Maybe a different private instructor? My DS didn't make much progress either until we actually got an instructor who knew what he was doing, did private lessons twice a week, and I made an effort to take him in the pool to practice whatever the instructor told me in between lessons. I got the impression most parents didn't ask for tips on what to practice in between lessons, but my DS had/has a lot of coordination issues and I really wanted this to happen for him so he could pass the test and use the pool slide. As I recall, it took about 3 weeks/6 lessons, and getting him to put his face in the water was the most important part. He was also 7.

Go to the pool with friends of his that CAN swim. Peer pressure is strong

My son has motor issues + ADHD, and I paid for a one-on-one instructor so that he could have specific guided instruction. The prior group lessons were not percolating very well. He needed the instructor to be super explicit, move his arms and legs for him to show him exactly what the movements were, etc. All it took was a couple of weeks to accomplish what a number of group classes could not.

OP here, thanks for all the supportive and helpful posts! Good to hear from people with the experience that it just clicked for their kids later. At this point, we’re just looking for basic swimming for safety.

I was in the same boat with kids not making any swim progress thanks to the pandemic. What finally worked was to join a year round pool facility, weekly lessons + 2-3x week pool time to practice for about 3 months, and 2 consecutive weeks of swim camp.

What do you mean by swim? I ask because my 8 yr old finished an entire season of swim team at age 7, could easily swim 25 free and 25 back, and still could not pass the swim test because he could not float or tread water.

Training a kid to swim laps and race is a different skill set than training for safety. I feel like county and groups lessons are the worst of both skill sets. If you take more private lessons, can you work with a coach who specializes in the type of outcome you want and set specific objectives?

Just keep trying, this was my 8YO until this summer! I feel like these kids were prime age to lose out when covid closed swim lessons (at least, it did at our pool).
What finally made it click: year round swim lessons which suuuuck, but worth it bc I got to eat cheetos from the vending machine and play a game on my ipad bc parents are not allowed on the (indoor) pool deck.
I told DC they had to take every lesson until they could pass the swim test at summer camp. At that point they could stop, or choose to continue if they wanted to pursue swimming as a sport. The camp swim test is NOT an impossibly high bar and they can take it as many times as they want until they pass.
Lo and behold, passed the swim test the first day of camp! I credit less winter loss and major motivation.

Just doing camps and a few weeks of lessons weekly isn't going to do much. With us, we had to do daily lessons in the summer and 2-3 days a week in the winter to make progress.

7 is pretty young, I’d give it some time. Try to let pool time be fun time and do t push it other than the swim lessons.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just keep trying. Try some new instructors (sometimes kids click with one and not another), more lessons during the year, again next summer. Does your kid have a friend who can swim and show them some moves? (That can also help.) Also depends on the reason - Is your kid scared of the water or losing control? It all finally clicked for my almost 8 yo this summer - she was on the swim preteam for 2 previous summers, we did a fair number of lessons, there was a lot of crying, one private instructor dropped us 2 years ago because she didn't cooperate etc. In other words, it's been quite a process. Don't give up!

Sorry, I realized I didn't read your post carefully before replying. Agree you can take a break, just don't give up! One thing we did was try to get our kid to practice putting her head in the water was to do that more during bath time. I do sometimes wonder if it would have worked just as well to start her at age 7 in the first place, but as a parent, you still have to keep trying, since they won't learn on their own!

Sorry, I noticed that the 2nd poster mentioned the taking a break and the kid not living water in their nose etc. I need à break from posting today!

Letting my kid wear a snorkel mask got him over his reluctance to put his face in the water. Once he figured out how to swim with the mask it was easier to get him to swim without it. He’s still not a great swimmer, but he won’t drown.

Anonymous wrote:Just keep trying. Try some new instructors (sometimes kids click with one and not another), more lessons during the year, again next summer. Does your kid have a friend who can swim and show them some moves? (That can also help.) Also depends on the reason - Is your kid scared of the water or losing control? It all finally clicked for my almost 8 yo this summer - she was on the swim preteam for 2 previous summers, we did a fair number of lessons, there was a lot of crying, one private instructor dropped us 2 years ago because she didn't cooperate etc. In other words, it's been quite a process. Don't give up!

Sorry, I realized I didn't read your post carefully before replying. Agree you can take a break, just don't give up! One thing we did was try to get our kid to practice putting her head in the water was to do that more during bath time. I do sometimes wonder if it would have worked just as well to start her at age 7 in the first place, but as a parent, you still have to keep trying, since they won't learn on their own!

Just keep trying. Try some new instructors (sometimes kids click with one and not another), more lessons during the year, again next summer. Does your kid have a friend who can swim and show them some moves? (That can also help.) Also depends on the reason - Is your kid scared of the water or losing control? It all finally clicked for my almost 8 yo this summer - she was on the swim preteam for 2 previous summers, we did a fair number of lessons, there was a lot of crying, one private instructor dropped us 2 years ago because she didn't cooperate etc. In other words, it's been quite a process. Don't give up!

We're in the exact same boat, and I don't have an answer. Two weeks of dedicated swim camp at the YMCA helped, but it's still not there. She's happy enough to walk around in the pool, but anything with getting water in and around her eyes, ears, nose, is terrifying. We're taking a break from lessons a bit because we're all exhausted from trying to get her to learn to swim.

Anyone have this come up? My 7 year old DS has not learned to swim after numerous group lessons, swim time at camp, hours in the pool, coaching from me and DH, and several weeks of private lessons. He has made some progress this summer because he has been to the pool almost everyday but it’s still not clicking. DH and I don’t usually push our kids much on activities but it is important to us that he learns how to swim. And to be honest I would find pool trips way more relaxing.