Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why a 5 week swim class will be your family's only opportunity to see a pool until next summer? Where do you live?

If you must know ... About 0.5 summer spent with grandparents in 2 different parts of country and different settings; one set in rural area but not on a farm, no ponds or pool; then with other side, no neighbors or family with pools there either.

And no public pools or rec centers in either place? Bizarre.

Depends on the kid. We have a pool and mine was still afraid to get head wet. For humor took a class and a no nonsense instructor who didn't "wait till he was ready" as I was doing. She told him he was ready. Jumped in second class. They're all different.

Hi op,

New poster here. My daughter was afraid of putting her head in, swim lessons somehow made this worse. She developed this huge anxiety over going to the lesson, it was a beginner level class with no pressure to put her face in, but for her it was a huge mental block. She did not enjoy it and would cry and beg not to go. So I started taking her to open swim 2 x a week and she could do what she wanted and she started relaxing.

We discovered that a one month family pass to PG county pools is 37 dollars - this rate applies to pg and moco residents because the pools are operated by the national capital planning commission. We went multiple times a week for one month, by the end she was doing dog paddle, figured it out on her own.

I know you said you're not interested on spending this kind of time at the pool but if kid doesn't want to get head wet, it will take repeated, no pressure, fun exposure to the pool.

Another perspective? How effective are swim lessons?

"Even though about 95 percent of Swedish school children know how to swim, drowning remains the third most common cause of death among children." Source: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_lessons

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why a 5 week swim class will be your family's only opportunity to see a pool until next summer? Where do you live?

If you must know ... About 0.5 summer spent with grandparents in 2 different parts of country and different settings; one set in rural area but not on a farm, no ponds or pool; then with other side, no neighbors or family with pools there either.

I usually send my kids to swimming class in summer which runs everyday for 2 weeks in a session. Really helpful for them. They are able to swim in a summer.

Early swim lessons literally saved my sister's life. She fell off a boat dock when she was 2. If she hadn't known how to flip to her back, she wouldn't have survived.

She was supposed to be taking a nap and the doors were locked. We were on vacation.

One more ...

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2010/08/how_many_americans_cant_swim.html

About 1/2 of America can't swim well

http://www.today.com/health/more-half-americans-cant-swim-well-enough-save-themselves-can-2D79689254

Grew up in US. Occasionally we had sprinklers or fire hydrant.

The Red Cross, YMCA, nearly every urban city has free or almost free swim lessons. Every child that enters water needs to know how to swim.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for responding. Though I'm sure well meaning, suggestions on spending more time at pools are a big turn off. Partner and I have zippy interest in spending more time some place neither of enjoy is a huge turn off. 5 lessons will achieve our goals of getting DC to put head in water, but now I'm more reluctant to pay for a class and maybe do it ourselves to avoid all the upselling.

Sometimes when you have kids you have to force yourself to do things you don't enjoy. I drag 3 little kids to the pool all summer, sunscreen, swim diapers, sweltering heat, more sunscreen... Five lessons isn't going to make your kid safe in the water. He will need more pool time. At 7, he should really already know how to swim just for basic safety reasons.

Ditto and all of mine are under 7 and can all at least doggy paddle. Seven is really, really late for basic swimming safety.

I don't understand why a 5 week swim class will be your family's only opportunity to see a pool until next summer? Where do you live?

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for responding. Though I'm sure well meaning, suggestions on spending more time at pools are a big turn off. Partner and I have zippy interest in spending more time some place neither of enjoy is a huge turn off. 5 lessons will achieve our goals of getting DC to put head in water, but now I'm more reluctant to pay for a class and maybe do it ourselves to avoid all the upselling.

Sometimes when you have kids you have to force yourself to do things you don't enjoy. I drag 3 little kids to the pool all summer, sunscreen, swim diapers, sweltering heat, more sunscreen... Five lessons isn't going to make your kid safe in the water. He will need more pool time. At 7, he should really already know how to swim just for basic safety reasons.

Anonymous wrote:Weirdest. Thread. Ever.

Heck yeah. This is SO weird for so many reasons!! Are you American OP? Did you not spend summers at the pool?

Fill up your bathtub and have your 7 year old put his head under water.