swim lessons, what does (or did your 2 yr. old do?)

[AnnieW625]

Parent and Me
Group lesson
semi private
private

poll coming:)

DD1 did parent and me when she was 16 mos., no lessons at 2 due to tubes so this age for lessons is new to me. DD2 turns 2 in April. I am waffling between once weekly parent and me ($32 per session) vs. privates ($80 to $136 per month). DD2 did one session of mom n me last summer at 14 months.

eta: if it helps any we do not have a pool, but we spend about 8 to 10 weekends a year at my Grandma's home on Lake Arrowhead. My grandma has a motor boat. The girls along with the dog have life vests as it is required for kids (and super helpful with the dog; highly rec. the Stearns dig life vest:)) The girls are not allowed outside alone. DD1's godparents have
an unground jacuzzi that doesn't have fence (we have no issue with that). Neither girl is allowed outside without an adult.
DD1 did group lessons at 3 just during the summer and dudn't learn much. The last two years she has done private lessons (summer only) and has done better and learned things. This summer she will get swim lessons through summer camp at our local university where she took her lessons last year.

Reason I am asking this is I just got a monthly pass for 4 private lessons from a mommy group mom who does PR so I was wondering if it would be beneficial for DD2 or not. I guess we will find out and the lessons will be free do it can't hurt.

[sste]

Annie I think it depends if your goal is building comfort in the water and spending some fun time with your two year old versus learning to swim.

We are members of a Y with a lovely pool so we have fun/splash/family time. I want my kids to learn to swim - - DH and I are water people and it is a big safety issue for us. Based on my DS's experiences I am all about private lessons. This summer I am going to hire someone to come to the pool in our new apartment complex and give both DS and DD (who will be 20 months) private lessons.

[JBaxter]

We did group lessons but I thought they were next to worthless. He would do more just playing with him at the pool than the Y - lessons. I'm waiting closer to 4 before we do anymore.

[infocrazy]

We did group lessons but I thought they were next to worthless. He would do more just playing with him at the pool than the Y - lessons. I'm waiting closer to 4 before we do anymore.

:yeahthat:

[JBaxter]

FYI I would NEVER allow my under 3 yr old to go to a group lesson without me. No way 2 instructors could watch 7-10 toddlers in the water.

[Kindra178]

In Chicagoland, there are no group 2 year old lessons without a parent. Parent and me classes are kind of fun, but generally worthless. Open swim would probably accomplish your same goals.

Ds1 developed crazy fear of the water around 3.5 (he had no problems prior to that). A year of privates got him more comfortable in the water but didn't really teach him much, if anything. Even his private teacher recommended group lessons. Indeed, she was right. Group lessons taught him to swim. He got placed in a class of 5.5 year olds and almost 6 year olds as a new 5. All crazy boys that were super confident, awesome swimmers and terrible listeners. Because of their age, they were not allowed to move up to the next level. Ds1 is so competitive, he kind of got the attitude that if they could that, he could too. The purpose of this long story is don't rule out group lessons. Sometimes kids buck conventional wisdom.

[Kindra178]

FYI I would NEVER allow my under 3 yr old to go to a group lesson without me. No way 2 instructors could watch 7-10 toddlers in the water.

It's a 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 ratio at our Y for non-swimmers (Pike class).

[Kindra178]

posted twice

[BabbyO]

Well, we did parent n me, but that was the only option for 2 yo in our community lessons.

FWIW, I felt like it was more about getting comfortable in the water due to the age...though they did try to teach front float/back float, kicking, blowing bubbles, etc.

[MSWR0319]

We did the Pike class at the Y when DS was 2.5. I pulled him out after one lesson as there was 1 teacher and 8 kids. It was a disaster and not what was supposed to happen. I sat with DS on the edge the entire time because I didn't feel he was safe. I then put him in private lessons the next day and within a week he could jump off the edge and swim about 10-15ft underwater by himself to the step. We only had lessons for a little over a week because it was the end of the season but he could have been swimming more had we started earlier. There was a little girl before him who was just passed 2 and was jumping off the diving board swimming almost to the end of the shallow end. I think it really depends on what you want for DD and what she's ready for. DS was ready to learn how to swim on his own, but I know many kids his age who weren't.

[ZeeBaby]

We did parent and me classes with both DDs. Older DD benefited much more and we followed up with a second set for her. DD2 then 18 mos didn't really benefit that much. I would wait to at least 2.5 to start. We are doing private lessons for DD1 and in April I will adde DD2 and it will be semi private.

[Gena]

Our community rec center has parent/child classes until the age of 5, so that's what we did. After that DS went into the Special Needs swim lessons, which are 1:1. He still does the SN lessons.

DS gained a lot of swim skills during the parent/child classes, including going underwater, floating, gliding, treading water, and basic strokes. It was a lot more than just getting comfortable in the water.

[carolinamama]

When DS1 was 2, I enrolled him in a group lesson. He was more advanced than any other kids because DH and I had taken him swimming lots. Just parent-child time in the pool with no flotation device or water wings. Then we found a swim school that offers semi-private and private lessons only BUT they don't take kids until age 3.5 except in parent/child classes. DS1 started at that age and advanced leaps and bounds. DS2 will start in the next session when he is almost 3.5. I will do semi-private and have them both in the same time slot as they work with each kid individually and it is much more convenient for me.

We found that simple time in the water with a parent practicing going under water, encouraging them to kick and jumping off the side to us was plenty to put our kids ahead of their peers at age 2. I talked to DS1's swim instructor about doing a mommy and me class with DS2 - she thinks it's great for water comfort and a fun activity to do with your child but not necessary. In fact she actually discouraged me in our case but DS2 had NO fear in the water. We opted to just go to the pool as a family alot.