when did you enroll your kids in a learn to swim program w/o a parent?

[AnnieW625]

Not just mom n me lessons, but swim lessons either private or group.

DD1 started group lessons at the YMCA when she was 3. She has done private or semi privates since she was 4, but none of the super intensive lessons and so far she has only gone during the summer. I am hoping that DD1 will start year round swimming (first in semi private group lessons) and then some sort of swim team this year at probably closer to 8 yrs. old. She loves to swim.

DD2 started semi private lessons at 2, and did them again this year.

We don't have a pool, but I still wanted to start early just in case. Our DCP has a pool in her backyard, but it is fully fenced (and she is fully licensed)

poll coming

[happymomma]

We started DS in swim lessons starting around 6. Then both DS and DD started preteam at our pool around 7 and 5 respectively. It took me longer with DS because he didn't want to do it. Now we do swim team during the summer and swim clinics throughout the year. This is the first year that we have stroke & turn clinics 2xs a week.

[o_mom]

DS1 did some from 3-5 then started summer swim team at 6. DS2 was similar, group lessons on and off from 3-5 and then summer swim team at 6. DS3 we did some group classes at age 3-4, 10 private lessons at 4.5 and then started swim team right after he turned 5. He has been in swim team year-round since then.

[lovin2shop]

We started at 3 with my older DS, but he honestly wasn't ready for it. I think we wasted a good bit of money on lessons for a kid that just wasn't there yet developmentally. We started at 4 with my younger DS and that went better, but I would say that they were both 5 before they were truly proficient swimmers. I started both early because we have pools everywhere here, but and ISR class would have been better at the younger ages.

ETA: I do have a friend who has a 3 year old who is an excellent swimmer. He is super athletic though, and definitely ahead of the curve in this respect.

[JElaineB]

We tried when he was around 4 and it was pretty much a disaster. We waited until he was about 6 and it went much better - he learned how to swim (at least the basics) within a month.

[Gena]

Our community rec center offers parent-child swim lessons until age 5 (4 year olds can do either the parent-child class or group lessons without parents). So we did the parent-child class until DS turned 5. Then we put him in the special needs swim class, which is one-on-one with a specially trained instructor. DS is 9 and still does the special needs swim class.

Drowning is a leading cause of death for children with autism, so this has been a high priority for us.

[BabbyO]

Our parks & rec dept offer child only classes starting at 3 or 4. I would send them to the class at 3 yo, but the time is impossible for us to make. The 3 yo-4 yo class has a smaller student/teacher ratio. The class that we can make, the kids have to be 4 yo and there is a larger student/teacher ratio.

I will say that when Stachio started his class this year, he was the youngest (turned 4 on the first day of swimming lessons) and I was slightly concerned because it was a little bigger class. But I was in the water with Peanut just a few yards away from Stachio's class...so I knew there were several sets of eyes on Stachio. He did great.

Stachio started parent/child classes at exactly 1 yo. Peanut had to wait until he was almost 2 yo (because of when his birthday is)
We tried to work with Stachio on our own last year (because he'd already done Parent/child 2 yrs) and it was a disaster.
At 4 yo, he did his own class and loved it, but my kids are total water babies.

[egoldber]

Both kids did semi private or private lessons starting at 2. The preschool they attended has a swimming pool and large swim school on-site, so that made it very easy and convenient.

With older DD I did a couple mommy and me type swim classes. I never bothered with younger DD because I felt like older DD got nothing out of it.

[Mommy_Mea]

We started swim lessons for DS1 at 3.5, he did one class with parent, and then moved up immediately to without parent.

DS2 has been doing swim lessons on and off since 18 months (he is 2y4m), but really just wants to jump off the side of the pool. I don't see him swimming without parent for a long time!

My parents have a cabin on a lake, so I wanted to get them used to the water before our vacation there this summer.

[crl]

Ds had swim classes with a parent in the water until he was six. He refused to go without me and we even tried privates with a person he already knew and it was a disaster. He was not afraid of the water, he just wouldn't let go of me for any activities. Once I finally got him in the water without me (semi-private lessons with two friends did the trick at age six) he learned to swim very quickly.

Dd took a couple of weeks of private lessons this last summer at age three. She made a little progress but not a ton. She is fine in the water except she hates being splashed or getting her hair wet. I think progress will be slow for her and we probably will need to do swim as regularly as we can manage for a few years before she really starts swimming.

I plan to put both kids back in swim in November, when older ds' fall baseball commitment is over.

Catherine

[georgiegirl]

I didn't start DD until she was nearly 5.5 because she was afraid of the water. Two years later she's a fantastic swimmer and at the top level the YMCA offers. If I didn't have a newborn, she would be on the swim team.

DS started right when he turned 3 because he loved the water. He's been taking lessons a little over a year and he's getting pretty good for his age. I anticipate him being able to swim really well within the next year.

[crayonblue]

Couple of months ago at age 3 1/2. The day DD3 (who couldn't swim) dove in the neighborhood pool with me standing next to her, I enrolled her in lessons! She is a daredevil.

[Ms B]

The Biscuit will start non-parent lessons in February or March (whenever an 8 week session starts) at our local rec center.

We did two sessions of the parent-child lessons earlier this year and have taken that about as far as we could. The Biscuit now jumps into the pool, blows bubbles, kicks while being supported and will float on his back while supported or in a vest.

Our rec center requires that parents be out of the child's eyeline during lessons (there is a viewing area that kids cannot see well), which means that lessons = 30 minutes of peace once a week!

[codex57]

My kids start at age 3. Beyond the mommy and me classes. It's just more to get them used to the water. I don't expect them to be able to learn how to swim until about age 5-6 tho.

[123LuckyMom]

DS had his first class without a parent in the water the summer before he turned 3. He was able to keep himself afloat without a floaty the summer before he turned 4. Now, when he'll be 5 at the end of October, we have him in year 'round swim classes, and he's learning strokes.