What age for swimming lessons?

[tigwig]

I have just enquired at my local sports centre about swimming lessons for my 3yr old. To my surprise they said you only have to be 3 to start the proper lessons with strokes and everything not just a water confidence or 'baby' lesson. I have put her on the waiting list and she is 4 in June but if they get in touch in a few weeks is this too young for her? Can 3 yr olds really learn how to swim properly at this young age or would I be better waiting until she is older. I don't want to waste my money and want her to swim without armbands as soon as she can but can't imagine her doing this at 3 or 4! What age did your children swim properly?

[ethanryan]

my son is 3 in may and i have put his name down for lessons my nephew is 4 and can swim without arm bands. he started at 3 and has had weekly lessons he is now able to keep himself up in the water
it is never too early i dont think. the earlier you get him used to it the better he will be in the water

[jno]

she was swimming before she was born; and children retain an affinity for the water for quite a while. The sooner she gets reacquainted the better, I would think

[toby99]

I agree it is never too early to teach them water skills, but you mayl find that he will stay in each level/group for longer. My daughter didn't have lessons until she was 5/6 and just shot through all the levels where as the younger children stayed down until they caught up in age as although they can swim they just don't have the body strength to keep up with the lengths.

[Poison-Ivy]

My daughter now swims competitively, she was picked out by the swim school scouts from her normal lessons at my local leisure centre (started lessons age 5).

At the age of 8 she was entered into her 1st gala, covering front crawl, backstroke, breast stroke and butterfly.

Age 3/4 is def not too young.

[annie0000]

My boys both started proper lessons at about 3 - 3 and a half. I agree with toby, although they both really enjoyed the lessons and had great water confidence, they didn't actually swim before they were about 5-6. They had the technique, just not enough strength to pull themselves through the water for long enough and the kids that started later soon caught up. By the time they could swim, they were comfortable enough to swim underwater and dive to the bottom of the pool - turn underwater somersalts etc.

It will certainly cost you a lot more money in lessons starting earlier for essentially the same result, but it really depends on what you expect from the lessons.

If she enjoys them and you can afford it, I would say go for it - it is great exercise and being confident in the water is great for them and as an abbsolute minimum, she will be able to keep herself afloat from a young age if not necessarily get across the pool!

[toby99]

Annie summed up my previous answer perfectly!

I think a lot of children drown from panic and although my daughter can swim I have concentrated on the panic aspect.

I have taught her to lie on her back and keep calm and keep her lungs filled with air if she feels she is getting into difficulty. She tried breathing out while lying on her back and she sunk like a brick. Then if she breathes in while lying on her back she floats. I take her to the deep end and let her practice - She now does it naturally when swimming rather than scrabbling for the poolside when she gets tired or loses her confidence.

[whiskeysheri]

My cousin took her little girl swimming for the first time when she was only a few months old. She's two and a half now and can swim like a fish. I's amazing to watch. She jumps in, goes under and takes off!

My cousin's just had her little boy and they'll be going to lessons soon. :o)

[lyndylou]

I took ( threw ) both mine in at six weeks - both my husband and I are/ were swim teachers / lifeguards tho - I felt this was the right time for the baby to tolerate the treated water. Babies float naturally on their backs and slowly with a bit of confidence you can let go they kick about - they are not scared as jno said they are used to that environment - both kids swam as a natural progression never with floatation aids and could easily manage a few lengths and jump/dive ( mainly belly flop ) by about 2 yrs both kids went through junior lifeguard programmes and now work in the industry - I can't stress enough about giving kids the ability to conquer this medium the lessons learned early could save there lives