5 Year Old Refusing Swimming Lessons

Another child we know who was 4 last year was freaking out at swimming lessons last summer (happened to be in the same class with my son). After 3 sessions they got a refund and let it drop. Saw her at the pool recently - swimming like a fish now, a year later. I would drop the class and try again later. Or see if they can put her in another class with another instructor (they tried that with the child I mentioned last summer, but that didn't help.)

Just a quick note from a parent who has been frustrated by other kids having the fit at swim class.

Several times over the years we have encounted kids who refuse to get in the water for swim class, and the teacher spends 15 minutes trying to convince the child to join the class. The other kids sit there waiting, and we hardly get a decent class out of it.

If your child is not comfortable with it, please don't sign them up for group lessons. If you can afford private lessons, great, otherwise do the basics yourself. You know what they are teaching the beginners.

To convince her, how about restricting her recreational swimming? "You don't know how to swim yet" so she doesn't get to go in the water. If she's not comfortable in the water, she shouldn't be in it. No young kids should be playing in water where they can't touch the bottom, but at this age she should be swimming around under shallower water.

My youngest did something similar. I finally took her out of the class and told her that she didn't have to go. However, she couldn't get her feet wet beyond her toes and she had to wear her swim vest and having an adult hold her if she went into the water. The next summer, we went to Boston. While there, she went to the beach with her uncle and some adult cousins as well as some other kids who knew how to swim. I instructed everyone on the rules and they enforced them. I had to go to the airport, on my return, she ran up and told me that she really, really wanted to take swim classes. Not being able to go into the water without having some one holding her really motivated her! She's now been taking swim classes for two summers and loves it!

She also pulled similar stunts in dance and gymnastics. I did the same thing. For both things, she eventually decided that she did want to do them and has been reenrolled very successfully. The key was her wanting to do it!

If she is afraid, please don't push it. To a child, that must be horrifying. Respect and honor her feelings right now, and she will eventually change her mind. To push her to swim now when she is so intensely afraid and this is so new in her mind is not productive at all.

I agree that she should not participate in the group class anymore, either. She is going to hold up the progress of the others and cause frustration. I think private lessons, if possible, are an option. But not until her fears subside a bit. This is something that could affect her for life if she is pushed through it. But if she is given control over when she gets in the water next, she will probably not even remember the incident in a year.

What Barbara says above is SO true. What is the rush?

Hi D.,

My 11 y.o. daughter didn't learn to swim until she was 8 after group lessons at five places since the age of four! I tried group, semi-private, and even private! What finally did it was a snorkling trip. After putting her face in the water with a snorkle mask, she was ready to hold her breath and add that to her dog paddling! Go figure.

Now my 4 y.o. son has had trouble feeling comfortable in group lessons since age 3 so we started with private ones. I think the only difference between him and the other kids is that, perhaps, I hadn't taken him to enough recreational swim time. Both of my kids are also pretty sensitive.

Our society is so focused on early mastery these days, without respect for kids and their needs. Whether it is readiness or a bad water experience, a young kid needs to feel secure in the water and lots of pools don't have a really shallow area for them. So they need to learn to play and love the water with someone they trust: you (or a trusted family member or friend)!

There are so many things we can do as parents that we don't try. I watch the swim teachers and the early stuff is not rocket science. You can do so much yourself and when your child is ready, then pass them on to the pro.

Your child and her fears are normal! Just build new and positive experiences this summer. Good luck.

Barbara

I am glad that you've resolved this issue by now, but I'm hoping that the following info might still be helpful...

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t110248.asp

Best wishes,
J.

My 5 year old loves the water too, and is highly motivated to learn to swim, but is terrified of getting her face and head wet!! We've done several group classes and she actually did ok, because they used floatation devices. But now she's at the level where she'll need to put her head in the water and blow bubbles, etc, and I know it will be a struggle. I decided she would need private lessons, and that seems to have done the trick. We're at our YMCA, but if you want, email me, and I'll give you a list of instructors that I got when I posted desperately on Facebook!! BTW, the fact that she loves playing in the water bodes well for her success...

We struggled with a similar issue last summer, but part of it was that my son doesn't like change and they switched his teacher mid-session.

If she is truly afraid, I would give advice similar to those below, but don't give up-- just give it time. In my son's case, I think there was some fear, but more dislike. I told him he has to keep taking swim lessons until he can swim. (I grew up on a lake, so my Mom had an even tougher stance...)

Hi,

I've been a swim instructor and head lifeguard for a private pool for six years now, and I figured I would leave some insight for all the parents that may have a similar problem. Let me start off by saying, I've been a certified for six years in CPR, First Aid, Lifeguard Rescue and WSI (a special cert for swim instructors)

Let me start off my saying, that starting your child with swim lessons at five or older is a HUGE factor into why they are having issues. Children must be introduced to water safety at a young age, I say anywhere from 6-12 months. By prolonging the process you are building fear and pushing your child into a circumstance where they have no idea what they are getting into and what it will be like, and that is terrifying. With a younger child the idea of water is incredibly vague, that being said it's harder for them to realize what's happening. The older the kid, the bigger the protest. Period.

