At What Age Should a Child Begin Swim Lessons?

I started my girls at 3. They are 6 and 4. My oldest can swim on her own and my youngest can swim enough to get herself safely to the edge. I definitely would suggest you go ahead and start him

My son did formal swim lessons (one-on-one with instructor) at 19 months after swimming with me since 6 months.

3 years old is a great time to start him. Be aware, at 3, he's likely on the older end for toddler lessons and more likely in the pre-school group, but either way should be fine for him.

I'm really glad that we did private lessons to start with. Now, at 6, he's in lessons learning strokes and proper competitive form etc... so the group is fine, but for actually LEARNING To swim I think it was important to have the instructor to himself.

Also, I think it helped to learn in a nice, warm pool so that there is no issue with cold uncomfortable water. I also think it's important to learn WITHOUT floaties or anything that makes a child THINK they can swim on their own when they can't.

my older son was 18 months. My younger son was 2.

early as possible....I always go for safety 1st!

Our daughter started swim lessons at age 3, too. Kept them up for 3 consecutive years. What a great investment! She's now 7 and just started surfing in the ocean. VERY comfortable in the water, I wouldn't do a thing differently.

three is a good age. They are capable of actually learning to swim at this age and the sooner he learns the safer you'll be. any younger and you're basically looking at parent /tot classes which are only about water familiarity. If you wait another year, you have another year where your child could drown. So go for it no matter what his attention span.

My son took swim lessons at 3. A group of kids at the YMCA with an experienced, high energy and NICE teacher is the ticket.

Don't act nervous or scared about him being in the water. If you do, he will know it and mirror it. Be excited and happy. Clap your hands and tell him how great it is that he's in the water.

Good luck!
Dawn

start as a baby FOR SURE! and if you're past that stage, which you are, start NOW :) there is absolutely NOTHING to be gained by waiting on your child to learn an important skill. all 3 of my kids knew how to swim independently by the age of 3. we do hae a pool in our backyard, and so it's def a safety issue for us. my kiddos are staying with their grandparents this week, and their friends are just shocked to see our (very tiny) 3yo jumping off a diving board and swimming to the stairs to get out by herself with no floaties or assistance. i bet he'd do great at this age, good luck!

up to 3 my kids did parent and tot lessons in mom or dads arms.. they dont learn much but it is fun.

right after my son turned 3 we started with preschool swim lessons. 1 teacher and 3 or 4 kids.. they are now 5 and 6 and they can swim a little bit.. I have them signed up for lessons this summer and I expect they will make good progress.. we do lessons from march - november.. too cold in michigan to swim in january.. even inside..

I started my daughter at about 12 months. There are fun parent/child lessons that basically just get them comfortable in the water. She's 20 months now and we have done two sets of lessons and are taking lessons again this summer. She LOVES the water so I think it's worth it.

Both around 2. They both love the water and are fearless. I just want them to get to a point that they can get themselves to safety if they need to. At 2 we had to go in with them but at 3 they were able to take lessons on their own. As far as the attention span...we went through phases with our oldest but if you are at a good swim school with good experienced teachers, they know how to deal with that age. We started at our community center but they seemed like high school students who were just there because it was a job. Plus there were too many distractions. So we moved to a swim school and it is soooo much better.

We are surrounded by water. My husband taught my son to swim at 1.5 years old. We think it's very important~

I started at six months. Way too many pools in our life, my kids need to know how to swim! By a year they could doggy paddle around the pool without floaties. Not saying that meant they swam without supervision but at least I knew if I took my eyes off of them for a sec they would be okay.

I started both my kids at 6 months with a mommy and me class. At 3, my son was in a class on his own (which was nice for me since I took class with the baby). We have a place on the water and my kids have never been fearful of the water. Good to start them young! Also, we take classes though our Town Recreation Center...much cheaper than going to a Y or something..so I would look into that if you have it in your area.

I started my son in parent/tot classes before he was 2. When he turned 3 he was able to take classes without me. There are a couple other kids in his lesson and it is a 30 minute class. He loves it!

My husband and I took a parent and me class when my son was about 2.5 and my daughter turned 1. It was very basic and my kids loved the water. Now they are 4.5 and 3 and will start their first real swim lessons in a couple of weeks at the local Y. I think they are both ready as we have a neighborhood pool and while there is also an awesome kiddie pool, they are both wanting to get in the big pool with the slide. I would feel more comfortable if they knew how to do some basic skills such as holding their breath under water and floating and kicking. I think 3 is a good age for learning these skills. We shall see! Good luck!
HTH,
A.

I just got my 4 and a half year old in lessons and I wish I had done it sooner! Do it now if you can!

My kids both did the mom and me swim classes from about one to three years old. At three they went into the unparented classes. They go weekly for lessons from September to June, then they usually do two weeks of daily lessons in the summer.

My daughter had just turned 3, and I have kept her in them since then. She's 4 1/2 and a good little swimmer. It's been very worthwhile.

Since we've had a pool since before my daughter was born, we started her as early as classes would allow: 10 months. She didn't really "swim", but they taught them the basics so if they ever fell in a pool, they wouldn't drown. We've never had to use any type of flotation devices either. Oh, and the classes she took (or we took together in the beginning) were only one half hour long.

Good luck with your decision!

As soon as possible! Granted every kid IS different but I think as far as swimming is concerned the earliest you can fit it in is the best route. Don't worry about the short attention span...the instructors are good at their jobs and there is just something about the water *most* kids LOVE the lessons!

