Reply to When to stop swim lessons?

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[quote=Anonymous]I grew up in a country with so many bodies of water everywhere, that they have mandatory swimming lessons in schools which the kids have to attend until they pass a test. Being able to swim is as critical a skill there as walking. We are currently looking to move back to that country and into a nice waterfront property. Needless to say I have a specific list of swimming skills (that they require in that test) DC has to fulfill, no discussion, no debates.

This includes:
- Two laps of breaststroke in the pool without pausing to stop. 
- Treading water for one minute. 
- Floating on their back. 
- One lap of backstroke without pausing to stop. 
- One lap of crawling, doesn't have to be perfect technique, but the sequence needs to be automatic. 
- Staying under water as long as possible, eyes open and proper breathing technique. (We make DC dive for things and retrieve them). 
- One lap breaststroke under water, only coming up for air every 3-5 strokes. 
- Jumping into the water off a 1 meter high board. 
- All of the above without goggles. 
- All of the above wearing lose-fitting clothes. 
- All of the above in colder/moving/salt water. 
- Absolutely no panic reactions to getting thrown into the water, splashed water at their faces, being pulled under. 
- Theoretical knowledge of water safety, identifying bodies of water, knowing your limits, knowing how to react to which emergency.

Only then would I consider letting DC swim without an adult licensed (!!!) rescue swimmer watching like a hawk. No, a regular (even good) swimmer isn't enough to save a drowning person. Let alone a non-swimmer, that's just negligent.

TL;DR: No OP, your child isn't nearly proficient enough to stop learning with someone who can teach him. [/quote]

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