At what age did your child learn to swim?
My son just turned 5, and he, as of the last couple weeks, can propel himself in the water (the entire width of the pool at our local Y - he takes lessons), and tread water a bit without a floatation device. He can also back float. We are quite thrilled, as we have a pool, and really wanted him to be able to swim, for safety reasons (not that he won't be supervised 100% of the time, just that additional safety buffer.)
Just wondering when your kid(s) learned to swim. If you have a pool, is/was it a priority for them to learn as soon as possible?
WELCOME BACK RILEY!!!!! You never cease to amaze me. Please just remind me not to tangle with you in a dark alley somewhere! And exactly HOW did you knock your instructor out? WOW - some life you've led... Anyhow, welcome back... we missed you.
Just an FYI, I do get in the pool with my son for free time at the Y, but in PA, we have limited summer months where we can swim outside... but when we do, we spend a lot of time in the pool - WE. And as members of the Y, we only spend $18 for a 7 week session for swim lessons, with 6 kids in a class with 2 instructors. So it's not too bad to pay someone to help my son learn his skills during these winter months. It's our best option for this time of year. And we already know the motorboat jingle, as they did it in the younger class at the Y! :) Congrats on having such an accomplished swimmer in your family! :)
And I have heard that newborns can swim somewhat naturally, that if you put them in the water, they'll kind of naturally writhe until they bob up to the top... is that what infants swimming looks like? I have a hard time wrapping my head around that... Curious...
I, too, and shocked at how many kids my son's age and older have little exposure to swimming and their parents seem to have little interest in teaching them... to each his own, I guess...
My son has been "swimming" since he was about 5..but always had an issue "going under"..last vacation in July 2010 I bought a pair of nose-covering goggles in the resort gift shop & he was under water for a week solid. He's 7 and now I consider him "a swimmer"!
My son will be 5 in March and started swimming well last summer. Your Y probably has swim classes for his age like ours does to help strengthen his abilities!
My oldest learned to swim just before his 3rd birthday. He just refused to wear his arm floaties one day insisting he knew how to swim. DH and I finally gave in and said fine, try it, and he did. Swam all over our inground pool. Go figure. Now my youngest? Says the same thing, insists he can swim, so we say fine, go ahead, and he sank like a rock. We worked with him and he can now swim at age 4 but this summer I know we'll have to refresh his memory! Some kids are natural born fish, some aren't. I think it's awesome that your son can do it on his own, how proud he must be! Oh, and just FYI to everyone: we were in the pool right next to our kids when we told them to try swimming by themselves so there was no worry of them drowning!
My kids who are 5 now and will be 4 in Feb has been swimming since 2 yrs old. I taught them and they learned quick since we swim alot. I am always with them and they are never left unattended, but I have that security knowing that if they tripped and fell in-they would be ok. L.:)
My daughter is turning 5 next month, and she can't swim yet, so I'd say you are doing well with him! lol
She's been real funny the last few years tho. One year she would have a swim vest on & have a swim ring & would kick between me & Daddy. The next year, omg please don't let me go!! haha This past year she started out clingy, but had gained some confidence toward the end of summer. She would hold onto the ladder & slowly put her mouth & nose under water & occasionally her eyes too -she'd be so proud! I'm hoping she will continue to do better this year, plus we moved & our new apartment's pool has steps to the floor of the 4 foot pool, not ladders. I think this will make it easier for her.
May I brag for a moment?
I have taught all my children to swim, the girls before the age of 2, my son closer to 3.
My eldest daughter ended up winning 1st in state for free style then played Div I water polo for 3 years in college.
I am pretty much a self taught swimmer. My grandma taught me the dog paddle when I was 3. After that I was on my own. I just figured if grandma could teach me, I could certainly teach my own kids those same basics.
I threw a swim party for my daughter's 3rd birthday party, in July. I was shocked to learn at the party that few of her friends could swim. But what really bothered me was that the parents sat on the side lines trying to encourage their kids to learn by themselves. Wouldn't get in and wet for 'nuthin....that was 20 years ago. And now parents higher swim instructors. But I truly believe any parent can stand waist deep in water and teach their child to love water and blow bubbles. Don't need to spend $20/hr to teach that.
The biggest hurdle to swimming confidently is to have no fear of the water. Fear makes a child stiffen up. My technique was just to play and spend a lot of time in the water with my kids. There was lots of twirling and jumping from the side and that "Motor Boat, Motor Boat" game...PM is you want the rest of the verse.
