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?

yes its only a ridiulous theory

Caligula - he has his lesson at the gym I go to but the teacher also teaches at the local pools. She is fantastic. But all children are different and a couple of the boys in his class (there are 5 of them) are waaaaaaay behind and still have 2 discs on each arm and haven't done their 15m while ds1 and another 2 boys in the class do the whole lesson without any floats or assistance and are now at the point of diving down to the bottom and swimming through a hoop!!

Load of cr*p.

DS2 swam 5m just as he turned 3. Has never had armbands or speedos - always wore his surf suit thing.

Why the swimming hats though? Is it for ID? Long hair isn't (usually) an issue for boys and DS1 hates wearing his.

I've just started my two (finally!)at 5 and 6. I can't say it's that boring - it's only half an hour, and I take a book or chat to the other parents. My ds I think will pick it up very quickly as he is very confident (I think that the classes I took him to as a baby might have helped with this). My dd will take a bit longer, as she is quite nervous. I learnt like Milliways on a family holiday, but I think it depends on how much time you can put into it, and how good the teacher (or you) are. Talking to the other mums at the place where I go, some teachers are not very good. I try and take my two swimming regularly as they love going to the swimming pool, but as I am not a great swimmer, I have to say I find it a bit boring (and you can't read a book when you are actually in the pool!). Our local pools are OK with a two under 8's to one adult, so I have taken them to family spash/leisure pools for the last two or three years.

Hate the hats! We have been told it is for hygene/to stop blocking the filters, but I'm not sure why the leisure pools don't say this. I find putting it on my dd who has long hair quite easy, but very hard with ds, who is curly.

caligula - my mum used to take my brother and I "swimming" very reguarly when we were younger (couldn't afford swimming lessons when little though). We did swimming at school - and when I was about 8 - I finally managed my 5, and 25meter swimming certficates..................doggy paddle .

All the way through senior school I went to the swimming pool 2/3 times a week (the boarding house had membership of the local private pool - so it was free for us), and the (horrible, nasty, b*tchy "housemother") got the school to pay for lessons for me as I still couldn't swim properly aged 15yrs...........well that was a waste of money - 12 months later on I was still doing a doggy paddle type swim.

Even now - aged 26 I still can't swim very well on my back.......although I could now rescue someone as (although it's never a straight line LOL) I can swim quite a distance on my back (well could as few years back).

so thats why none of mine can swim.

It's illegal for men and boys to swim in anything but speedo type trunks in Wallonia, and everyone has to wear a hat there too.

No, I don't understand why either. Was told it was for hygiene reasons. So we swim in Flanders!

Caligula,

my ds also had to wear swimming trunks for the one week last summer when he had swimming lessons. He has never worn them since. If you are interested and want to CAT me with your address, I could post them onto you. They are hardly worn and have been well washed since then

Meant to add, they are blue and age 6.

a surf suit ina pool soupy? why?

Because before he could swim, he was too damn slippery and wriggly to hold onto unless covered in a suit!!

Swimming hat oddity... the children had to wear them for DSs classes but none of the adults, including the instuctor! (Tip - get the fabric ones, not the rubbery ones as they go on easily without catching)

ah yes we have them

I'm giving up on ds's lessons. He's just not prgressing and it's a right pain taking him to a 5.30 lesson when he's exhausted from school.
I will be doing the one-on-one option for him next year.
He doesn't pay enough attention in the class.
Either that or it's his baggy shorts holding him back.

tabitha, thanks for the offer, will CAT you

Well my ds wears shorts and can swim - after a course of swimming lessons he still hated the water and would not even swim with arm bands. My SIL took him twice - ditched the armbands the 2nd time and can now paddle around quite well. Even swims underwater now and jumps in - which for a child who hated water is a brilliant achievement.(tip - goggles and noseclips increase confidence greatly if they hate water!)