how long to learn very basic swim skills

[Anonymous]

DS is 7, started group weekly lessons around 5, missed 6-8 months with the pandemic. He was able to do freestyle and backstroke the length of the pool when he was mid 7’s. Now late 7’s he can do 2-3 pool lengths.

We noticed a big jump in improvement late 6’s but before that it was forever to move up levels.

[Anonymous]

We have had my 5yo in weekly lessons for a year and I was getting frustrated by her lack of progress and her continued fear of submerging her head, etc. Cut to yesterday, day 3 of vacation where we've spent a lot of time playing freely in a pool. She made friends with a 7yo who could swim and was encouraging her and lo and behold my daughter started swimming. I'd been encouraging her to try the last few days but it took some peer pressure and casual play for DD to get there on her own. I should have known!

[Anonymous]

Has anyone just taught their kid themselves instead of doing lessons?

[Anonymous]

I don't have kids of my own but I'm around my 2 young cousins pretty consistently (one is 6 & the other just turned 5) & their grandmother & I usually take all the grandkids to the community pool several times a week in the summer.

Neither one of the girls has ever had formal swim lessons but us adults will work with them at the pool & I would say they have progressed pretty good, of course they still wear their life preservers just in case, but both of them are now able to doggy paddle back & forth in the 3 foot end & both of them are able to do the dead man's float perfectly IMHO.

Now we are trying to help them hold their breath underwater for longer periods each time, they have not mastered that quite yet, but I think, in time, it will come.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone just taught their kid themselves instead of doing lessons?

Also curious about this. My mother put me in swim lessons when I was maybe 8? so I’d have something to do during the summer but I could already swim before that, taught by parents/family/figuring it out on my own. Not super amazingly well or anything but enough to be generally safe in the water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone just taught their kid themselves instead of doing lessons?

Yes. It isn’t hard and I’m not a swimmer. I can “swim” meaning I can tread water and get access the pool several lengths over and over, but it isn’t pretty. I don’t know strokes- more like some version of a freestyle doggie paddle.

My DD was 4 when pools opened back up post pandemic shut down. But group swim lessons still weren’t happening. We went to open swim as a family about twice weekly. When we started going back, she wouldn’t even get off the pool steps even with floaty on. Within a few months, she was swimming across the pool unassisted. We just would play around, coax her in with games, use the noodles a lot. She pretty much picked it up with some assistance in getting confident in the water. When lessons started she was ready to learn proper strokes

[Anonymous]

Do you have a neighborhood pool where you can take you kids daily? DD taught herself how to float/dive/swim short distance when she was 3.5, just by going to the pool every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone just taught their kid themselves instead of doing lessons?

We did. I found our county swim lessons to be a waste of time. He made zero progress. So my husband and I taught our 6 year old ourselves. But, we are both former swim coaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 7 and almost 5 year old have been in swim lessons for the last year - combo of group, semi-private and private with three different providers. They still have not progressed past the first level for their age group (swimming a short distance or floating for a few seconds independently). How long should we expect it to take to learn very basic swim skills? Is there anything we can do out of the pool to help them?

If they are only going once a week then a long, long time. They should be going 3-4 times a week-at which point they should be solid within 2 weeks.

[Anonymous]

The best lessons we found were with the high school swim team at the school Natatorium.

[Anonymous]

My kids took weekly lessons that weren't getting anywhere at age 4. So I decided to teach them myself. In one week they were swimming and had improved more than the previous year combined. Each day I showed them on of these cheesy old videos on swimming skills:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCwj8B7hi3s

Then we went to the pool practiced the skill from the video for 5-10 minutes and then just played around in the water. Next day, watch the next video, practice it for 5-10 minutes and play around in the water.

[Anonymous]

My 3.5 yo takes private lessons once a week all year plus she takes group swim lessons 4 days a week during the summer and she's getting it! We're now on month into this more robust schedule and she float on her back, dive for a toy in a shallow pool and doggy paddle across the small pool she's learning in. She's been in private lessons since 6 months because we have a pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone just taught their kid themselves instead of doing lessons?