And since you mention having a pool, then you really must ensure your little guy is completely aware of pool safety rules and how to get to the edge if he falls in. Even if you have the best safety gate installed. Boys in particular at that age are pretty clever at scaling fences. PM me again if you'd like to know drowning statistics. It's unfortunately a common topic in our household.
I was swimming before I could walk, but I've always been something of a fish... my son was slower. He wasn't swimming on his own until 2. We had the same pool access, my son and I, and I spent MORE time in the water with him as an infant (starting from a few weeks old) than my mum did with me. But people have different natural inclinations. I sort of assumed BEFORE my son was born that all kids could learn to swim before they could walk if they had access to water and willing parents. But nope. Kids are all different, just like everyone says.
In bootcamp (usmc) there is a week devoted to swimming. There are 4 or 5 levels, can't remember exactly as the highest level is level 1. Over 1200 started on the lowest "test", and probably about 300 of them "failed" (had never swum at all, and had to be taught). That was amazing to me. More amazing is that there were only TEN of us at level 2. And only 4 of us who progressed onto level 1 ((the level where a swim instructor attempts to drown you... and you only pass when you can NOT drown. The trick is that you have to actually knock the instructor unconscious, and then drag them to the side. AKA ONE of you gets drowned in the process. I've been drowned for training several times since (so you lose your fear of it), but I'm inordinately proud of myself that I managed to drown my instructor on my first go.)).
ANYHOW... the point being nearly 1/4 of us had DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO SWIM. And more than half couldn't swim the length of an olympic pool (but could swim the breadth).
we don't have a pool, but they started at 16 months old and went til 5 and took a break and then again a few years later to perfect strokes. it was an indoor pool Sept to May and took summers off.
In my limited experience, every kid's swimming ability is different. My oldest was 3 this summer & he refused to get in the water past his knees. It freaked him out. My youngest was 18 months. He is much more adventurous & athletic. He jumped right in (wearing a life jacket). He watched some of the older kids at the pool swimming & he figured it out pretty well on his own. He was doing a really good doggy paddle. He could swim from one person to another & could even keep himself above water for short periods w/o the life jacket. I don't know if he will remember what to do this summer, but he probably will.
We will probably be getting both boys swimming lessons this summer. For my oldest I hope he gains confidence & losses his fear. For my youngest I'm hoping for him to learn enough to be safer around pools.
I'm excited to see what my son does this summer. He took lessons at the Y, at just over a year old and really enjoyed it. Last summer, he just wanted to play in/at the many water/splash parks around the area with no desire to go in pools (he wanted to be in constant motion, just like he is on ground, haha). Its definitely holding him back that I cannot stand my body in a suit (even if its head-to-toe Duggar-style), so I'm not encouraging him enough. We'll see about this summer (he'll be 3yo)!
we have always had a community pool. My daughter learned to swim back and forth in a medium sized pool when she was 3 years old. My son is 3 and he will do flips into the pool with either me or my husband close by to catch him. He can swim just enough to swim back up to the top and take a breath, but is still having trouble actually "swimming". They have never taken a swimming lesson, ever. During the summer we are at the pool every single day. We taught them ourselves. Growing up I was on swim team from age 5 to 15, and was on the water polo team in high school and my husband used to work as a life guard when he was 17. So, making sure our kids know how to swim is very important to us
Our son was almost 3 months and our daughter (2nd born ) was 5 weeks. They swam before they could walk.
Both my kids were swimming pretty well by 5 or 6. Both were in lessons of some kind from the time they were 3. Ds was 8 this last summer and can swim very well, enough so that I was comfortable letting him wander our community pool complex by himself (3 pools & slides). Dd was 6 this last summer and while I made her stay with me she could keep up with her brother no problem. Both will probably be on the community swim team this year. We don't have a pool, but we spend lots of time at the community pools during the summer so learning to swim was a big priority for us.
A friend of mine... from the time his son was barely 2 years old.... (they have a pool), taught him how to be in the water, float, swim, not be afraid of the water etc. He taught his son, on his own, not with formal lessons.
Bear in mind, this is Hawaii... and my friend, is a total Watersports man.
His son is now 6 years old... AND surfs with his Dad. He can, surf by himself on his own surf board... and swim very, proficiently. And does kayaking... 2-man style. With his Dad.
My friend, taught his son all this, for 'safety.' From when he was a toddler.
Me... my sister taught me how to swim.... just naturally while at the beach with family. As do many kids, in Hawaii. My parents never taught me per say... but I vividly remember my older "bossy" sister, teaching me.
We had a pool, growing up. No one, when I was a child... went to any 'formal' swim lessons, at all.
all the best,
Susan
