Are swimming lessons worth it?

[ItsIcyOutsideIThinkINeedThorin]

DD took until she was 9 to learn to swim and she never had any lessons other than at school, which taught her nothing. I tried to teach her and kept working on the 'water confidence is more important' thing as she just wasn't interested in learning with me and wanted to play instead, which I thought was fine. I can swim but was never very good at explaining it to her and I just thought it would come by itself when she was ready (after all, we all grew up learning to swim without lessons!) My mum taught her in the end, as I just couldn't seem to do it

So now it's DS's turn and I can't face years of trying to teach him as well! He is 5.5 and I'm wondering whether lessons would be a better idea. He's even worse than his sister for wanting to play instead of practising and he is very confident in the water so I don't think we need much more practise at that! I really want him to be able to swim by our August holiday - does this seem possible? Not sure how long lessons take to work (though I imagine that's like asking how long is a piece of string). One-to-one lessons are scarily expensive but are they likely to be worth it? I'd be happy to pay it if I thought it would work but I don't want to pay hundreds of pounds for him to sing nursery rhymes and play games in the pool to 'build his confidence' but him still not be able to swim, as I can do that by myself!

Sorry that was long but am very interested to hear people's experiences with lessons, good or bad...

At 5 years, he won't just be playing and building confidence in lessons, he'll be learning how to swim. They literally get them swimming widths, with floats etc.

My eldest started at 5 years, and was swimming in deep water within 6 months. My youngest started at 3, and was swimming by 4.

Can you ask around the local pools and find out about the group lessons? If you want your DS to swim, it is probably the quickest way.

Um, given that you couldn't teach dd and your mum had to do it at 9, why isn't he already signed up?

They are professionals. It's their job to get kids to swim.

One on one lessons are not necessary unless your Ds has some special needs. Even my dd2 (who has cerebral palsy) has been in a regular swim class with other children for basic water skills. At 5.5 he won't be in a nursery rhymes class... They'll be learning to swim, not playing with watering cans. That's pre-schoolers classes.

All of ours had group lessons from toddler age through till 8/9. None of them are going to be competitive swimmers but they can all swim competently and are confident out of their depth, can tread water etc.

They do sailing & canoeing with Cubs/Scouts and bodyboarding & surfing on holiday, so the swimming is non-negotiable really. The lessons seemed expensive at the time but we just saw it as a necessary cost of raising children.

Depending on where you are, two terms of group lessons would cost less than £200.

Most five year olds learn to swim quickly in an organised class.

DD has lessons in groups of 3. they lane off the pool so 6/7 groups each with an instructor working at a different level. She started just after starting school so was 4.5 (the end of the sept) ... very confident in the water prior to lessons, we had started teaching bits but she wasn't listening. By December she had her level 3 and 25m awards - always had her lessons in the deep end. She has now had lessons for just over a year and has her 50m badge as well as really good (when she wants them to be) techniques and is able to swim 4 strokes (just getting the hang of butterfly - I can't swim butterfly!)

My son started lessons when he was three. He is 3.7 now, confident in the water and can swim 5m. He loves it. I hate swimming and couldn't face teaching him myself. He goes to our local Lesuire centre and lesson are every week except for two weeks at christmad. Well worth it in my opinion!

yes
I am not a big believer in the value of extra curriculur activites but swimming lessons are the exception.
Every child should be taught to swim by a professional or someone who knows what they are doing.
I also think the earlier the better.

madwoman, I haven't signed him up because I felt that I should be able to do it myself. I hoped that DD was just difficult and he'd be 'normal' but am now realising that I won't be able to do it which is why I'm looking into it now. I hardly think that not being signed up for lessons by 5yo is a parenting failure! :)

Great to hear that lots of you had your kids swimming fairly quickly after starting lessons. I will go for it then. With DD, I phoned a local place that gets fantastic reviews but they were so rude on the phone - saying how strange it was that she couldn't swim at 7yo and that she would have to go in the toddler class as 'all children of 7 can swim' So I got very cross with them and refused to send her their - but thart was a few years ago so maybe I'll have to rethink as everyone else seems to love them.

there, not their, GAH...

Group lessons outside of school have been fantastic for my lot. I don't think much of the school lessons DC get. Not value for money until at least 5yo, though.

How about trying an intensive course first - many pools do them over half term or in school holidays. That way you can try without any long term commitment.

I would do group lessons. Dd is 5 and is already a fairly good swimmer. I wouldn't like try and teach her myself, even though I am a good swimmer.

You'd be an amazing parent in my book if you could teach them to swim well and better than many if you could teach them to swim at all. Don't hold yourself to such ... optimistic standards. The swimming tuition DC get is miles and miles better than what I was exposed to as a child; I have learnt so much from parent viewing weeks when we can hear the things being told to DC. I could always keep myself from drowning but tonnes of swim lessons as a child never got me competent at a stroke; I only learnt as an adult. I would be useless teacher.

I consider swimming an essential life skill, I'll be starting DC4 in lessons when he's about 5.5yo.

Very few adults can really teach their children to swim properly. You can always tell the children at the pool who have been taught by their parents. They dont breathe properly. Children do things for teachers they wouldnt necessarily do for parents.

My dcs had lessons from babies up to teenagers and it has been worth every penny. DS now earning money as a lifeguard in his sparetime. Both my dcs have done water sports which i wouldnt let them do if they werent strong swimmers.

One of the local swim instructors has a 3yo whom she has taught to swim like a fish already. But not surprisingly, given her mum is qualified to teach.

And I notice the mum still doesn't like to get more than arm's reach from her child. She's not naive about what it means & doesn't mean.

My DP is a fantastic swimmer and wonderfully patient. But our kids have lessons. We go swimming as a family regularly and they practice and show off their skills.

I think the joy of lessons is they do various different strokes and the kids have fun together in their group and encourage each other. My DS loathed the backstroke. Wouldn't do it. Then when he did a width - the others stopped and applauded him. It was a magic moment.

I think lessons are well worth it.

In this house it's the only thing you have to do (well that and learn to ride yr bike) - you can opt out of Cubs, ballet, footie, karate but you have to learn to swim.

The most efficient way IMO is through lessons, if all you are after is a basic confidence in water and ability to swim a few lengths with one decent stroke, then a child with no co ordination issues should manage that in a year's lessons of half an hour/hour a week, so total cost round my way about £150. Could save their life, and at the very least gives them a healthy and fun hobby they can practise with minimal equipment in most towns and cities in the UK

I think swimming lessons are very well worth it. My two children (nearly 12 and 9) have been having weekly lessons since they were 5 and now compete in school galas etc. They will never be Olympic swimmers but I think it is wonderful to watch them doing length after length of all the different strokes. And it is a guaranteed bit of exercise for them every week.

I'm so glad that nobody is saying it's a waste of money - I felt a bit of a failure that I couldn't do it myself but you all make very good points about teachers being able to teach them properly. I bet all the lessons for this term are booked up now - I should've thought about it before Christmas! :)

Pancake, that's so sweet about your DS being applauded!

Clary, don't get me started on bike-riding

Mine go in and out of swim lessons, too, they have breaks when I know they are going to only plateau in progress, anyway.

Our swimming teachers are amazing. He will be quicker learning to swim if you can give him 1-1 tuition with a teacher.

Mine love it and are like fish.

Can they have lessons together despite being at different stages? Might be 16 pound's an hour? So 8 each?

Ah now bike riding you can teach them - you need a park with a slope followed by some flat grass, or a very quiet cul de sac.

The trick for your children is to look where they are going, not down at their feet. And pedal!