Sure if you have easy access to a pool without a lot of other people around. Kids need to go 3-4 times a week to actually learn. If you do this for 30 minutes a day for 2-4 weeks (some learn slow) then your kids should be able to swim well enough. Most kids will learn easy doing the stuff below with patience and a parent who doesn't show fear, some kids are water-sensitive or anxious or hate water or have sensory/learning/genetic issues and I would not recommend this as all-they will need someone trained in how to handle them.

#1 If you need to know if your kid is ready to learn-if they cry anytime their head goes under the water then they are not ready because they will freak out with what I'm saying below and panic and it's going to be a big set back. Those kids need to get comfortable submerging in the water first-start with the bathtub-make it fun, give them googles-add a lot of bubbles, and have them find things in the tub at home under close supervision.

Once you are sure your kid will not panic or cry or freak out when they get wet (which again is why it's important that you get them used to this from the time they are little, little in the bathtub and take them to the pool any chance you can when they are babies and bounce them up and down in your arms and 'play dunk' them really fast while smiling and laughing. Most kids will love it but some will not-if you kid screams their head off-then don't dunk them again, go back to getting them used to it in a bathtub. BUT never panic or get anxious-they will pick on this and internalize it.

But once they are ready to learn then you need to start them off-pool safety-not going in with an adult, how close your mouth, blow out bubbles with their mouth/nose, kick to the surface if you fall in and find the wall, how to float, how to get to the side, how to lift themselves out or if unable to do so, how to use their hands to 'monkey walk' to the steps. When teaching them to float, reinforce this is to be used anytime they are tired or too far from the wall. They also need to know how to flip to their back and float if they can't find the wall, get to the wall, or get tired. With back floating, you'll need to teach them to starfish their body, put their belly to the sky, how to inflate their lungs, and control their breathing to float themselves. Most importantly they must learn to not panic meaning you can NEVER panic or show any cause for concern.

I taught my daughter and many of my friends kids (and some of my friends that never learned as kids) because their kid didn't listen to them or the parent was too impatient or frustrated or coddling. Many parents can't really do what it takes-which is trust the kids instincts to kick to the surface and attempt to survive. Most parents will panic when their kid starts to struggle and rescue the kid too soon-probably due to a lack of experience with kids in the water. Swim instructors (good ones) have enough experience to know when to let the kid struggle and when to step in (and at what moment to step in). They are hawkeyeing them and monitoring the kid for feedback and adjusting accordingly. Parents tend to step in and rescue their kids way too soon and don't give their kid a chance to learn. The moment the kid goes under, they reach to help them (which is parent instinct) instead of letting the kid try on their own. The parent shows anxiety and uses too much 'omg are you ok, are you hurt' and actually freaks the kid out more and makes them scared.

Parents really don't know when it's ok to let them struggle or more importantly if the kid is actually struggling and needs assistance or if they are struggling but figuring it out and coming up on their own. Most parents don't have the willpower to stand still and wait for the kid to surface-they will reach out and pull them up. This instinct can be hard to ignore if you don't know what you are looking at...is the kid really struggling or are they ok. And when they do surface and they are coughing up then most parents will again 'are you ok? I was so scared! etc.)

Instead, when they do surface, you need to calmly grab their arm and pull them towards, pat their back, and get excited. Smile and tell them 'that was good, that was good, do you see how you didn't panic and you used your legs to kick yourself up, you were so strong, look at what you did all by yourself, you got to the surface, I was so proud of you, do you want to try it again?' Most kids will shake their heads yes. And then you do it again. But again you have to have enough experience to know when they can go again, need a break, or are taking in too much water-in which case you stop and start over the next day from the beginning with their breathing-they may take a little water but if they have more than a very very mouth full they need to learn to close their mouth and breath out the moment they think they may go under.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone just taught their kid themselves instead of doing lessons?

Sure if you have easy access to a pool without a lot of other people around. Kids need to go 3-4 times a week to actually learn. If you do this for 30 minutes a day for 2-4 weeks (some learn slow) then your kids should be able to swim well enough. Most kids will learn easy doing the stuff below with patience and a parent who doesn't show fear, some kids are water-sensitive or anxious or hate water or have sensory/learning/genetic issues and I would not recommend this as all-they will need someone trained in how to handle them.