Another issue is that swim lessons should NEVER be a negotiation. 1 in 4 kids drown a year. I cannot tell you how many parents I shake my head at because I sit there with my lesson of four, were a parent is allowing their child to wail and wail-refusing to get in. So many times I see them negotiating with their child, I even had a mother say "don't you want ice cream after this?" That's it, you've already lost the battle. By doing that you are letting the child have control. You need to be firm and forceful into making sure your child enters the water. Even if the kid has a huge fear nine times out of ten the instructor will never dunk a kid under if they feel the timing is off.

There is a REASON we say to start your kids early, to say that instructors lack compassion for children cause we don't want to put up with their eight year old screaming self is a complete misrepresentation for what it's about. If we lacked compassion for kids, we wouldn't be I'm this business! Trust me, the pay wouldn't be worth it if I hated kids. But I don't, that's also why I work at a daycare. What we don't tolerate is the soft parenting that goes behind it. Kids are a direct representation to their parents, and trust me, after doing my fair share of people watching for six years I have seen it all.

At the end of the day, people need to stop making excuses as to why their child can't swim or is fearful. Start them early, if it's to late for that sign them up for private lessons. But if they start crying-don't and I repeat DONT pull them from lessons, it's a process. They need to learn trust in their instructor and if you keep pulling them left and right that will never happen. Also be clear, we do not negotiate lessons, they are not an option. Just like seat belts aren't an option. This is for safety ! It can be fun but at the end of the day, I'll reiterate 1 in 4 kids drown! I'm tired, as I can say for most swim instructors of hearing all the excuses. It takes time, patience and putting your foot down. It won't always be a struggle eventually swimming will be fun. It's all about how the parent handles it, not the kid.

D.,

Would private (one on one) swim lessons be an option? When I was little, I had a scary swim lesson experience and didn't want to go back. My parents took me to a private class one summer and that helped a lot.

Hi D.,
My daughter also had a hard time with swim lessons at that age. She was terrified of the "big pool" where she couldn't touch and did not want her face getting wet. We had trouble with swim lessons at first too. I talked to the instructor and said that as long as she was in the water doing something, that was fine with us. That ended the "letting go" by the instructor & the instructor was also relieved. She said most parents are upset if their child does not move on to the next level & has to repeat a class so that is why instructors push them to do things they aren't ready for such as "letting them go" so they go underwater. She said that terrifies some children but others get used to it & are OK with it. So it probably depends on your child but when I gave the instructor the OK to work at my daughter's pace, things were much improved. She did spend the entire first session only floating on her back because she did not want her face wet, but by the second session she was more confident, was lucky enough to get the same instructor and then started putting her face in when she was ready. It is hard because you hate to see your child scared & they don't understand the importance of learning to swim at that age. From my experience it seems that letting the child get comfortable in the water & doing things as they feel confident works well. GOOD LUCK!!

Like the others I suggest you back off and drop the class. I wouldn't punish her for this but of course she won't have the same freedom at the beach and pool as a kid that can swim so you can use that to keep motivating her. The fear of water is primal and deep seated for some and usually not something that a child can be persuaded out of. Swimming has to be her idea. This is a work in progress....she will learn to swim but maybe not on your schedule.

I also second the comments of the responder who suggested out of consideration for the others in the class that you drop out. I have been in that situation as well and its not fair to the other kids in the class. Good luck!

Others have mentioend private lessons and that may be the way to go if you can. When I was about 8, my sister taught me how to swim.. I had just gotten the hang of actually swimming, head side to side, etc. A "friend" pushed into the water before I was even ready to get in. I thought I was going to drown. Under water you get very disoriented. No signs of direction or anything. I can imagine how your daughter felt. If this is possible, why don't you go into the water yourself? If you can get her comfortable enough to be in the water with you, she may be more open to lessons again.

I would back off for awhile. The fear of the water is huge and you can't really change that, she has to change. All you will get out of this is frustration, your frustration, her frustration and the frustration from the other parents in the class.

I had my older kids start lessons when they were around 3 and we went through this phase with each one of them. I would just take a break for awhile, talk to them about it occasionally and then when they were ready move on. I did switch to the private lessons with one child and that helped.

Then I kind of slacked with my youngest and he just started lessons this year and he loves them!

Don't turn it into a battle. It's supposed to be fun. She's not going to quit forever, just give her a break. It will happen.

D.,

The only thing I can remember from my own swimming lessons is the time the teachers made me jump into the deep end and they had to fish me out. They might have said I was never in danger, but it scared the hell out of me. I eventually learned how to swim from a friend.

I don't think you can just get rid of her fear. If it were me (and I haven't even gotten my 5 yo to agree to swimming lessons yet, but your experience is helping me think how to go about it), I would let her enter the water and the class on her own terms. Then, in the future, interview swimming teachers in advance and tell them your daughter's fears, maybe let her meet them as well, until you find someone who you both feel comfortable with and will respect your daughter's fears.

Maybe you could ask the swim teacher to talk to her independantly and say something like, I know you got scared when I was trying to let you swim by yourself and you probably weren't ready for that so, we will take it a little slower. You can go at you own pace and join in when you feel like you are brave enough. Just ask him to keep it positive and not pressured. If you don't feel comfortable asking the swim teacher than you could use the same words and tell the swim teacher that she needs a little more encouragement and to go a little slower with her. It's about having a fun experience and if she doesn't come around than I would drop the class and work with her independantly during open swim times. Good luck