Swimming Lessons for Almost 4 Year Old Girl

I disagree with the poster that said to wait until age 7 and also about getting the suit with build in floaties. My son is 4 and has been swimming by himself, (no floaties, going off the diving board and swimming back to the side) since he was 2!!!! He can now swim the entire length of a regulation swimming pool with no problem. My daughter is 3 and will be able to swim without help by the end of this summer. I also think the floaties give them a fake confidence...what would happen if an arm floaty were to bust or come off? Point being, do the swimming lessons wherever you and she are most comfortable. She is PLENTY old enough to learn and why would you wait? Swimming is such a valuable skill for a child to learn. My children will both take a week of swim lessons...the older to learn stroke techniques and the younger to get more confident with her swimming. Good Luck with whatever you decide.

Hi B.,

Good for you for seeking out great swim lessons for your child! Children are designed to swim from birth, can you believe it?! The earlier you start, the better. They learn the skills very naturally at an early age.

An accredited swim school will have specific criteria and standards for their lessons. You should look for a swim school that is a member of the United States Swim School Association. In San Antonio, that is Love to Swim. In Austin, that is Emler Swim School, and I think in Houston (which I do not know as well) it would be FINS or Houston Swim Club.

What should you look for? Caring, nurturing instructors with significant training requirements; small class size ratio; warm 90 degree pool ideal for comfort; good teacher/ parent communication; a program that emphasizes learning through positive reinforcement; well-written/ time-tested curriculum; year-round lesson availability to keep skills from being lost during cold weather months when you don't use them at the local pool; a program that obviously revolves around the child.

Most accredited swim schools will offer a free trial lesson, too, so I encourage you to take advantage of that option. It is a great way to get a feel for the organization's philosophies. =}

Good luck!
~G. S.

I know you are asking about private lessons or love to swim but I would like to suggest FINS. I have watched their system for 3 years now and they have turned both of my kids into awesome swimmers. They use proven methods.

For the person who suggested not learning to swim until age 7... seriously? Where are you getting your information from? My 6 year old does competitive swimming and swims free, back, and breast with perfect technique and it is because she's been taught. She also swims fly but not competitively.

I have been teaching private lessons for 20 years, prior to that I was on a high school swim team, and I have been a certified lifeguard in the past. Presently, I work for a local swim club. I am not familiar with learn to swim and ever set of public pool lessons will depend on the instructor. The best thing to look for in learning to swim is the instructor. They need to be able to build trust in your child. They should not force but be willing to encourage your child to try new things. Swimming is a building activity. You have to learn step 1 before beginning step 2 etc... Also, just learning to swim is not enough. If you want your child truly safe in the water you need to make certain it is a program that will create proper technique, safety, and ENDURANCE. Many people give their children just enough lessons to drown themselves. Good luck!!!

I am not familiar with Love to Swim but I put my son in FINS (Fun in Swimming) and it is awesome. I am a water baby myself, with a degree in Marine Biology and I am also Scuba Certified. My mom has a pool but I wanted to put him in a program that taught him techniques. I started him out really young, around 7 months old and now he is almost 3 and he is doing semi-private lessons. They have certain "levels" based on your childs experience level. Most of the younger kids are in classes with only 2 or 3 children. FINS is located on Spring Cypress, they also opened a new one in the Woodlands.

I also should say, I looked into taking him to the YMCA and visited the pool while they were doing it and there were just way too many distractions. You have a little girl so it might be easier but with little boys, they are easily distracted. So take into account the surroundings. If you do the neighborhood pool, will other things (like swim team, etc) be going on at the same time. FINS has other classes going on but the pool is so big (they actually have 2) that the classes are far enough apart that there are not many distractions.

I adore Love to Swim! We did lessons at our gym twice and I was not pleased. Love to Swim uses building blocks that the child must master before going on to the next level. They also teach water safety. It really creates a great foundation. You can take a tour of either facility and the staff is very knowledgable. The owner is very strict on her coaches; she wants the best!

Our daughter started LOVE TO SWIM in February 06 when she was 7 months old, and she has THRIVED!! She absolutely LOVES to be in the water. The school is very meticulous about technique (making sure they can kick properly before they use arms, etc.), but survival skills as well. She has always enjoyed her classes, and there's never been any "pressure" to do something (because, as you know, some days kids are "on" and sometimes they're "off"). I can't say enough nice things about the coaches... they ALL have been great!

