Swimming lessons for toddlers....... to do or not?

Flowergirl good luck with the swimming lesson this evening, im sure it will get easier and more fun for Em as the lessons go on.

I have booked Keiran to start Aquatots (in east london) from next year, he loves to play in the pool (on the step) or in his splash pool (the big ones though) so i hope he will enjoy this to.

Thanks Justine and Claudia - very, very valid points and echoes my concerns. Good to hear otheres with the same opinion because I do sometimes worry about being overprotective, so I like to hear what others think first.

@ Julz, I don't want to tarnish their name, not at all! Like I said, I can see that they get results and their approach obviously works for some parents, I just wasn't sure if it was right for us.

Hearing all the different responses now, I think I am going to take her this evening and if she seems tense or nervous then I am not going to force the issue.

If she loved the water and I felt that she wanted to swim, then I would be happy to continue. But, I don't want to scare her or force anything on her. She is probably just not a water baby and I wish for her to develop a liking for the water in her own time and at her own pace. Fact of the matter is that she is not evn happy to go into the water with me, so I think maybe mommy made a bad decision to take her in the first place. I think she would have been reluctant with ANY school, so I don't "blame" the school or their approach at all. I am very confident that they will have Gabi (my niece) swimming in no time. But, she is happy to go in and chose to do it.

I believe that we need to respect our children and there are certain things that are NON-NEGOTIABLE like being strapped in when driving, etc. But FOR ME (and this is my opinion only) learning to swim is negotiable. When she is older, if she wants to dive in and loves the water, etc. then it becomes a non negotiable.

Again, thanks to EVERYONE for the responses, I am glad that I heard different points of view. Really appreciate each and every comment on this thread.

You all make a valid point. Another is that sometimes all it takes is one extra lesson and the child is comfortable. In other words, I can't simply say okay Dylan screamed during his first class so that is enough. I guess I knew he was more upset with not being with me than the actual swimming and I did worry about it and spoke to my therapist about the dangers, but again Dylan wasn't scared of the water. He is a water baby of note.

My brother wasn't scared of water either until he fell in a pool and couldn't swim.

To me swimming is an important safety aspect, but as with all things you need to determine what is right for your child.

I guess I just want to support Lindsay's swim school because I know they care about their kids that they teach. They really do and it has an excellent reputation. Dylan was tiny so they actually made us stop swimming during winter depsite it being an indoor heated pool as they were worried about him getting cold. It is so easy to tarnish the name of a good service based on a view of one person and Flowergirl I hope you don't take this the wrong way. I really do get what you are saying and I know what you are talking about as I also had concerns, but I kept an open mind and it payed off.

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@ Justine you hit the nail on the head about pushing too hard. I was anxious as a child in the water, so my mom never pushed me to swim I still learnt and was swimming by 3 and then went on to swim competitively till I decided I couldnt handle the long hours training inj matric. My sister just wanted to swim and was safe in the water by the time she was 2 with no "pushing", she also loves the water.
My husband was forced at swimming lessons and to this day HATES it despite having "learnt to swim" at 3.

Hi, can I add my 2c?

Back in the day to support my studies, I used to teach swimming to mainly 3-5 year olds.
My speciality (if you can call it that) was with the traumatised kiddies.. most of whom had been naturally reluctant of water and been pushed beyond their comfort levels too soon.
With these kids it took me 5 times as long (or longer) to get them to the same level as the confident ones.
One 12 year old girl took 6 months just to progress to walking through the water, such was the extent of her terror.

I understand the desire to get kids swimming early, given all the pools/sea etc that they've access to, but I want to stress that no young child is ever really safe near water. pushing too hard too early and you stand a real chance of putting your child off for perhaps years. water play should be fun and enjoyable... if it isnt, you're just setting yourself up for an extended period of required lessons... with a real possibility that nothing will be learnt and you'll just have to start all over again in a year or two. Obviously, some kids take to the water like fish though too.

My husband has been taking my son to swimming lessons since he was ~9 months for two reasons primarily... because it was something fun for them both to bond over (dad-Ben time ) and because a love for the water is something I wanted my boy to develop. Our swimming lady is lovely. Parents are in the water with their children and the focus is very much on exploration and fun. I'd definitely not be taking Ben there if the focus was trying to 'drown proof' the kids... because sadly, this just isnt possible for most.

so my advice would be to take the cue from your child. if they're resisting and it just doesnt feel right, give it a break for a few months, or try a teacher with a different approach. Swimming can and should be a life-time enjoyable activity.

Niki, my swimming school is in Chartwell, so I think its actually far from you. But many parents travel a bit further to get to Pippa.

I'm going to try and paste her bussines card here:

Lol Julz my 5 year old niece was actually supposed to go with her daughter and she refused to. Told us she rather wanted to go with Lindsay. So you are probably right!!!!