Learning How to Swim

[Casey]

How old were your children when they learned how to swim?

We (4 siblings growing up) learned very early. I always remember being able to swim from a very young age.

My 2 children learned very early on too. I remember buying them splash pools from the time they were babies and bought my first big pool in 2003 which my children would have been 8 and 6. They took to the water very quickly and loved it.

My granddaughter just turned 4 years old in May. I have no idea where the time went but she's 4 now. She got in the pool yesterday, took her floaties off and started swimming under water and treading water. She would not stop. She even wanted to pick toys up off the bottom of the pool. It's a good thing that I love swimming under water because we were under water a lot yesterday.

I think the best gift you could ever give someone is learning how to swim!

 

[pooldv]

Yes, indeed! Our kids were 3 and 4 when we signed them up for swimming lessons at the local pool. A few years before we even got our first pool.

 

[Topher55]

My daughter just turned four. We did 2 years of ISR which is more survival training/baby waterboarding. Then swim lessons this year. Recently at the YMCA she was able to pass the "test" swimming about 3/4 of the Olympic size pool so she could go down the "big slides".

We swim several hours every day, swim lessons are important but I think time spent just playing in the water and getting comfortable helps the most

 

[woodyp]

How am I supposed to remember that far back! Close as I can recall, 2 years of lessons at age 6 and 7 in a home owners pool. We knew the parents and their teen aged daughters taught the lessons. I was well qualified to teach her but I knew better!

 

[Casey]

How am I supposed to remember that far back! Close as I can recall, 2 years of lessons at age 6 and 7 in a home owners pool. We knew the parents and their teen aged daughters taught the lessons. I was well qualified to teach her but I knew better!

I forgot you're old as dirt!

 

[Richard320]

I have no memory of a time when I didn't know how to swim.

 

[woodyp]

I forgot you're old as dirt!

................WhipperSnapper! Respect your elders!

 

[BestJoeyEver]

I have no memory of a time when I didn't know how to swim.

Yes. This exactly.

 

[kimkats]

I was thrown into the lake off the end of the dock LOL swim or sink........I swam! I was a wee little thing. No idea of age. Swimming starts with the bathtub and baby pools, being able to "motorboat" in the water and tolerate water on the face.

 

[JohnT]

My kids are both outstanding swimmers. They just relax and don't fight the water. It was a big deal to me when I went fishing with them to know that they were good on their own. Three of the four grandkids are scary good as well. It gets annoying because the spend so much time under water. The 6-year old swims comfortably, but when she gets tired she wants her floaties again so she can rest.

We built our pool when I was in my 40s, and I'm a much better swimmer than I was when we built it. To me, the secret to being a good swimmer is comfort in the water.

 

[CJadamec]

All of my kids were in a pool taking lessons by the time they were 6 months old. My oldest was moving freely around the pool about at around 6 years old, the middle one started chasing her older sister around the pool when she was about 5 years old. My youngest now that we have our own pool is on a faster track. He's 3 years old and exploring all over the stairs and diving under on his own. By next season he looks like he will be scooting around the pool on his own.

Having our kids comfortable in the water at an early age was a priority for my wife and I.

 

[Larryh86GT]

I was 16 before I learned to swim. My granddaughter at 8 years old can swim circles around me.

 

[pabeader]

I still don't know how. I also don't sink. We have had up to 3 adults use me as a float. I can kinda doggy paddle, so I am able to get around, kinda.

 

[OhCanada]

How old were your children when they learned how to swim?

I think the best gift you could ever give someone is learning how to swim!

YES! My kids learned at a very young age. My grand daughter started lessons before she turned a year old and now at 18 months can be splashed by the older kids and go underwater with her dad - no problem. The 5 and 8 year old grands swim around like fish now. Makes for a nice time in the pool not to have anxious crying kids clinging onto you!

 

[PAGirl]

Oldest son has always loved the water. At 2, he'd practice holding his breath and dunking his head in the bathtub, much to my dismay. He learned to swim by age 4. Youngest son had a fear of the water at a young age, he didn't truly learn to swim until age 8 or 9. Both are teens now.

 

[kk_isme]

I don't remember ever not knowing how to swim, either. I do have memories of being in the water at a very young age and being comfortable, no fear, although I never took formal lessons. I started taking my kids in the pool as babies and they started lessons at about 4 years old. Drown proofing, they called it. We are around the water often.

 

[ping]

I was 5 years old and was told if I wanted to play on the inner tubes that we had at lake Havasu I needed to be able to swim without the "floaties". Off they came and I was swimming like a fish. It sure helped to be a young one in a large family.

My wife teaches out of our pool, and her client range so far is 3 months to 80 years old. One of the best young swimmers was our nephew, he was swimming on his own at 2.5 years old. Kids that are younger than that she can teach them to fall into the pool, roll on their back, and make it back to the wall. At that age it's all about getting that 30 to 60 seconds to notice them if they happen to get in the pool by themselves.

 

[ctrav]

We just put in our first pool and my grandkids are 2 1/2 and 3 1/2. We put them in swim lessons while the pool was being built and they literally hated it at first. After the 5th lesson they were a little comfortable but still not doing much and I was ok with that. Fast forward to now and having the kids in the water almost daily...the 3 1/2 year old jumps in and swims with her head under water about half the distance of the width of the pool which is 20'. The 2 1/2 year old swims under water and holds her breath for about 10-15 seconds. This all just magically happened one day on there own...I guess each child needs to become confident and then things will happen. We just have to guard against OVER CONFIDENCE and set boundaries/rules!

 

[jturie]

I kid you not....in 1960 my dad took me down to the river, walked me down to the end of the dock, and said to me "do you see what those kids are doing?" I barely said "yes" when he grabbed me by the scruff and threw me into the water. I mimicked the other kids, and swam right back and climbed the ladder. He said "good job" and shoved me in again. Piece of cake.

My kids, however, learned at the YMCA when they were 4. No safe rivers nearby.

 

[DMS2014]

I first learned when I was about 7. My aunt taught me in a hotel swimming pool. I then went back home to NY and entered the YMCA swimming program. I made it up to lifeguard by age 11 but was too young to take that test. When I did it, it was a wonderful program - taught you everything you needed to know, including the survival swim.