We May Have Waited Too Long, but Too Late Now!

Hi, my kids are now 15 and 13 yrs. old. I took them for swimming lessons when they were about 3 & 5 for the first time......my younger son didn't want to go into the water at all.
I didn't force him to go in and wouldn't want the instructor to force him either. After that I signed my kids up for semi private lessons, I think that worked out better for them.
My little one got better and they both learned the basics. Now they both love swimming, and are pretty good swimmers. We just got a membership at lifetime fitness and they love going to the pool there.

So I think all your son needs is more time to get used to the lessons. Don't force him to do anything, cause that will only make him more scared of swimming. Maybe you should give him another year before signing him up again for lessons, or try private or semi private lessons for your kids? The semi private lessons worked best for my kids, maybe they would work for yours too.
Good luck!!! hope this helps.

I had the same problem as your son when I was a young child. I lived on a lake and would freely go into it to swim but when my mom tried to get me into swim lessons I FREAKED out on her. I would not dunk him or force anything on him. Take him to a pool that has a zero entry (like Lakeland,milford, lifetime fitness). Let him walk in on his own terms. He will get over it. After a while my mom figured out it was the bottom of hte pool that I did not like - I was used to samd and it was a different sensation. You may want to see if you can find a local beach that does lessons - see if he does better with a beach class. It doesn't matter where he learns to swim as long as he does. My mom just kept exposing me to a pool gradually and I ended up growing up to be a high school PE teacher with a degree emphasis on aquatics. I was a lifeguard all through high school and college and on a number of swim teams.

Good Luck

I don't know for sure becuase my kids haven't taken swimming lessons (I'd like to enroll them), but I used to take my 2 1/2-year-old to Milford High's pool weekly. My old gym teacher is a life guard there, and he said other than hanging out with your kid in the water, there's no real advantage for swim lessons for kids this young. He said they would benefit the same way if you just "play" with them yourself at such a young age. Like I said, I don't know for sure, as we've never taken lessons. Just another POV for you, I guess. Good luck.

T., I use to teach swimming years ago. Most Red Cross classes were geared to ages 4 and up as they felt it was too early for younger kids. My experience would be not to push him but let him go at his own rate. If he doesn't like dunking his head don't push it. I saw a college age kid in one of the classes I was taking (PE credit in school) never go in over his head as he was scared to death of the water but was trying to over come it. The teacher never made him leave his comfort zone.
Just keep exposing him, but try to keep him comfortable. I have 4 kids who love the water and I let them all go at their own rate.
He does need to learn because you are on a lake, but forcing the classes may make it worse. Use some of what you learn with your younger child at home with him if he won't do it at the pool.
Hopefully some of this helps.

I too live on a lake with a 5 year old daughter. I didn't feel she would follow directions well enough until she was 3 when she took her first lesson. To my surprise, she didn't learn anything new except how to move hand over hand along the wall of a pool. Not practical in shallow water with a dock you can barely reach at that age. I was disappointed in WHAT they taught and expected more as she already had all the skills down. Give your son another class to see if he takes to the water, so to speak. It may just mean waiting until the fall after a summer of swimming or even next spring. For that matter, use the bathtub as a mini pool to practice bubble blowing, putting the face in the water and even being fully submerged. But pushing the issue may scare him away.

T. - I hope you're joking about this swimming thing! How can it possibly be too late at two. I realise that you've had your kids so close together that a two year old seems `big' to you - but try to remember in most houses he'd still be considered a baby! (My boys are 14, nearly 11, and five - and the five year old is our baby!)

All of my boys swim great. None of them started learning before they were four as they all hated swimming lessons before then and were too scared. My five year old started learning about nine months ago at a wonderful swimming school called Goldfish in Birmingham and he's swimming pretty much independently and loves it.

Give your poor son a break - try again next year and if he's still not ready wait until the following year. Also, if you find a teacher who insists on being tough, and putting your kids head repeatedly underwater to get him used to it back off - my little one's first teacher when he was three was a disaster and really frightened him so I waited another year.

Please, please don't expect too much from your little boy - he's so small and it isn't his fault that he's going to have two younger siblings.

Had the same problem with my daughter when she was two. But I had her in lessons since 6 months old.

I encourage you to keep taking him to the lessons. Don't give up although it may seem dreadful. Bring a favorite (floating?) toy. Maybe follow up with a favorite activity or snack. And LOTS AND LOTS OF PRAISE BEFORE DURING AND AFTER THE CLASS!!!

He'll do fine when you keep things moving. Talk to the teacher about tips to make the experience enjoyable.

Good luck!!