#1 If you need to know if your kid is ready to learn-if they cry anytime their head goes under the water then they are not ready because they will freak out with what I'm saying below and panic and it's going to be a big set back. Those kids need to get comfortable submerging in the water first-start with the bathtub-make it fun, give them googles-add a lot of bubbles, and have them find things in the tub at home under close supervision.

Once you are sure your kid will not panic or cry or freak out when they get wet (which again is why it's important that you get them used to this from the time they are little, little in the bathtub and take them to the pool any chance you can when they are babies and bounce them up and down in your arms and 'play dunk' them really fast while smiling and laughing. Most kids will love it but some will not-if you kid screams their head off-then don't dunk them again, go back to getting them used to it in a bathtub. BUT never panic or get anxious-they will pick on this and internalize it.

But once they are ready to learn then you need to start them off-pool safety-not going in with an adult, how close your mouth, blow out bubbles with their mouth/nose, kick to the surface if you fall in and find the wall, how to float, how to get to the side, how to lift themselves out or if unable to do so, how to use their hands to 'monkey walk' to the steps. When teaching them to float, reinforce this is to be used anytime they are tired or too far from the wall. They also need to know how to flip to their back and float if they can't find the wall, get to the wall, or get tired. With back floating, you'll need to teach them to starfish their body, put their belly to the sky, how to inflate their lungs, and control their breathing to float themselves. Most importantly they must learn to not panic meaning you can NEVER panic or show any cause for concern.

I taught my daughter and many of my friends kids (and some of my friends that never learned as kids) because their kid didn't listen to them or the parent was too impatient or frustrated or coddling. Many parents can't really do what it takes-which is trust the kids instincts to kick to the surface and attempt to survive. Most parents will panic when their kid starts to struggle and rescue the kid too soon-probably due to a lack of experience with kids in the water. Swim instructors (good ones) have enough experience to know when to let the kid struggle and when to step in (and at what moment to step in). They are hawkeyeing them and monitoring the kid for feedback and adjusting accordingly. Parents tend to step in and rescue their kids way too soon and don't give their kid a chance to learn. The moment the kid goes under, they reach to help them (which is parent instinct) instead of letting the kid try on their own. The parent shows anxiety and uses too much 'omg are you ok, are you hurt' and actually freaks the kid out more and makes them scared.

Parents really don't know when it's ok to let them struggle or more importantly if the kid is actually struggling and needs assistance or if they are struggling but figuring it out and coming up on their own. Most parents don't have the willpower to stand still and wait for the kid to surface-they will reach out and pull them up. This instinct can be hard to ignore if you don't know what you are looking at...is the kid really struggling or are they ok. And when they do surface and they are coughing up then most parents will again 'are you ok? I was so scared! etc.)

Instead, when they do surface, you need to calmly grab their arm and pull them towards, pat their back, and get excited. Smile and tell them 'that was good, that was good, do you see how you didn't panic and you used your legs to kick yourself up, you were so strong, look at what you did all by yourself, you got to the surface, I was so proud of you, do you want to try it again?' Most kids will shake their heads yes. And then you do it again. But again you have to have enough experience to know when they can go again, need a break, or are taking in too much water-in which case you stop and start over the next day from the beginning with their breathing-they may take a little water but if they have more than a very very mouth full they need to learn to close their mouth and breath out the moment they think they may go under.

Yuck I don’t agree with any of this. This is why I took my kids to high quality swim lessons. My kids learned their strokes first and didn’t have to rely on instinct and not panicking because someone taught them what to do. Happy to wait an extra couple months if that’s what it takes but my younger one is 90 percent there after two months of regular lessons and fun practice with me in the pool and my older one was proficient in 6 months and *enjoyed* the process. She also has an absolutely beautiful stoke, better than mine despite several years of swim team

[Anonymous]

My kid did group lessons from 6 moths until.6 years and couldn't swim. I was paying for her to spend 20 minutes waiting on the wall each week for her turn. In kindergarten she attended a camp where swimming was 3 times a day. The other kids taught my kids. I enrolled in private lessons after that for stroke refinement and to teach breathing.