[kyartz]

Okay Mamas -

Please educate me on when is a generally good age to start to teach your DC to swim - either on your own or in a class setting? DD is now 19 months so we're way past the "water babies" stage and she's a bit anxious about water (I took her in the neighbor's pool today but was very careful about her comfort level and didn't push her....I myself have some baggage from childhood regarding VERY SCARY swim lessons...)

I want to do what's right by DD but also not to put off what I consider an important and necessary skill.

Thanks!

Kristen

 

[wenat]

We've been taking DS to the pool since he was about 6 mos old. He crawled into the deep end by himself when he was 8 mos old, which was pretty much the low point of my mothering career. :-(

But he didn't even blink an eye after that incident - just kept on trying to go in. Meanwhile, I picked up a lot more grey hairs and lost sleep for days reliving those moments.

He's 2 years old this Friday, and I'll be taking him for his weekly swim as his birthday treat. He's been great with a swim ring on for the last 6 months or so, but about halfway through his swim time these days, he wants the swim ring off so that he can dive for toys in the water.

But I've got an amazing facility. The family pool (there are 4 large swimming pools in the facility) is beach entry -- maybe 6" deep at the shallow end, with a great fountain feature for splashing in, and then gets to about 3' deep at the deepest part. And there are TONS of toys and floats provided by the pool. Plus the water is super-warm, not your typical cold pool. It's been wonderful for DS to get to learn to be happy in the water, while sort-of learning how to swim.

My mom checked with one of the lifeguards, and they thought that 3 yo was about the minimum age for "real" swimming lessons. The point of lessons at 2 years or so is just to get them comfortable in the water -- getting their faces in the water, etc.

 

[octobersweethearts]

: Glad you asked about this, I have been wondering too.

We have a pool at our house and I am wishing we did the Water Babies thing...but you have to have a parent for each child and with twins that didn't work for me plus trying to find the time at that stage.

We are thinking about doing it this summer. Our girls will be just over 2 1/2.

Curious to see what others say too!

 

[hottmama]

My son, at 28.5 months, is learning to swim. He likes to hold on to a kickboard and kick, and he likes going all the way under and opening his eyes underwater. I was considering the swim classes at the Y but they are for babies 6 months-3 years and I don't think that's what we're looking for, so I'll wait til he's 3 and can take a real swim class (although at that point I'll have a newborn...so maybe it'll be longer). I learned to swim at 3 in the Ohio River. I think you can work on it a lot at 2, and they can really swim at 3.

 

[mommamin]

Thanks for asking this question! I was wondering this myself as well! My dd is 14 mos and i want to do a mom and me swim class with her.

 

[Pam_and_Abigail]

I've been wondering too, we just got our recreation guide and there's a new preschool swimming lesson system with 7 levels. It starts at age 4-6 mos and goes to 4 or 5 years, I think. I doubt we'd sign up dd2, but I was considering dd1, she'll be 3 at the end of summer...

 

[OhMel]

They do have real swim classes for babies as young as 6 months, but they aren't very AP in my opinion. They are based around the idea of teaching a child to right themselves if they get in water and then to swim to the nearest solid object. I have heard of two children doing this and both mothers said it was horrible to watch (screaming child) but that the kids did learn to swim quickly. It is a one-on-one lesson with the parent not involved.

I think the only way I could do it was if I had a pool very close to my house where a child could run the risk of quickly getting into trouble.

 

[azzuranotte]

We're going to start swimming lessons this week. By lessons I mean mommy is going to take DD, who's 15 months, in our pool and get her comfortable like I did last summer. My mom has been teaching her to blow bubbles in a cup or whatever.(She says that's how she started teaching us.) So I'm just kind of going to follow that lead. Take her in get her comftorable, blow bubbles, show her how to kick her legs, at her pace. I don't think it's ever too early. To me it is very important that she learn to swim, because there is a pool in the backyard. She won't be unsupervised but I'd rather be safe then sorry. I think swimming is a lot like other skills... each kid learns at their own pace.

 

[TiredX2]

From my experience (teaching swimming lessons for 7 years, assisting before that for four) until a child is 4-5 they cannot generally master side breathing. I do know of one child who could swim laps (crawl w/side breathing) before she was 2, but that is *extreamly* rare. So, from what I have seen if your child starts at 3, 4, 5 they will generally (with opportunity and equal skill) be around the same level around 7, 8, 9.

Now, if you are talking about water exploration--- six months is the lowest I would go in a pool, because of the chlorine. But, do not expect a child to be water safe at "that" (under school age) age no matter what their skill level. Even the water babies programs where kids are supposed to learn to right themselves and such... generally goes right out of their heads in an emergency.

