Son Turning 4 - Swim Lessons?

I'm one of those former swimteam/lifeguard/military rescue swimmers/swim every day kind of people. We also home school. And while I've taken my son in the water with me every chance I've had... we signed up for swim lessons starting at age 2.

For US, it has been invaluable.

1) Having a teacher (k, series of teachers) that teaches swimming in a different way then I would. Not better/worse... just different.
2) Having other kids who are at the same level
- to make the "scared/excited" face at & with "X" activity
- to have fun with
- to know that "x" is "safe" because they're watching other kids do the same thing
- to have a chance to REST between one-on-one time
3) Having kids who are at higher and lower levels
- to watch

CAN you teach your son to swim? Of course. Swim lessons are fun (if they're not you're in the wrong program), but not necessary.

PS.

Floating isn't usually the first thing taught to children, although it is one of the first things taught to adults. It's usually comfort in the water, safety, trust, then things like swimming & floating. Floating is actually one of the harder things to teach. It requires trust and relaxation. Any tensing of the muscles and they sink like a stone. A LOT of early swim lesson time is spent teaching kids to be horizontal instead of vertical. here's a short list of early child swimming. :)
- sitting/standing/playing in the water (comfort, usually done on the stairs)
- monkey walking along the wall
- relaxing while being held/carried through water by adult
- blowing bubbles
- face in the water
- holding your breath
- kicking while being held
- kicking while holding on to the wall
- Pushing off from the stairs
- Pushing off from the wall
- Going under (bobs, not swimming)
- Jumping off the wall to instructor
- Gliding (to instructor from the wall/stairs)
- Gliding (from instructor to wall/stairs)
- Face in the water while kicking
- Kicking with a kickboard (face out)
- Kicking with a kickboard (face in)
- Arm motions
- Arms and kicking while being held
- Back float while being held
- Going under to grab something from the bottom
- "Swimming" to instructor (about 5 feet) from stairs/wall
- "Swimming"/gliding from instructor from wall
- Jumping off wall and getting self back to surface and back to the wall
- Backfloat by self
- Swimming by self with instructor walking alongside (5, 10, 15, 30 feet stretches)

Anyhow...that's just a short list. In general, that's mostly what's taught over the course of 6 months (or 2 summers). Some kids get all of that much faster and master all of that in a month, others take several years before they've achieved that degree. But in general, it takes about 6 months.

ALSO, don't try for longer then about 30 minutes in the water at first...with about 10-15 minutes of your son using his muscles. Expect him to be shaking-tired. The length of time gradually gets extended as muscles/endurance builds up. They also recover fast. So shaking tired after a half hour lesson in a real pool is frequently followed by 2 hours in a splash pool.

It depends on who you talk to and where you go. The most important thing is to teach a kid to float/get to the wall/climb out. For us, living in So. Cal, lessons were a no brainer and I'm so glad we've invested the time and money that we have. Both my 4 and 6 year old are "water safe" - I would NEVER leave them unattended, but I know they can float and rocket glide/kick to the wall. They can both do backstroke and are now learning the skills they need for freestyle. I could have taken them out months ago, but they are learning so much and doing so well, I'm just going to wait until they are done with all the levels. My daughter is in the last level right now. That all being said. I was a lifeguard and taught swim lessons in my younger years. If I had a pool, maybe I would have done it myself. Not sure. I am really happy with where we are at. (Noonan Swim School in Murrieta - indoor/year round facility).

If you find the right place, your son isn't just learning pool safety. He'll learn to listen to a teacher, patience, etc.. I think it is worth to pay someone, but not all swim schools are created equal so do some research in your area first.
Best wishes,
M.

I just started taking my 3 year old daughter to swim lessons at the watersafe swim school 3 weeks ago and it was the best thing we could do. She is being taught how to float and swim. Even though some kids are crying their heads off the whole time, you can see that they are learning something. I've realized that it can be stressful trying to teach little ones to swim and the instructors are wonderful and incredibly patient. I can't imagine doing what they do, it really is amazing to watch. I think it might be easier for kids to take directions from someone other than you sometimes. I would at least try lessons from someone else and see how he likes it and if it is beneficial to your family.

Yes yes yes... we live near a coast... and it gets hot here so a lot of activities are done with water. My son will be 17 months soon and he is going to start swim lessons this month. I'm not waiting.. you just never know. The mother who talked about the social aspect is spot on as well. There is something so important about kids being around other kids. Yes, you can teach your child to swim, but the more that they see other kids doing it the faster it will go. You will be more inclined to hold on to and protect the child instead of teaching him to self-reliant and trusting of his ability. Try the Parks and Rec department... they have cheaper programs and shorter lengths of time. In case you don't like it you're not committed for anything more than 8 days.

Agree with all the Mommy Posters. My son is 3 in July and he's already starting lessons...would have been last summer if I could have afforded it!

we go to austrailain swim schools since my daugther was 20 months, and she was swimming by 2.5 (not alone). They teach pool safety, etc. But since he is 4 he does not have to go to parent and me, where they just get familiar with water. It is great. She is 5 now and is doing the crawl. Is a great swimmer, but also pool safe!