Is It Too Early to Start Swim Lessons

Hi C., My son started his first swim lessons at 6 months and now loves the water. We ended up taking a break from swim lessons, but are now back in them. The program that we are in offers all age ranges from 6 months to 5 years. There are a couple of different programs we have tried. Safe splash, star fish, and National Jewish. Hope this helps!

Yes. I taught swim lessons for 4 years. At the earliest I would wait until 3 to start him. But really, Ideally I would wait until he is 5. They can complete level 1 just fine at 3 or 4 but usually they get stuck retaking level 2 over and over because they just are not tall enough ( a concern because level 3 is in a little deeper water and I had a kid or two that I had to save because the water was over their heads) or coordinated enough to be able to be in level 3. Since each class lasts about two weeks, most parents want their kids to "pass" a level every two weeks, and the kids tend to get bored if they are stuck retaking a class over and over. And I have never seen a three year old that was able to get up to level 3.

NOPE, its never too early to get them used to a big pool of water, and they won't have a fear of it later.

I started my 2 kids at 2 yrs of age, and they are really good swimmers now.

If nothing else, they learn if they should fall into a pool, how to keep a float, and to swim to the side. Not to mention, they really enjoy it.

Enjoy.
C.

Hi C. -- I have three children. I started each of them in swimming lessons the summer after they turned 2 -- one of them has a March 31st birthday. I did not get them group lessons at this young age. I hired a lifeguard at our pool to give them individual lessons. All three swim like fish and love the water.

L.

From what I have seen, swimming/glating lessons begin at infancy. I believe it would be very good to teach him at this age as it could prevent future accidents.

Have a GREAT day!

S.

Hi C.,

I beleive I started my son at 9 months swimming. He's now 3 and loves the water! Go for it!

L.

At our local pool they offer mom and tot classes for younger children. I haven't done one but I've heard that they are a good introduction to the water. I'm not sure if they offer any other classes for two year olds or not. You will have to check with your pool to see what is available.

I'd say have fun with it. I've done mom and tot classes with my little ones and it's been great. We're enrolling our 2 1/2 yo in classes on his own this summer.

Mom and tot classes were the best. I did this with all of my babies. They all loved the water. I took them when they were infants and by the time they were 3 I was comfortable with them being around water. Our youngest is 6 and she is a little 'fish'. Have fun and enjoy! M.

Absolutely not. I was a swim instructor many years ago and taught babies that I think were about 6 months old. I can't remember their exact age, but even if you are just able to get them familiar with the water and teach them water safety then that would be nice. They don't always learn to swim right away, but it is worth it for the water safety and you never know he just might be a swimmer at 2! Good luck!

Hi C.,
I think it is a perfect time. I would suggest mom/tot lessons. I wish that I started my own kids that early. Have fun because the kids grow up so fast.

I agree, it's never to early to start. I have twin girls that just turned three, we put them in the Blue Dolphin Swim School which is in Broomfield about a month and a half ago and they are both almost swimming by themselves and can float on their backs by themselves. They teach them water safety and ways to get out of the pool on their own and a lot of other really great things.
Even though they are doing so well I still will not loosen my watch grip on them when we are out at a pool, I don't think I probably will until they are 10, but with two of them it is hard to always have them both in arms reach so this makes me more comfortable for pools this summer.
If you live up north and want more info on Blue Dolphin I am happpy to share.

My son turned 2 a couple of weeks ago as well and we are enrolled in a parent/tot swim class. He LOVES it! Its a great way to start teaching swimming without the nerves of them being in the water alone. We go to the South Jordan Rec center for our class.

It is definatley not too early to start swim lessons. The sooner your child becomes comfortable in the water the better. I used to teach swim lessons and it is better to start before your kid develops any kind of fear towards the water. My daughter could swim well enough to get herself out of the pool by 2. My advice is to start now.

I had my son in swimming lessons since he was 6 months old. He loves the water and has learned basics of blowing bubbles, kicking feet etc. My pool requires that I be in the pool and participate which is great it's a great social time for him.

The earlier the better. There are baby swim lessons. Babies love the water! If you wait a long time, you end up dealing with fear of water, which is not usually a problem when they're young. I can't imagine waiting until they're 5!!! That's inviting disaster, IMO.

The problem will be finding a program or teacher. My husband was a lifeguard/swim instructor for years, and he says the mom/tot lessons aren't worth a darn, because parents won't make their kids put their heads underwater. They're too timid about it, and are afraid that their kid will get water up their nose, etc., and the kids pick up on it, and it just makes a big mess. I happen to disagree somewhat. I think that mom/tot lessons should just be called "play in the water with mom time." I think it would be fun. Just don't expect your child to learn how to swim until they can be in the water on their own.

