Toddler swim lessons - waste of time?

[riverofjordan]

My MIL has said she's been thinking our almost 2 year old ought to be having swim lessons. It's quite a craze with the mums I know and I've always thought it seemed pointless from an actual swimming point of view, all their kids do is bob up and down and blow bubbles etc. Obviously a fun and nice thing to do and a fairly cheap outing at our local council leisure centre (way less than water babies etc), but not actually teaching the kids swimming?

It teaches them confidence in the water, so when the time comes they can learn to swim quickly without having to first get used to the water, but in that sense it wouldn't make any difference whether they started at 2.5 or 3.5 rather than babies?

We live on the coast and toddler has been very confident in the sea so far. He also rolls and splashes and puts his head underwater in our big bath (scared the daylights out of me). Definitely not lacking confidence around water. I think if he started lessons about 3yo he would pick it up fine.

She's offered to pay for them and take him to them so in one sense I should probably just say ok fine 😆 But I'm just feeling like a shit neglectful parent I guess and wondering if I'm in the right about this. Also I know they don't really have the money to throw around so I would feel bad to say yes please if it's totally pointless - the cheapest council course is £60 for 10 weeks so adds up if doing it long term.

So humour me, did you do baby/toddler swim lessons? Is there any point before age 3ish? If they did learn to swim , do you then have to carry lessons on for a few years so they keep practising the skills?

Driving lessons for under 3's would definitely be dangerous yes 😁

Jokes aside, that's my question, do they actually learn any life saving skills before age 3ish? If it's just water confidence, I can teach them that for free 😊

I think it's less about starting formal lessons early and more about regular swimming and water familiarity in the early years. All mine had v different amount of paid for lessons but all went swimming a lot as babies and toddlers. They all gained good technique and stamina from proper lessons but not until they were school age. Some of their cousins never went swimming and then started swimming lessons when they were school age and are still underconfident now.

I remember one of mine having proper lessons as a toddler and it being obviously silly as her arms were not proportionally able to do whatever she was being taught for that stroke.

Why don't you just agree to a set of 10 sessions with your MIL paying and taking your son? If seems as though he loves the water and she would like to take him. It'll be a fun experience for them both, she's obviously happy to pay. It needn't be an ongoing thing (for her or you) because as you say, you can just keep going to the sea as a family.

In my kids’ baby/ toddler lessons they did focus on water safety right from the start, eg teaching them to always turn around after jumping to hold on the side (if you fall in a lake you might try to get to the other side and forget that the nearest safe place is just behind you) etc. but how much of this actually goes in at a young age I have no idea.

Pointless IMO until they can listen and follow instructions.

We will start around age 4

@riverofjordan get the baby’s name down for swimming lessons. Will they learn to swim any earlier? ,Probably not but that is not the purpose. The prize is get your foot in the door. Council run swim lessons has stupid long waiting lists.

if you wait until he is 4 , I would be surprised if he got a space.

My girls are adults. DD1 started at the local leisure centre aged 6 months. She was swimming independently by 4 easily. However when she started reception she was extremely tired at first. I would pick her from school (when I could still drive) and she would be asleep by the time we arrived at the pool. Foolishly I gave up her place but a few months later she was over her tiredness and never got to the top of the list again.

My baby who started swimming lessons at 3months could swim 5m unaided by 3.5. Started school in Sept and is in stage 2, has been since May, is able to swim a width of the pool in back and breast stroke and front crawl.
Is the youngest in their particular lesson.

I definitely think the exposure to the water early helped! But I also really enjoyed the baby swim lessons ❤️.

We did a little bit of baby/toddler swimming lessons, but only because of lockdowns. Where we live it was the only way I could get her in a pool.

We only started part way through reception in lessons properly and she is now pushing stage 4 at just turned 5 (summer baby). But and this is a big but, once lockdowns had finished I took her every week almost without fail, sometimes twice and in fact we still nearly always go fun swimming once a week in addition to her lesson. As well as family holidays either centred around a pool, or with a pool as an alternative activity option. I am a swimmer though and my husband a triathlete, so both very confident in the water and love taking her.

For me before they start school and are able to listen at least for half of the lesson (the one thing her swim teacher comments on consistently that she could do better at), lessons are more about water confidence. If you can give that to them, then imo lessons are a waste of money, but if not then lessons can provide the structure and support to provide that.

My children started variously at 6 months (pfb), 3 years and 5 years and they could all swim by about 6 or 7?
The one that started at 3 was the best/earliest swimmer but probably only a few months in it.

Started all my dc at 3 or 4 in council run lessons. I used to take them to the pool regularly myself before that as they slept and ate better after! I also love playing in the water, splashing, being a shark etc. My youngest was in stage 3 with 8 year olds at age 4. He was a water baby and looked up to his cool 20 odd y/o teacher!

