4.5yo doesn’t want to take swim lessons

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Push her into it. I

I know someone who lost a 5 year old child to a backyard pool drowning.

It happens.

They had a pool and OP doesn't have a pool.

OP, I'd do some lessons and bribe just for basic skills but the more you force it the worse it will be.

All it takes is an open fence gate and you not paying attention for 1 minute. It doesn’t have to be your backyard pool - just one you are near at a friends house hanging out. It happens so fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since she's shown a willingness to swim in the past, and she's only 4, I'd sign her up and make her go.

You must not have stubborn kids. I signed up my kid and she never got in the water. What would you do..throw her in?

I have an EXTREMELY stubborn/anxious kid who wouldn't really get in a pool so we didn't attempt lessons until she was 6. So I get it. This is why I included the bold. If the OPs kid had always refused to get in, my answer would be different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She took weekly swim lessons last summer and fall. We stopped for the winter as her baby sister was born in Jan and we wanted to reduce exposure. Now she’s saying she doesn’t want to restart in the spring/summer. Should I make her go, or hold off until she wants to? We do have access to a community pool about 15 min away that we could take her to a couple times a week.

Summer and fall lessons and they didn’t teach her anything? Where did you go? perhaps try a different place, Different teacher. Pool temperature matters too. Actual swim schools keep the pool at a much warmer temperature than a community pool.