Do children need swimming lessons?

[scattyspice]

DS is 5 and can swim with armbands (and underwater without!). All his friends have swimming lessons, but he is reluctant to go (he gets shy in groups where he doesn't know anyone).

Has anyone successfully taught their DC to swim without lessons or is he missing out by not going?

[highschoolmusical]

It's a good skill to have especially if they are exposed to water ie live near the beach. When DS gets older he may miss out on parties etc if he can't swim. I don't think is absolute essential skill though. What is a life skill? - that sound like nonsense to me.

[elliott]

Hmmm, am I the only person who doesn't think its necessary to have lessons to learn to swim? I never had lessons (except at school but by that stage I was pretty good anyway) and have always been quite a strong swimmer - certainly I've never felt my swimming to be in any way inadequate (ok, I can't do front crawl, but so what?)
I learnt myself from going regularly with my mum and dad. None of us had lessons, I can't remember anyone I know from childhood who had lessons, and we coudl all swim...
I find this modern day notion that it is essential to pay for private swimming lessons rather odd tbh.

[Hulababy]

We couldn't aford lessons when I was little, yet all three of us can swim. I am the worst, as I just don't like it much. My brother and sister are both pretty good. DH didn't have lessons until a fair bit older, and was already a good swimmer by that stage.

So, no I agree with you - lessons are not necessarily needed, nor an option for everyone anyway. You can do it without.

Anyway, having spent two days trying to get some lessons for DD - I am stumped. So, it is tough. She can't have them - only wanted a few to get her extra sessions to get her strokes up to speed again. So, back to infrequent visits when me or DH can take her, until either a lesson comes available or school lessons start again next summer term.

[scattyspice]

Elliot - I was expecting a few more posts like yours (I didn't think it was essential either, except most of DS friends seem to have them and lots of people on here think its important).

Hulababy - thats the problem, I can forsee getting DS on a waiting list only for him to refuse to go when the day arrives.

Tortoise - I'mlucky as there's no restrictions here so I have been able to take both mine by myself from birth.

[Elibean]

I'm with elliott

[SoupDragon]

I've put all 3 SmallDragons through baby swimming classes from birth (ish!) to about 4. I am not confident in the water (I can swim perfectly well mind you) and I do not want my children to be like that. Worth every penny.

[thumbwitch]

Elliott, Is uppose it isn't necessary to have lessons if you are able and willing to teach your kids yourself - but if not, then lessons are invaluable.

I think everyone agrees that it is important for the children to be able to swim, regardless of how or by whom they are taught - but if you want them to be any GOOD at swimming (i.e. correct strokes, competitive) then lessons are likely to be necessary. Also, I think it is important to teach them the self-survival stuff (like learning to cope in the water fully-clothed) and not every parent is going to be able to do that either.

[Quattrocento]

I think times have moved on from when we were little (which was a very long time ago indeed for me) because people didn't go to private swimming lessons.

Recently we were away with some friends and friends of friends. One of the adults was saying how much he loved swimming and did all his badges including his gold, when he was 16. DD had completed hers when she was 8. Big difference.

They had races in the pool afterwards, all of which DD won easily. And DD is in NO way exceptional. Standards really have improved incredibly.

[tortoise]

It is important to be able to swim but none of my DC have had lessons because i have no way of getting to classes after school.
I have taken them myself but not very often and am very that my 11 yr old and 8 yr old can't swim.

5yr old can swim a bit with arm bands and loves the water.

I love swimming and wish i had more opportunity to take them but until last October(when DS2 was 8) i couldn't take all 4 on my own and had no one else who could help.

Nearest pool to me that is easy to get to by train, is 16+ miles away.

[thumbwitch]

HSM - a life skill could be defined as one that helps you to stay alive. As in, if your child fell into deep water and couldn't swim, then the chances are they wouldn't survive if no one was around to save them.
To that end, I think it IS essential that all kids learn to swim, even at a very basic level.

[ReallyTired]

I think that learning to swim is as important as learning to read.

However like learning to read there is little point in formal lessons at four months old. Also like learning to read a child has to be developmentally ready to learn to swim. Most children can be taught to swim quickly and easily at about four to five years old.