They have implemented a wonderful way to communicate between parents and coach, so you can always get feedback or send a comment onto your childs coach. If I were you, I'd go any day and check it out (Saturdays, in particular, are pretty busy) and talk to other parents about their experience there. You won't be disappointed!! Good luck!

Not familiar with love to swim, but when our kids were little we were around boats and water alot and I wanted them safe around water so I did not mess around with the swimming lessons were they just kind of play around in the water I went for a lady in her back yard that in 8 lessons had them swimming across the pool at that age. She taught them to put their heads under and come up for a breath the first lesson. Some moms did not want this because some kids cry and are upset but if you stick with it by 8 lessons they were swimming and knew how to save themselves and get out if they ever fell in. That was what I wanted and I did not want to waste my money on lessons where at the end they still did not get their face wet. Check them out and ask around about the outcome.

I would recommend waiting until your little girl is 7 for swimming lessons. There are big developmental changes every 7 years, and at age 7 these changes are huge! Prior to that age children are not suited to learning kinesthetic activities like swimming, which requires different body parts to move differently at the same time. Learning swimming before age 7 is more difficult for children and more artificial. If you wait until age 7 they are ready for it, you get the right 'window of opportunity' and they pick it up easier. Most importantly, they will have a stronger and much more natural stroke.

Prior to age 7 you can just work on water confidence and having fun in the water.

Its totally up to you, I just wanted to offer another perspective and further information on child development for you :-)

Hi B.,
Neighborhood pools are fun but I am not sure how much really good technics they really learn there- but for a 4yr old that would probably be ok- I gave my boys individual swimming lessons at 3 and 4 and they learned a lot......but I would suggest the neighborhood pool just for fun.
blessings

My son is two and goes to Love to Swim. It is our favorite part of the week. I'm amazed at how much he is learning. "Love to Swim" puts a lot of effort into teaching kids the "right" way to swim and keeping them safe. One of the owners missions is to decrease the number of drownings in San Antonio. Also, they have an indoor, heated pool. Even the room the pool is in is warm. We do weekly lessons year round, but they also have several summer sessons to choose from.

I did not get my daughter swimming lessons so cannot speak to either of those options, however, I can tell you what I did do, which worked great for us and was almost no money.

I bought her a swimsuit that had floats build in to it. Hers had 2 in the front and 2 in the back each going up and down from waist to neck area. We have a pool at home, so she was able to go swimming often. By the end of the summer she was swimming like a little fish by herself. I believe it was due to the swimsuit. It gave her the confidence she needed because she realized that it would keep her head above water, or buoy her right back up to the surface if she went under. Plus, since it doesn't involve arm or waist-wrapping floats, she actually was using her arms & legs to swim. She was even jumping off the diving board within 2 weeks of getting that swimsuit.

My sis-in-law just got some for my niece (5) and nephew (3). We all went swimming this weekend & the kids had a bunch of fun. 5 yr old was all over the pool with no fear. 3 yr old didn't seem to care yet.

You can find suits like that at places like Walmart.

My daughter takes swimming lessons at Dad's Club which is located on Voss Road. She is 16 months old. I am a strong believer in swim lessons. I swam year around from the age of 11 to 18 years old.

I believe you should not put your child in any type of floaties b/c he or she will become accustomed to them.

I love it. Everyone there is purely focused on swimming. Her teacher is great and if I want she can take lessons year around.

My son went to the JCC last year and did well. He went M-Th for 2 weeks for 30 minutes a session. We took him at the beginning of the summer (June) to get foundations and then we work with him at home for the rest of the summer. Just a thought...I know Learn to Swim is great for other moms experiences; however, I find it expensive esp when we are also paying for other activities (i.e. soccer).

GREAT this is one of the best things that you can give your child. If you can watch the teachers in the act do it. See how they act with the kids, some can make it fun that it what you want. Some can turn it into work, that is for their safety I know, but you want her to look forward to going to the pool. Have a great summer.

We used the city programs. The life guards are the teachers. It was a great experience. All my boys loved it. We did it through 8 years old for my oldest and the only reason we have not continued with the other 2 is the classes fill up fast for their ages and they were all full when I went to sign them up.

The Love to Swim may have better teacher requirement and better insurance.