Swimming - what age?`

[MtBikeLover]

Just curious as to how old your kids were when they learned to swim? DS is 6.5 and he can swim a little (a few feet at the most). He will not go anywhere he can't touch, even if he has a noodle.

I have tried to teach him, but he doesn't want to learn. And I offered lessons, but he doesn't want to take lessons. So it isn't anything that I push. But I wonder - will he eventually just get it by hanging out in the pool enough? Is it something he will eventually be able to teach himself?

[boatbaby]

Our experience was that you have to KEEP going to the pool, every week, week after week. When you take a month or a season off, they regress if they are still learning. If you make it routine, they come around.

DS was swimming independently at age 3, but because we live on a sailboat we made going to the pool our life for his first 3 years because it was critical he got it down. Like reading and bike riding and walking, I think as long as you expose him to it and make it fun and safe, he will do it when he's ready.

edited to add: we never used floaties. When I say swimming, I mean with nothing to help him but his own power. I don't think having floaties on is swimming nor do I think (from having spoken to many swim teachers) that it's a great way for kids to learn. They are a great tool for mamas who have their hands full. But kids ten to "lean" on them and then not know how to use their own muscles and bodies. There have been posts about this in Safety by people who are lifeguards and swim teachers.)

[naismama]

Our 3 yo is now swimming independently! We've had her in the pool since before 2 years old. We put her in swim classes about 3 months ago, and just in the last week something clicked. In swim class she would gasp coming up for air and showed clear fear and discomfort in the water. But she has a patient teacher and we just kept getting her in the water as much as possible. Her swim lessons are in a group with 4 kids to one instructor and other sessions happening simultaneously in the pool. Even though she was afraid, I think seeing all the other kids blow bubbles, go under, dive for rings, etc. made her not want to be left out. I agree with the pp that the most important thing is getting them in the water a lot. Our swim school offers mini sessions over the summer where the child comes in for a lesson every day for two weeks. I've talked to many parents of 3-7 year olds who swear by this and rave about how much progress their dc's have made.

My husband is a terrific swimmer and teacher, but I think having dd learn from someone else has been very beneficial. Good luck

--naismama

[Justmee]

My kids can't swim, and as a swim teacher I feel terrible about that. Ideally I would have started teaching them at around 3, but I was pregnant / had a tiny baby and dh works long hours so getting the pool alone (or affording to pay a helper to come) was out of hte question. I hope to teach them this year though (well, not the baby, but the big girls). Ideally I think kids should learn to swim right when they are younger and learning, because it's very hard to unlearn bad habits and doggie paddle is not a safe / efficient way to swim long distances.

[KoalaMommy]

my oldest was a proficient swimmer by age 3. She is 4 now and doesn't use any floats in the water. We had a pool and lived in Florida, so she was in it a lot. My 3 year old still needs floats. My DH taught both girls swimming, the younger one has been less interested. It depends on the child. My older daughter has always loved the water, of course she first went in the pool around 7 weeks.

Having lived with a pool, I think it's really important that kids learn to swim whether they want to or not. They at least need to know how to get to the side and out of the water should they fall in. Even if you're with them when they go swimming, things can happen. My DH rescued a child who was going down 5 ft from his mother, who was unaware that he was underwater. She was a good mother, just distracted by her other 2 kids in the water.

[hottmama]

My oldest son was a proficient swimmer at 3 and my 3 yr. old starts lessons this week-- he can go about 2 feet underwater now.

[amcal]

OMG, my kids are 6 and 7 and I can't even count the number of swim lessons we've done. I started them when they were very small and they STILL CANNOT SWIM!!!

Normally, it wouldn't bother me but, we live in Phoenix and every one (well, everyone except us) has a pool. All their friends have pools, they are constantly invited to pool parties and they're at the age where they want to be able to go over to friends houses or birthday parties without me being there to supervise but, it's just not going to happen until they learn to swim. But, the mere mention of swim lessons is enough to send them into hysterics.

I just don't know what to do???

[naismama]

Amcal. have you tried aquasafe? That's where we go and dd loooooves it. Have you ever gotten them in the door at a swim school? I imagine if you find the right one it might be really attractive. What about doing the class with friends? I know it has to be hard having kiddos in Phoenix who cannot swim.

Also dd's skills really took off when we DITCHED the FLOATIES during practice sessions at home. Until we did that it was never clear to us how much they seemed to be holding her back.

[Alyantavid]

My 7 year old has been taking lessons since he was 3 and he still struggles. We actually went over the weekend and by the time we left, he was doing pretty well.

My almost 3 year old will start lessons this summer.

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

Both of ours started swim lessons at about 3. They are now 9 and 6 and very good swimmers. This is the first summer we haven't enrolled in any swimming lessons at all, though they will get plenty of pool time, just not instruction at this point.

I'm not sure this is a good skill to get on your own. But not all kids are good with the standard group lessons either. It may be that you need to find the right pool and the right private instructor to get past any fear or hesitation that has built up.

[nextcommercial]

It probably depends on where you live.

I'm in the desert. There are pools in the backyards of most of the homes around here. So your child WOULD eventually come into contact with a pool.

I personally think it's extremely neglectful for a child over the age of four who still can't swim well enough to get out of the pool on their own. I think we have the highest drowning rate in the nation. We did at one time, I don't know if we still hold that title or not.

I don't even know a four year old who can't swim at least a little.

But, in Chicago?? I don't know that it's as important. As long as he can get out if he falls in. He doesn't need to be on the track team... just fun water time, and don't give him those silly arm floatie things.