The baby lessons are a waste of time and just about water confidence like you said. But some adults struggle with water confidence so probably worth it to them

I'd let grandma crack on if she is going to have dc that day for childcare anyway and take them.

This is really dependent on where you live. I was surprised to get mine in with no waiting lists. I know people in other areas who are on a 2 year list.

Regarding how many years to budget for OP, if you start around age 4/5, a lot of children seem to finish Stage 7 about age 9.

I did swimming from a baby with my first ( although we had a long break at 3 years old because Covid hit) and fun swims on top and he really was very slow and resistant to progress once we could get back in the water. My second we just did fun swims until she was four and then she took to the lessons insanely fast with no fear. So no I don't think the baby swim lessons did anything at all for my first truthfully! Later is much better value for money.

Let them do it together. It will only work if two year old listens to instructions. Mine doesn’t.

I think it’s a waste of time at that age. Nice to go for a ‘fun’ swim together if you wish but no need for lessons. My daughters started at 4 when they started school, picked it up quickly….

Another one thinking it's a bit pointless, better to start at Reception or even a bit later. Just when they are mature enough to listen to instructions and move their bodies accordingly which for my DS was 6 years old.

I can book him on from next Tuesday by the looks 🤷🏼‍♀️ I guess different areas might be different. Or maybe it's a bad sign we don't have loads of take up here!

Thank you, very helpful 😊

Thanks, yeah this is what I'm thinking, it's maybe a good thing to start doing anyway even if we just go for a splash around more regularly by ourselves. Tbh I can't believe he's nearly 2 already, I think in my head he's still 6 months old and I was like 'wtf swim lessons already no way' 😄

Yep grandma would have to be involved anyway because I've got a baby as well so I can't take them both in the pool

Thanks that makes a lot of sense

Ok interesting. Maybe I'll do a bit more research. It does surprise me what he picks up and remembers tbh.

Yeah true I'm probably overthinking lol. Just go and try it out, I think that might be the answer. £60 for a fun activity if nothing else 😊

Altho I'm still not sure I have time or head space to check it out and book it and sort out stuff for us both to wear and all that. These things have a way of growing arms and legs from experience. Sorry I'm sleep deprived.🥴 Perhaps I'll just delegate the whole thing to MIL to sort out if she wants. This thread has definitely reassured me I wasn't nuts for doing nothing about it yet anyway

I think at that age the lessons teach confidence but no actual swimming ability. The DC that start at 3 are in the same lesson as the DCs that did prior lessons at our pool. I'd just take him regularly then get him on the waiting list ready for when he turns 3 (or whenever proper independent lessons start in your area).

Personally I didn't feel it was necessary before 3 years old, before that we just took them to the pool ourselves. Then lessons from 3 years old, DC are above average swimmers for their age and compete etc they definitely don't seem to have missed out by not doing baby or toddler lessons.

You are being offered it so that may sway me but I would probably still try to accept the offer but delay it until 3rd birthday.

Consistency is key so yes you are looking at years of lessons. They will be able to swim in 2-3 years of lessons but many keep it going a lot longer than that as otherwise you need to keep it up for yourselves a lot more too, but depends what you want from it too as at 2 years in they will be able to get from one end to the other in the pool but stroke will be poor. If you have a child that will be in the sea and surfing etc then you are looking at a lot of swimming realistically (my dc train in the sea a lot too and have done since 5 years old)

As a former lifeguard who has watched literally 1000s of swimming lessons from baby to adult, I have to thoroughly disagree.

It's true that most under 4s are not great at listening, but it does vary tremendously from child to child. At 2 years old, children have a parent in the water with them, so they are usually following instructions. I think that swimming lessons actually help with listening skills - the parents are reinforcing what the instructor says and praising their child when they do the right thing. They're obviously also good for physical devielopent - strength, coordination, motor skills etc.

I think most importantly, it gives them a full understanding of how their body behaves in water and therefore full water confidence: if they do accidentally fall on water, there is a better chance that they will stay calm and manage to float, both of which greatly reduces the chance of drowning.

Last but not least, it's great fun.

Both my DCs started lessons as babies. DC1 was very keen and was swimming lengths in a 33m pool just after their 4th birthday.

I've just looked up the highest learning outcomes of the baby sessions at my DCs pool.

1. Child-led seated or standing jump
2. Roll from front to a back position with adult support
3. Make kicking movements with support of a buoyancy aid
4. Adult to swim around the pool (using buoyancy aids if needed), with child sitting on their front
5. Move in a figure of eight or snaking pattern through the water with adult support
6. Blow bubbles whilst travelling in the pool
7. Move forwards, reach for a toy and return on the back