~ We have a pool and all our kids have taken lessons and each kid seems to learn quicker than the last kid...my youngest and last child (and only girl) was by far the earliest swimmer, she learned to swim underwater AND to do the doggie paddle last year when she was 3y/o! Kids take to it SO quickly and you will feel so much better when you know they can swim!

I am a very good swimmer and was competitive, so I teach my son. I started teaching him around a year. truthfully, I think the earlier the better. I think you should start now. I would teach him young all over again.

I learned how to swim when I was around 2. I had my son in lessons around 3 didn't work so well, at 4 we had a pool and I taught him to swim... it's important to learn not only for safety but my experience has been that the people I know who didn't learn until they were older (teens etc) are afraid of the water to some extent and not that strong of swimmers.

Hi Mom 2b! I started my daughter Ruby swimming with a real swim coach at the age of 4 and still think that she should have started at 3 years old. Anyway, to date, she is 5 and is fantastic in the water. Very comfortable. Swimmies are not an option. I found her coach at the YMCA in Freehold and she comes to my pool (indoor pool in apt complex) twice a week and it's been great! She is swimming like a fish, no fear, very comfortable and ready for the 6 year old swim team. Either way. I highly recommend one on one swim lessons. Less pressure on your child and they get individual attention this way. I know way too many people with pools and if she thinks that she's done with "swimmies" I am making sure that she can handle herself. make sense? Let me know if you want to chat further.!
S.

I would give it a try.

We didn't have a very good experience last year, but it was a combination of DD not being ready and the boys in her group being a complete disaster (not sitting still, not participating, trying to drown each other and stuff like that).

We'll try again later this summer when I am home on break from school and see how it goes...if your child isn't up for it yet just wait a bit longer, but you won't know until you try.

I think it is important to know how to swim. Please remember though, if you are a literalist like me, not to be disappointed if "swimming" is basically bobbing around. At least they are bobbing and not sinking to Davey Jones's locker! :-) Seriously, we negleccted the swimming to a certain extent. We put our now 5 year old in lessons when he was 3. Total control freak like his mom and he just wouldn't relax and go with it. Three weeks ago I decided that I was going to teach him myself. He can now swim across the pool the short way. We also have a 3 year old who is much more joyful and relaxed about the whole thing. He will also be able to swim across the pool by the end of the summer, if we can keep him from drowning in the meantime. He's convinced he can already swim, even as he's heading down to the bottom of the pool!

Plenty old enough. They are able to be in the water and feel comfortable. They are old enough for sure. The sooner you get them swimming the sooner they will become independent in the water.

I started at 3 months. I didn't want to expose them to pool germs any earlier than that. They're now great swimmers, and my 7 year old has just learned how to bodysurf. Fun times.

My daughter started at 4 but was very timid and had a bad experience being dunked under water. She ended up not going back until almost age 6. At that point most of the kids in her class were swimming circles around her. She caught up fast with private lessons. My son would watch her and was itching to get in the pool. I asked my daughter's instructor if 3 we too young and she said that for a private lesson 3 was perfect but for a group lesson it would be too young given his high energy level. As soon as he turned 3 we put him in private lessons. He passed the deep end test on his 5th birthday and is a pretty amazing swimmer at age 6. You could always try your son and see how he does.

I believe 3 is the youngest most places will give lessons. I would however go ahead and sign him up, especially if he doesn't have much experience with the water. Around here, most of the 3 y/o classes are parent/tot classes so that may help ease his transition and you won't have to trust a teenager with a handful of toddlers!

I tried to get my 2 y/o private lessons (he would have been with his 4 y/o sister too) but it was a nightmare! He just wasn't ready to do what the coach told him, but hopefully we'll try again this winter after he turns 3.

I have a now 4 1/2yr old and 2 1/2 yr old and we started them in a class last summer. We go to a private lady that teaches them how to survive in the water, not to have 'fun'. The classes are fun, however, but her main goal is to get them to 1)swim to the steps from the middle of the pool (in her private, home pool that is pretty big), 2) swim to the side where there are no steps and hang on to the side for about a minute, 3) pull their weight out of the water from that side with no steps. They get used to having their faces in the water, using their arms/legs, and they will even swim in the deep end by the end of the lessons. Some classes are hard to watch (there are 8 days of 1hr sessions with 6kids/session) as by day 5 she takes them out of the water and to a side with no steps, and will kind of throw them in, as if they are falling in. She does this in several different ways so they know what it is like to fall in on their belly/back/side. They learn to quickly swim to the side and hang on or pull themselves out (she hollers at them to tell them what to do... they listen more directly to her as she is not 'mommy' or 'daddy'!!)

We are on the last day of classes this year. Last year, my then 3yr old son hated getting his face wet and hated class the first couple days.... now he is a fish and has no problem with any of it. My 2 1/2 yr old girl is much better as well and can swim to the side and hang on and get 1/2way out of the pool by herself.
These are expensive lessons, but well worth the price considering we have friends/family with pools that have no gates around them and our kids could easily fall in. We are always stressed out when around the pools as we now have 3 kids and it is hard to keep our eyes on them constantly with all the other friends and such. I would highly advocate finding someone like our teacher... they are putting safety first and the fun comes along with it as they learn. Now our kids are asking to go to the pool and practice their stuff. Good luck!!!!

My kids were literally introduced to water immediately. I had them in swimming pools, hot tubs and rivers/lakes as newborns.
They both absolutely loved the water. I had them in swim lessons very early on and they are both excellent and strong swimmers.

I am very much a proponent of teaching children water safety from the time they are very young. Babies innately know to hold their breath and teaching them water safety and not to have a fear of water and know how to deal if they get in over their heads can literally save their lives.

The sooner you start, the more natural it seems to them. 3 is not too young at all.

Best wishes.