When should I enroll my child in swim lessons?

When should I enroll my child in swim lessons?

After teaching students of all ages, 3 months and up, I get asked this question a lot.  The simple answer is, "the sooner the better."

The more accurate answer is, "it depends."

In order to answer this question more accurately, you'll need to know what you want from the lessons.  Most families that I talk to, want their students to be water-safe. Some want perfect swimmers who can compete at an advanced level.  Some families simply want to begin the lifelong activity of learning to swim.

Whether you are trying to "water-proof" your child or just get them more involved in aquatic activities, it is important to be patient.  Swimming is a skill that takes time to develop and perfect.  Since swimmer's can lose their skills when not swimming, it may take time to help a swimmer to progress to the desired goal.  Also, swimmers who are very young, 3 months to 3 years old need to develop coordination and get over certain difficult yet age appropriate developmental hurdles.

Difficulties young new swimmers can experience

• Adjusting to a structured class
• Adjusting to an instructor's teaching style or personality
• Adjusting to an aquatic classroom environment
• Learning to socialize with other students
• Dealing with separation anxiety when being away from mom or dad

Even though your child may need sometime to adjust to some or all of these factors, it is important to be as encouraging and patient as possible.  Children will learn how to cope with these hurdles and may end up becoming more capable, confident, and comfortable in and around water.

Children can greatly benefit from learning to swim at a young age.  In swimming lessons children can learn more than just swimming skills. 

Benefits of learning to swim for young children.

• Learn how to socialize with others
• Learn how to share toys
• Learn to build independence
• Learn how to problem solve
• Develop fine and gross motor skills
• Develop better breath control
• Learn how to cope with change

There are other benefits to starting children in swimming lessons at a young age. Children under 12 months old may not have any negative experiences to draw from.  This may help to make for a more positive introduction to swimming and water.  Children at such young ages may literally be starting with a clean slate.  Students who go to swim lessons worried about drowning can make for a more challenging first couple lessons.  A young infant may have an easier time adjusting to water in their nose, ears, or eyes.

There aren’t many negatives but let’s discuss them. Young children may need to get over a number of hurdles before they begin to feel more comfortable with swim lessons. 

Infants lack the coordination necessary to handle complex series of movements and may not have the strength to propel them through the water. Young students have lots of baby fat but very little coordination so this can hinder their progression through skills. 

Infants have a difficult time retaining information.  In order to be successful with starting young children on the aquatic road to learning to swim it will be necessary to stay committed for the long haul. Young children should be taking lessons 2-4 times per week or more, in order to get better.  Young children need repetition to be successful in swim lessons.  The more they swim, the faster they learn.

You can get started before swim lessons start.

If you want to better prepare your child to be comfortable and safe in and around water, you must start the process as early as possible.  Follow these simple guidelines.

1.      Expose your child(ren) to water as much as possible.  This means water on the face, in the eyes, and all around the body.  A bath or a shower may be a perfect opportunity to prepare a student for learning to swim.

2.      Under close supervision, let your child(ren) fall under water from time to time.  I see parents try really hard to keep their children from going under water.  Being underwater is how humans swim comfortably so give them that opportunity to learn.  Safely teach them how to jump to you from the side of the pool so that they can splash into the water making the experience more fun. Going underwater can also help your child(ren) develop better breath control.

3.      Avoid using floaties and goggles.  These tend to be used to encourage false senses of security meaning they give swimmers a false sense of what swimming is really like.  The water will not hurt their eyes.  Chlorine is usually not what causes the eyes pain.  The ph balance of the water is usually what does this so don’t lead your child(ren) to believe that chlorine is to blame.

Starting children in swim lessons after 3 years.

Older children can learn to swim faster than younger students but there are some negatives.  Older swim students have more coordination but may need more encouragement to stay involved in lessons.

Older children love to negotiate in order to keep things more comfortable for them.  They can better express themselves and may be more challenging for an instructor to handle.  A little child psychology may be necessary to get older students into the lessons.

Older children are also bigger and may be able to stand on the bottom of the pool easier. Children will always take the easy way out if they can.  This means that getting them to go underwater can offer quite a challenge.

In short, swim lessons are a very good thing for any age.  Water safety and learning to swim are very important skills to have.  For more information about YardSwim’s swim programs please visit us at www.yardswim.com.