When I called around the Boise area to get some swim lessons for my then three-year-old, I was told that nowhere in Boise started lessons that young, at least without a parent in the water. My husband was shocked! He never liked teaching the 3 year olds, but in in Phoenix (where he taught) they started at 2 years. With a 1-yr -old, I couldn't do lessons with him! And I couldn't afford a babysitter on top of the lesson fees, even if I'd been able to find a babysitter.

We discovered that the next town over started "alone" lessons at age 3, so I drove him there. Now we live in that town, so my almost-3-yr-old will start this summer.

But my husband has met a lady who teaches lessons in her back yard who will start them at 1. Now, these are private lessons, so they're much more expensive than a community pool would be. But there are people out there.

By the way, my son, who just turned 5, graduated to level 3 last summer. He could swim to the edge by himself if he fell in the pool. He jumps into water that's deeper than his head and swims back to the top. And he wasn't even 4 1/2 then. He's not exactly the most coordinated kid in the world, either. We need some serious work on catching a ball :) So people who say that they can't really learn anything 'til they're 7 must have very timid children. My friend's 7 year old just got into level 3 because he's a scaredy cat (about everything!)

Definitely get him enrolled :)...its not too early. Check out the programs at your local gym or rec center, but I am sure you can enroll him in a Parent/Toddler class. These classes are usually 18months-3years. It will be great for him! I started swimming lessons with my little guy as soon as they would let me, which was at 6 months. He is now 21 months and is still loving it!! Enjoy!

I started my now 5 year old son in swimming lessons when he was not yet 2 it was a mommy (some dads did the class) and me class held at Lorin Farr in Ogden it's a lot of fun.

Swimming lessons are a great activity for little kids. It's important to know, though, that if he ever fell in the pool at a young age like 2, 3, 4, panic would likely set in, he wouldn't remember anything from swimming lessons, and he'd drown. (The lifeguards will tell you this too.)

My kids all did many years of lessons at young ages, but I was always right near them during casual swim time, anyway.

When they get older (7 and such), they're more likely to remember their swimming skills in a crisis.

Hey! I taught swimming lessons at a certified swim school for years before I became a mom and it is never too early to start lessons. I started my daughter out at 6 months. Obviously, she can't swim, but getting her used to the water is fun and safe for both of us. Two is a great age because it's when they can actually start doing things. It may take a little while if your son is still top heavy (sometimes toddler's heads are still too heavy for their little arms to support in the water) but introducing them to the concepts is great so when their arms build up muscle they'll zoom off! I would highly recommend making sure the school is a charter members of the United States Swim School Association. You can look up swim schools who are members online here: http://www.usswimschools.org/SchoolLocator.aspx.
The most important thing he can learn at swimming lessons are the basic survival skills, so make sure that's a big part of their program.
Good luck and have fun!

Now is a great time to get him used to the water, comfortable putting his face in and all of that.

It is never too early to teach water safety which is what they will actually be teaching at that age. My kids all go to lessons as babies just so they learn the proper way to be around water. Just remember that giving your kids lesson in water does not mean that you loosen up your watch over them when they are near water.

We took my son to swim classes at 15 months. He didn't learn to actually swim...the classes were more of a familiarization with water. We learned splashing, reaching out for objects while face down, blowing bubbles, jumping in (to a parent), etc. He LOVED the classes and now loves getting in the water. I saw the same thing with a lot of babies in the class. They started off scared and unsure, then ended up having a great time.

By the way, our classes were at the YMCA.

We've done three rounds of Infant Swimming Resource swim lessons. My 22 M has been able to float unassisted in the pool since 11 M and can now swim about 9 feet on his own.

http://www.infantswim.com/

The lessons teach swim survival skills (no tossing the kids into the pool, I promise). He LOVES the pool... is literally jumping in off the side, underwater and swim to me.

Here's a video of his 11 M class "final".

http://robinandpaulmorris.blogspot.com/2008/06/roll-back-...

We didn't find the mommy and me classes helpful at all. They were taught by high school kids at the Rec Center. If you are going to do that, just go to a pool during open swim and play. You'll have as much fun and he'll get just as much out of it.

I did "Mommy and Me" swim lessons with my son when he was slightly younger than your son. He loved it and actually did better than some of the older children because he was not old enough at the time to have developed some of the fear that they had.

I had fun, too.

NO! Start him now! He'll love it. I've been taking my guy since he was about 10 weeks old, and he loves it. Have fun.

He's at a fantastic age to start lessons. My little guys started last year and my oldest was just barely 4 and my youngest was almost 2. Google Swim Otters - it's the best school because they teach survival techniques. Both of my little guys can swim already!

No, I think you'll have to make it a Mommy and me class though. My kids think it's lots of fun!