how long to learn very basic swim skills

[Anonymous]

Swim lessons are really better once a kid already is really comfortable in the water to learn form. And I personally only did the summer lessons here, that were every day for 2 weeks, rather than the ones in the winter that were twice a week. Once a week would definitely be worthless.

I agree with the PP - lots and lots of swimming. Get a summer pool pass and take them as often as you can stand it. Mine just learned that way a lot quicker than any lesson.

My children are the same age gap as yours and my younger one actually progressed faster than my older one bc she didn't mind putting her head under.

I will also add that sometimes one of my kid wouldn't pass to the next level over something stupid, or something subjective, so I would just sign them up for the next level despite that bc they get complacent and do better with a challenge.

[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.

Or you can surround your kids with other kids their age that swim and give them a noodle

[Anonymous]

Forever for us until we found the magic 1 on 1 instructor. She is a girl's swim team coach. Good luck! Been there

[Anonymous]

My five year old didn’t make much progress until we did group lessons 3-4 times a week, with pool time on the weekend.

Once we upped the lesson frequency from 1x a week to 3-4x a week, it took about 5 weeks to freestyle and backstroke 25 yards.

Still working on breast stroke and butterfly…seems harder to learn.

[Anonymous]

I read a book called Teach Your Baby to Swim when my daughter was an infant. Using the techniques in the book I started teaching her at 6 months in a heated indoor pool in the winter. By summer she was swimming like a fish. I could jump off the diving board and go to the bottom of the deep end holding her and she would hold her breath and come up laughing. She swam underwater easily and often had her mouth open but did not swallow water.

At two she often went off the diving board by herself and swam to the ladder and climbed out. There was a period between one and two where we had to watch her like a hawk because she loved to jump in and swim around but couldn't always get herself out. Once she learned how to climb out on the side she was safer. We still watched her at all times.

I tried to help other family members teach their young kids to swim but by the time they were three or more it was much harder. The kids would resist, protest, not cooperate and the parents would give up.