 

[Pam_and_Abigail]

The lessons we are considering are at a lake we go to lots. It's shallow for a long way out, so it's great for kids.
Good point about forgetting things in an emergency.
For me, a lot of playgroups don't run in summer, so this is to me, nit much more than a subsititute for other social outlets for dd1.

 

[TiredX2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pam_and_Abigail For me, a lot of playgroups don't run in summer, so this is to me, nit much more than a subsititute for other social outlets for dd1.

There is no time too early to entroduce fun in the water. Just don't expect too much. And if they don't *want* to there is also no problem waiting until they are "older" (honestly, if your child is much over 8-10 and still seriously afraid of the water, I would consider private lessons because 1) they probably need some one on one help and 2) it can be embarrasing to be in a class with much younger kids).

 

[heldt123]

I say go when you want and just have fun without stressing about how early they can actually "swim." We went to swimming lessons when my son was about 2-1/2. At first he was aprihensive and only wanted to cling on mommy. After a while he became fearless and just had a blast. Don't push too hard and have fun! He can't swim by himself yet, but he loves to jump into mommy's arms and he can kick on a floatie fairly well.

 

[Queen of Cups]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OhMel They do have real swim classes for babies as young as 6 months, but they aren't very AP in my opinion. They are based around the idea of teaching a child to right themselves if they get in water and then to swim to the nearest solid object. I have heard of two children doing this and both mothers said it was horrible to watch (screaming child) but that the kids did learn to swim quickly. It is a one-on-one lesson with the parent not involved. I think the only way I could do it was if I had a pool very close to my house where a child could run the risk of quickly getting into trouble.

That is horrific! We did a mommy-and-me swim class when DS was 7 months and it was nothing like that. He used the kickboard, he went underwater (loved it!), and would chase after floating balls in the pool with my help. I don't know what I'd consider "real" swim classes vs. playing around, but this class was very well done with a very competent professional teacher.

 

[ZeldasMom]

DS is 20 months. This Spring we did swim lessons at the YMCA which were supposed to be about increasing the child's comfort in the water. The teacher was this Al Bundy kind of guy (the dad on Married with Children) who had a very laissez-faire way of teaching the class. Our lessons were on Saturday, so it was virtually all dads in the water with their kids. A few of them were macho dudes. So swimming lessons became this competition to see who could dunk their kid the most, throw him/her the highest, etc. There were some parent/child pairs I literally could not stand to watch. Of course my DP didn't engage in this wacked out behavior with DS. We decided to give swimming lessons a rest for awhile. For classes in general I find I really like to see the teacher in action in advance if at all possible.

I do think swimming lessons/exposure to being in water at a young age to build their comfort in water is a good thing. Like the OP I remember swimming lessons being really scary (I didn't start until I was 7) and I never did learn to swim all that well.

 

[Beansmom]

I took dd to mommy and me swim class when she was 7-9 months old. Before then we had had her in our hot tub (which we don't keep very hot). So, she has always been comfortable in the water. The mommy and me swim class was basically just playing in the water. We didn't learn anything. We have a pool in our yard now we just got this summer. I bought her a couple floating things to sit in. At first she was afraid of the floating thing, but once I put her in it and pushed her around and made boat noises she liked it. Now I can put her right in the floating disk thing and she kicks and splashes and has a good time. I just plan to keep trying to teach her to kick and blow bubbles and things like that. When she is 3 I will probably enroll her in swim lessons. I love to swim, so I am hoping she will love it too.

 

[katallen]

I take DD to the YMCA and we mostly stick with the kiddie pool. I just held her in my lap in the pool at first but after several minutes she would want to start exploring and walking around in the pool. Now she loves to walk in the pool and splash and is even starting to blow bubbles in the pool. Next year she will be 3 1/2 and I will probably enroll her in swimming lessons then, but I think it depends on the child and how well they can follow instructions.

 

[RedWine]

I've taken my oldest to a parent-child swim class since she was 12 months old (she's now 2 1/2). The program near us does not start swim "lessons" until the age of 3. At that point, the parent no longer accompanies the child. My daughter is still in the stage where she loves to be in the water and play around (especially with water toys), but is not yet ready to be told "okay, now paddle, now kick, now try to blow bubbles, etc.").

A few months ago we tried a different program at a different pool, where the instructor barked orders at the kids and parents, insisting everyone kick exactly this way right now, etc. (kids were 18 months to 3 yrs old).

: Dd became terrified and no longer wanted to be in the water.

So now we are back at the usual place, where she can have some more fun until she is ready to really learn how to swim. She just isn't ready for formal lessons, and probably won't be for at least another 6 months. Right now, I think it's much more important that she have fun with this, so that when she's ready, she will really WANT to know how to swim.