Swimming: how many times per week?

[Criteria16]

It seems all children I know go for one swimming session per week, but does anyone take their children to two or more lessons? I don't mean competitive/club swimming or family swimming, but just regular lessons. What are advantages and disadvantages in your opinion, if you ever tried?

One swimming lesson a week will probably suffice to ensure that a child can actually swim 25 metres and not drown in a swimming pool under normal circumstances. It will not build fitness or endurance

To become a good swimmer - ie. correct technique across three or four strokes and real confidence in the water requires much more. It’s the same across all activities - reading, writing, cooking, piano etc. You can choose to learn a few chords on a guitar or you can master the instrument. You can learn to cook beans on toast or you can try something more ambitious.

Thanks Sakura, great perspective. I appreciate it. I am enquiring a couple of providers to see if they can offer twice a week lesson. It seems unusual but I don't get why!

We did twice a week for a bit at the point they could swim but could do with a bit of extra stamina and water confidence. It did wonders and they moved through the classes very quickly. They now swim competitively so maybe just worked for the right child. Now about to do it again for DC2.

1-1 lessons with a practice with you in between might be easier to find.

Many areas have massive waiting lists, it can be hard enough finding 1 lesson a week. If everyone had two it would be even worse.

Ah lovely. This is exactly where we are with DS. He can swim unaided and he's super confident in the water (jumping in, touching the bottom of the pool, log rolls etc) but he's progressing slowly towards goals such as swimming longer distances and I suspect that's because he gets tired. Hence thinking on doubling the training. And I would love for him to be as safe as possible in the water ahead of the next summer holidays.

Thanks for your reply. He had private lessons for a while and he actually progressed so much faster back then. But....they are super expensive! Each lesson costs the equivalent of a month of swimming lessons.
I will still look into private lessons for the summer, as all providers in the area only do term times for their weekly lessons.

There was no need for the first commenter to talk about drowning in a pool! Mumsnet loves worse case scenarios😟. Swimming should be treated as the fun activity it is.

We were lucky - their swimming teacher could take them twice a week. But DC2 will go to a different swim school.

We do 2-3 per week - once in school, once regular lesson at community pool and once more either family swim or extra lesson. I think it is difficult to master anything by doing only 30 mins a week but that is probably fine if just aiming for basics / not drowning. Mine are not especially able in the sense of being competitive swimmers, but they are very competent and enjoy it. I don’t see mine winning medals, but I can see them swimming for fun and exercise throughout their lives.

I'd say once a week lesson, then once a week with you for fun.

Mine have half an hour swimming lessons and half an hour diving lessons a week.

Another lesson won’t build stamina. The only way we’ve built that is by taking them ourselves and doing lengths with them - racing etc.

Plus half an hour with school - forgot that!

If you do more than one, I think you have to try and use the same provider. For a period, we did two (leisure centre and swim club) the instruction was different so it confused my daughter and in some cases was counter-productive.

I actually think the biggest thing is moving away from 30 minute lessons (which seem standard). My 5yo was doing one 30 minute lesson a week with the leisure centre and it was a total waste of time. She spent more time standing on the side. I moved her to 45 minutes with a swim club and she has moved on so fast. The extra 15 minutes makes quite a bit difference to productive time especially in the lower stages.eldest one has one hour lessons and that was quite a step up at first but has done wonders for her stamina.