My son could not go swimming for several months due to severe ENT problems. He had grommets that were very badly infected. I could not get him into group lessons so I put him in one to one lessons. He caught up his friends who had had been having "lessons" since four months overnight.

[ghosty]

I agree with those that say swimming is a vital life skill. I grew up in Holland where you are taught to swim from a young age - I believe it is law for children to be taught at school (brought in after the floods of 1953 when thousands of Dutch children drowned) up to a certain level. I used to teach swimming myself (in a school) but I won't teach my own children [lazy fecker emoticon] - I could teach them to read too but I don't, does that make me a 'lazy fecker' too? DS has had swimming lessons from the age of 2 but really those early ones (with mummy in the pool) are a waste of time and money ... he only started learning something over the age of 3. He will be 9 in November and is a pretty competent swimmer. DD is 4 and she loves her swimming lessons ....

[nkf]

I think children probably can learn without formal lessons but it could be a long haul.

[Habbibu]

I'm rubbish at sport generally, but had swimming lessons from the age of 4, and it's one thing that I can do reasonably well - I think technique does make a big difference in how comfortable you are in the water; swimming in a streamlined way is ultimately easier and less tiring. We went swimming with family a lot, but I am so grateful that I had lessons as well.

[thumbwitch]

RT and ghosty - I don't agree that the babyswimming lessons are a "waste of time and money" because it helps my DS to be totally comfortable in the water, and he doesn't get scared if he goes underwater. I have a friend whose son started at 4mo, same as mine, and now he is 4 1/2 he is a pretty competent and confident swimmer.

It's not about teaching them to swim on their own at the moment (obviously!) - it's to give them confidence in the water and while it's not for everyone, it's not a bad thing.

[ReallyTired]

thumbwitch, why do you need baby swimming lessons to give a child water confidence? It doesn't require knowledge of good stroke techique.

" I have a friend whose son started at 4mo, same as mine, and now he is 4 1/2 he is a pretty competent and confident swimmer."

I am sure that if his mother had taken him herself once a week and started formal lessons at four years old he would be just as good at swimming.

It good to take babies swimming as many babies find it fun.

[thumbwitch]

Actually RT she has taken him herself every week since she started the babyswimming.

Of course my DS doesn't need "stroke technique" but I would prefer him not to panic in the water.

[ghosty]

Yes, I agree that it is a good thing to get babies to be confident in the water but I do think that spending money on lessons when you can take a young baby in without an instructor is a waste of money. All those 'blowing bubbles' things and head under water can easily done by you alone with your baby ...
However teaching a child to swim by an instructor is definitely not a waste of money unless you feel you can do that yourself (and obviously there are some on this thread who feel they have the confidence to teach their own children). I certainly don't think that children naturally 'pick it up' .... unless they go swimming 3 times a week every week ...
IMHO of course.

[thumbwitch]

ah but ghosty, I woudn't be confident to do it by myself as I am not confident with going underwater at all; and so the lessons are very good for me and DS. I don't want him to end up like me.

[lickleolme]

When I was a child we went swimming every week, I was 11 before I could swim (god knows how many hours I had spent trying to learn to swim with my dad)
I taught dd to swim, but she had swimming lessons from the age of 6. She swam 3 continual miles (154 lengths to me and you) at the age of 11. The weirdest thing was, every kid swam the same way ... prob because they all went to swimming lessons.
So, as a family we go swimming at least once a week, and ds has lessons every week, and dd goes to Life Guards every week. I am glad they had lessons, it breeds technique and stamina.

[christywhisty]

Having taken my as babies you don't realise what they are actually taught in the lessons. It's not just water confidence its also water safety. At the lessons we went to babies we taught to automatically turn when they jump in so that they automatically go back to the side, they are taught to hold breath when they go underwater Also baby lessons were the best fun I had at these mother and baby type of thing when they were little, it also didn't cost much more than taking them to the oublic swim.
Neither of my 2 are sporty, but they are both good confident swimmers and DS is now doing life saving classes and even manages to swim the odd breaststroke race at school, cubs etc which I know he wouldn't be able to do without lessons.
I don't think people realise how important breathing is in swimming. You see so many children who have taught by their parents swimming with their heads up, which takes up so much more energy