DS back in the pool with me, and nearly 1 year before he would go to swimming lessons again. He had had nearly 2 lots of lessons (nearly 24 weeks) and all of a sudden it clicked and he swam almost a length.

IME as long as they are enjoying it I think they learn more than we realise.

duchesse · 15/06/2008 15:31

Mine were like that (especially my son) and did indeed suddenly pick it up at about 8-9. At 6 he would still cling to me in the baby pool, screaming in fear, so I let it drop for a couple of years.

SummatAndNowt · 15/06/2008 16:09

I couldn't get the hang of swimming till my teens! I just couldn't understand how one was supposed to float, it never worked!

duchesse · 15/06/2008 17:08

Summat- Were you a very thin child? I couldn't float until I was about 20. I used to sink like a stone when I was 12 or so, which I put down to not having enough body fat to float properly. Swimming was a serious effort just to keep at the surface, and both scary and unrewarding.

SummatAndNowt · 15/06/2008 17:50

Hmmm, not very thin, I was quite thin with regards to fat, dense bones though! Strange you should say that, because it was when I got chubby after puberty that I got the hang of it! I did used to just sink.

TeeBee · 16/06/2008 10:42

Can you find a class where they have smaller numbers? My little boy did not get on at all well in a big group. No chance of making many friends and couldn't here a bloody thing in a big pool (has glue ear - like a lot of kids do). I put him into a different school where there are only 5 children in the class and a very small swimming pool. He has gone from avoiding putting his face in the water at all costs to doing somersaults and doing handstands in the water - in 3 months.

Maybe your LO just needs something more catered to his needs.

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