[loraxc]

I personally think it's extremely neglectful for a child over the age of four who still can't swim well enough to get out of the pool on their own.

Sheesh, really? "Extremely neglectful"? I guess I am an extremely neglectful parent, then. I also live someplace with many pools and a long hot season (although we only have one friend with a pool--our friends aren't really pool types) and my child can't swim. DD has taken a round of lessons but is nervous/uncoordinated in the water and does not have the hang of it yet at all. She is 5.5. We'll try again this summer.

I find it kind of weird how kids all seem to have to learn things younger and younger these days. I learned to swim at 6 and to ride a bike at 7, and heaven knows I am competent at both, but everyone seems to think these skills are necessary at 4 nowadays.

[amcal]

Originally Posted by nextcommercial

I personally think it's extremely neglectful for a child over the age of four who still can't swim well enough to get out of the pool on their own.

Are you kidding me? What exactly would you suggest I do? I too live in the desert. Everyone has a pool. I've done swim lessons at multiple places several times every summer for the past 5 years and my kids still can't swim. What would you suggest?

[LuckyMommaToo]

I live in SoCal, and most families around me try to have their kids swimming by age 5. DS does not love the water. We went a few rounds of YMCA swimming lessons (useless) and the local parks and rec. Then we tried a private, one-on-one swim school last summer. Definitely pricey, but really, after three lessons there he was SO much better, and by watching what they did I could have continued on my own if I had wanted to save the money. They teach the kids underwater swimming first -- so jump in, swim underwater, come up and get a breath, swim underwater, make it to the edge. And they were so gentle and understanding with him.

MtBikeLover, for our situation, learning to swim is a necessity, so lessons were/are a requirement for my kids. And DS is thrilled to be able to hang out with his friends in the pool now.
-e

[MomInCalifornia]

Both mine started lessons the summer when they were 3 and were pretty comfortable in the water that summer. By the time they were 4 they were strong swimmers.

[pinksprklybarefoot]

My stepdaughter is 6.5, has had 2 rounds of swimming lessons, and still cannot really swim. I think that by the end of her next set of lessons (this summer), she should be good to go, though (I hope!).

It is getting frustrating for her, because a lot of the kids her age can swim, so when we go to pools with friends, she feels left out. I took my Girl Scout Troop to the pool last week, and it seemed like she was the only one there who could not swim (although I know that there was one girl who didn't come because of her lack of swimming ability).

We are in a northern state, so the outdoor swimming season is really short. Part of the problem might be that DSD hadn't really been exposed to pools on a regular basis until starting swimming lessons at the age of 5. When I was a kid, I know that I didn't have formal swimming lessons until I was 6 or 7. I think that this was pretty common for the area/my parents' social circle. That said, I think I knew how to doggy-paddle by that point, and the lessons were just to learn actual strokes.

DSD has always been a lot more fearful of water than I remember being as a child. This has probably made learning to swim more difficult. I am trying to expose DS to water earlier and more frequently than she was as a toddler, in hopes that the familiarity with help with the fear issue.

[naismama]

Originally Posted by amcal

Are you kidding me? What exactly would you suggest I do? I too live in the desert. Everyone has a pool. I've done swim lessons at multiple places several times every summer for the past 5 years and my kids still can't swim. What would you suggest?

I am not the one you are responding to, but...have you tried once a week lessons during the year instead of concentrating lessons in the summer? That way swimming can become a regular part of their routine and they can get better over a longer period of time?

[Jessy1019]

My daughter was 2.5 and swimming proficiently, and my son was 2 last summer and swimming well -- moving through the water, underwater, but not always able to get his head out when he needed to breathe. I expect him to swim more proficiently this summer.

It really is a matter of spending a lot of time around water. We are at the pool almost every day in the summer.

[mommaof5]

We go to the pool everyday in the summer. My kids all learn to swim by age 3. No formal training. I just pretend like I am a swim teacher and we roll play and they think it is fun. I grew up taking swim lessons every summer but we only swam during the 2 weeks we would take lessons. I was always scared of water and never swam that great. As a mother I have found that kids being around the water is the key. Oh my other trick is my kids always wear water wings and when they act like they are ready around 2 - 3 years old I take off one wing and let them half doggy paddle only for short periods of time. I tell them the are just practicing their swimming. Eventually we take off the other wing and they can keep themselves up. After that I work with them on their strokes.

[Rico'sAlice]

I think there's a pretty good chance DS will be swimming sometime this summer. Almost certainly by the time he's three.

We did 1x/wk swim lessons from ~8-10months, and then again recently at ~21-23 months. The lessons were 100% play based, no drills or force or scary stuff. Aside from that we've been going to the pool 1-2 more times per wk for free swim. At this point DS doesn't have the muscle strength to swim independently, but he *knows* how. I can remove my hand and he can keep himself up for a couple of seconds. We generally don't use floats, but if I'm tired I might (back bubble type) and he can swim for about 20min on his own before getting too tired to keep his head up. [I'm still right next to him in the pool- Don't freak out! I'm just not having to support him] Also, in one of the pools that has a grab bar he can jump into the pool and turn around and grab the safety railing. He will hold his breath underwater for several seconds.
He's never been afraid of water on his face. Maybe b/c we've showered together since he was a couple of weeks old? And from the time he was a few months old we'd go "swimming" in our big deep bath tub. I didn't feel comfortable w. going in a chlorinated pool until he was over 6mo. And then always limited it to no more than 30min total in the water. Now we'll spend an hour or two- but there are breaks in between and rotating between the different pools.