Anyone else's kid a late swimmer?

[Anonymous]

DS is almost 7.5 and we're still plugging away. He's totally capable but hesitant and fearful. Last summer he took daily (group) lessons, three sessions that lasted two weeks each...but he's still not swimming. He will dunk his head and float on his front in 2 feet of water, and started to try it in 3 feet by the end of last summer (though now we seem to be back where we started).
Would love to hear some success stories...he is the only one of his friends who can't swim.

[Anonymous]

One of my kids was similar, OP. She was nearly 9 before she mastered the crawl stroke well enough to pass the swim test for the deep end of the lake and pool. Finally, the summer after 3rd grade she seemed to get the hang of it at summer camp. Mind you, she'd had lessons for years before that. I think she just needed to mature into her body and develop more confidence. Now she's 13 and swims just fine. Don't lose heart. You are not the only parent out there with a child like this.

[Anonymous]

Where do you recommend for swim lessons. I need to get my 7 year old in something.

[Anonymous]

PP here. We were living somewhere else then, so I'm not the best person to ask. Some good options are probably the YMCA or Aquatic Center (I know MoCo has one). Other suggestions are summer camp (most traditional camps have mandatory swim lessons and a free swim every day). I think you can also try setting up private lessons at a lot of local pool clubs, if that's an option for you. As I mentioned, what worked for us was summer camp swimming and letting time take its course. Maybe others will have more specific recommendations.
Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Much like me as a child, my son didn't develop confidence in the water after (many) group lessons, so we signed him up with a "swimming whisperer" and he took off almost immediately. Expensive but worth it! If you can afford a private instructor I would recommend it. You may actually save money in the long run if you can get him comfortable in the water quickly vs. years of group lessons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Much like me as a child, my son didn't develop confidence in the water after (many) group lessons, so we signed him up with a "swimming whisperer" and he took off almost immediately. Expensive but worth it! If you can afford a private instructor I would recommend it. You may actually save money in the long run if you can get him comfortable in the water quickly vs. years of group lessons.

not OP but that's what we're going to do for DSs this summer after years of group lessons. if this still doesn't work i'm giving up. i didn't know how to swim till summer before college and i just sort of self-taught myself without any lesson. it's in the genes that we're late swimmers

[Anonymous]

I think it is not a stretch to say that I've spent over $1000 on swim lessons for DD who is 8. When I think of where she was 2 years ago, I can definitely see progress... but, I get discouraged at the end of most of her classes (at the end of the set) b/c there has been so little progress. We've done both private and group. I've come to realize that private was wasting my money b/c she simply WAS NOT going to do what they wanted. She is v e r y s l o w l y making progress. Sometimes I want to give up, but the optimist in me keeps going. We take breaks from swim lessons if I get too frustrated seeing little progress, but we will not stop altogether. My kids MUST learn to swim even if it takes them 10 years of lessons.

My sister (who learned to swim in college) remembers missing a lot of fun as a teen b/c others could swim and she couldn't. I think my mother probably gave up on sister after about 1-2 sets of lessons. My adult brothers (30-40 ish) are taking swimming lessons. It's got to be a lot harder to do it as an adult b/c the teachers are less able to hold you up. Knowing how to swim is a real safety issue and a skill that will be used throughout childhood and adulthood.

Keep going and remind yourself of where your child's skills were 2 years ago. If your child is willing to put his face IN the water, you are probably A LOT closer to learning to swim than you think. Can you commit to two years more?

[Anonymous]

I hate to swim as an adult. Some kids don't like water and thats that.

[Anonymous]

My 8 year old doesn't swim either. He doesn't want to learn. He did take private lessons a few years ago but we've done nothing much to pressure him since then other than summertime playing at the pool with cousins. I hope this will be the summer that he gets over his dislike of the water. but I'm not sure i can afford to pay for more private lessons when he is likely to fight it. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink . . . .

[Anonymous]

And I thought my kid was the only one!

Anyone know a good "swim whisperer" in DC? (Although I observed my child's private swim lessons in the past and thought the instructors were doing everything right-- my kid was just too nervous to think straight in the water.)

[Anonymous]

great thread! my 7 year old has no desire to swim. Happy as a clam to splash in the shallow end. We are plugging away and did private off and on this winter but have made no real progress. I just want him to be ablw to swim to the wall if he gets in too deep. But, i can't force him to feel comfortable in the water. GL to everyone...glad wee are not the only ones!

[Anonymous]

my 7 year old is just now learning how to swim. would not put his head under water for ages. didn't think he would last in a group so i decided to try individual lessons...seems to be working, he loves it but it's been almost a year and he's just really swimming now. (no crawl stroke, just pushing off from wall and kicking with head under water.)

ds tends not to be a big athlete. runs around like crazy, is silly, but has not liked group sports.

[Anonymous]

Wow, this sounds just like my DS. Started in group lessons at age 4 - did this for several 8 week stretches. Not much progress. Just didn't not want to put his head under water. Took a year break. Started again at age 5. Still would not put head under water. Did several 8 week stretches and stopped. Age 6 started with private lessons for a year. He is happy to put head under water, learned crawl and back stroke. But WILL NOT swim in water over his head. I have gotten so frustrated with his S-L-O-W progress that we decided to skip lessons this summer, make the summer about being in the water for the fun of it and less about the structure of learning strokes and deep water. We'll start up with private lessons in the fall. He's very reluctant to try things he's afraid of. I guess it will be a long haul until he's comfortable enough in the water. I'm at least comforted to to know that there are other kids that take their time as I was beginning to get really worried.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And I thought my kid was the only one!

Anyone know a good "swim whisperer" in DC? (Although I observed my child's private swim lessons in the past and thought the instructors were doing everything right-- my kid was just too nervous to think straight in the water.)

One of the PP:
At one of my child's early lessons, I remember looking at him in the pool in about 12 inches of water with goggles, a life vest and two noodles...and the instructor was saying just try it and he was talking and talking about why he was too nervous to go deeper. If it wasn't my kid, it would have been hilarious. (My kid never shuts up...and there he is talking away, overanalyzing everything and refusing to go in....)

[Anonymous]

I know the Ys have good lessons as does American U. It is really important to stick with it. So many things in life involve the water...boating of all kinds, swimming, diving, etc. It is tough for people who never learned to be able to enjoy those things when they are adults.