Did you know that it's too difficult for boys to learn to swim unless they have lycra type swimming trunks?

[Caligula]

So DS's swimming teacher tells me.

Generations of children have learnt to swim with knitted swimming costumes, but now apparantly, they have evolved to be unable to learn to swim unless their mothers go out and spend a tenner on a pair of tight trunks, even though he has 3 pairs of perfectly respectable shorts-type trunks.

And it now takes at least three years to teach a child to swim, although I learnt in about six weeks, from what I recall. And when I learnt, we were taken by our schools for free as part of our education, to the local swimming pool, whereas now, children have to be taken by their mothers at vast expense and copius numbers of swimming trunks, dodgy swimming hats which have to be covered in talc before you can get them on their heads, and goggles.

Progress is a fine thing, is it not?

The little trunks are cheap in BHS (speedos). DS has to have them for diving & won't wear shorts for swimmimg as they slow him down!

i wondered why my 3 year old nephew had a hideous yellow swimming trunk to take to his lesson tonight....

durrr, swimming hat i meant.

i see, and the fact that dh learnt how to swim in his clothes in his grandfathers lake was a fluke then was it?
or my moms friend who can swim in a sari? that must be sooooo flukkky.

I wish my DS could be slowed down, Milliways. Eighteen months I have been taking him swimming, and he still can't swim a foot. I mean, 18 months! I know, I know, there are 8 kids in the pool and it's only a half an hour each time, but it is so boring having to take him and sit there and I want him to learn to swim so that we can stop going!

Evolution, Stitch!

bollox

short ones are unhygenic arentt hey? french dont allwo them

speedos are better imoa s they dont drip

if idid swimmign again codlitz, id leave it till they were 6 and then spend a LOT on one to one swimming with an instructor

sorry not colditz
caligula

What rubbish! Ds1 wears short type ones and is 'top of the class' in his swimming lesson. He's a proper little fish!

It's certainly hasn't taken him 3 yrs to learn to swim either! He did his 25m at just turned 4!

I've been thinking of doing that Cod - I wonder if it's more effective than these classes?

I'm with you there caligula. DS has been going 12 months and its pretty dull. Can't see him learning before he is 6 though and then they can go into the lessons on their own even if they can't swim. So only another 16 months to go!

must be
i must haev spent a fortine on ds1 and only nOW when he also has lessons at shcool isit improving
hes too thin imfo!

so yes deffo

How old is he Caligula?

boast alert!

gds is a little string bean and he swims beautifully - will go under water - a real water baby - I'm dead proud - cos I'm useless!

codface - bollox again. Ds1 is tiny and skinny and swims teh pants of the bigger ones.

Not meaning to boast of course but like to argue!

Jools, we must stop X posting! People will think we are the saem person!

He's six. And he's been doing lessons since he was four and a half. I thought the younger he started, the quicker and easier it would be for him to learn, but now I think I might have just been wasting money for 18 months!

Who taught him Gobbledispook?

do you ever take him swimming other than just for lessons? coz i think that is very important.

WE made best progress with DD when we went swimming with Granparents (on hols) and forgot armbands. We all stood in circle in pool & pushed her from on person to another, gradually getting further apart. She was soon swimming a few strokes to each person & got her 5metre badge next lesson.She was 4 btw & had got her 1mile badge at age 9!