A 4 year old who's never been to a swimming pool - reason to judge?

[emkana]

discuss

Message withdrawn

I once read that something like 70% of children who drown could actually swim

My dc have only been a handful of times. I hate swimming and dh hates indoor swimming pools (he is from NZ where I think they are few and far between). It's also fairly expensive tbh.

But I would like them to have lessons soon so that hopefully they will get to enjoy it.

A good place to be shit - shit-ness doesn't count. You can or you can't. Just need to that's all.

Dont feel that learning to actually swim before 5 is important, but think being used to being in the water and overcoming fear of water is very important.
If a child is in trouble in water they will be less panicked and more able to float if they have experience.
So yes, I think going swimming is very important and incomparable to ballet class etc as FridayFeeling says.

Note: a good place to be shit. Not shit.

It is obvious people who can swim drown too - can't see that is an excuse for not teaching children to swim?

My parents never took me and I still cringe with the embarrassment I felt when lessons at school were compulsory and I couldn't do a width, with or without floats.

Needless to say, my children have been going since they were tiny.

I had lessons as an adult and its something we do as a family. The children are confident in the water and enjoy it. I would hate them to feel as I did in that swimming pool infront of my peers.

No, not a reason to judge

But very surprising IMO - water is effing dangerous, why wouldn't you make sure that your DCs could swim?

No judgement here. Just think he might be missing out on all the fun.

My 3yr old goes once a week now with his dad, my DH, and (they both) love it. It's lessons aimed at making small children unafraid of the water really, lots of going under water, swimming under mats, splashing about, jumping into the pool.... oh, and the odd bit of swimming too.
Tires them both out and I get some peace and quiet!!

there is no reason to think a child that has not been swimming before the age of 6 or 7 will be too terrified to get in or find it too difficult to learn to swim. before that age, ok maybe they can swim, but that might make them more confident and therefore more likely to get into a situation where they might drown. mind you, age 6 or 7 is just my personal 'feel' for what is a good age, not research based
I would compare it to ballet etc cos I see it as a similar sports activity with no further purpose at the age of 4. or if you prefer, like riding a bike. useful life skill but one that could always be learned at a slightly older age with no great difficulty

Fridayfeeling, I wasn't saying it was an excuse not to teach children to swim.

My ds (4) has only been in the pool about twice (both times on holiday)!

My reason: 2 children under 5.

Morocco

I have never yet seen a life-threatening situation being able to be solved by being able to do an arabesque

So saying that swimming is like ballet is not a valid comparison

ROFL at the mental picture there 4cento

I didn't learn till I was five, I was scared before that in fact, but ended up loving swimming. You don't need to have got over fear of water early to enjoy swimming when you do learn.

Swimming is a fun activity with a useful side-effect of teaching a skill that may help in the (very unlikely for under-fours) situation of possible drowning. It's a perfectly valid comparison with ballet from the activity point of view. The people who take their babies swimming aren't doing it to help them in case they drown are they?!

I've never taken mine swimming because I can't be arsed.

Come to think of it, I don't bathe him very often either ... for much the same reason

I took my babies swimming so that they didn't grow up afraid of the water and would be able to swim easily

By the age of four both of mine could swim in any event. I had them taught because I was afraid of them drowning

Actually I think I read some scarey statistics that suggested that drowning in childhood in the US was mainly the u-5 population

I suspect there are more home swimming pools in the US so the statistics might be distorted.

I personally think that not teaching children to swim is barking but that might well be just my own paranoia ...

I think six is the right age to start learning how to swim. On average it is the time when the muscles are strong enough. Of course there are children whose structure will enable them to swim unaided before that age.
No, I've never taken the dc to an indoor pool, ever. Ds will start swimming lesson in September, at age 6. We've always spent summers in Italy, by the sea, so they are very used to being in the water.

DD has excema and open sores which are negatively affected by chlorine. I have never taken her. Judge all you like I want my baby healthy.

i have to admit dd didn't go swimming much, i was working full time and at the weekends there was always other stuff going on. we are addressing it now though, and dh takes her swimming every sunday and is teaching her to swim (he's a good swimmer and has already taught me). once he's made enough progress with dd, he'll start with ds.

No because I care not about what people do in there spare time

Message withdrawn

palegreen - yes I took my baby swimming with the long term view that she would (probably) learn to swim early and therefore less likely to drown.

I don't actually remember learning to swim as it was so early but I do acknowledge this and the fact I think its an important skill to learn as early as poss may be to do with the fact I grew up right on the coast so you are probably more aware of the dangers.

couldn't care less, let alone judge.