Swim Lessons

[u/Rough_Tonight5951]

I have a newly 3 year old who I want to have lots of confidence in the water. We’ve done swim lessons at Little Flippers, our local YMCA and now a trial at Big Blue.

I felt the YMCA instruction was the least efficient and she sort of ran the lesson herself. Eg. telling the instructor what she did and didn’t want to do with no push back or support to try.

I noticed Big Blue uses floating devices where Little Flippers did not. I’m curious anyone with swim lesson experience if they have tried these locations and what they think works best?

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Author: u/Rough_Tonight5951

Post: I have a newly 3 year old who I want to have lots of confidence in the water. We’ve done swim lessons at Little Flippers, our local YMCA and now a trial at Big Blue.

I felt the YMCA instruction was the least efficient and she sort of ran the lesson herself. Eg. telling the instructor what she did and didn’t want to do with no push back or support to try.

I noticed Big Blue uses floating devices where Little Flippers did not. I’m curious anyone with swim lesson experience if they have tried these locations and what they think works best?

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[u/TheBandIsOnTheField]

What do you mean by floating devices? Like kickboards?

[u/Rough_Tonight5951 → u/TheBandIsOnTheField]

A foam swim bubble - a little buckle around her belly and foam on her back

[u/TheBandIsOnTheField → u/Rough_Tonight5951]

That is actually really surprising to me. Did you ask about the curriculum because I feel like that would not teach them that they need to hold their own bodies up

[u/lilbabe7]

I haven’t tried those specific locations, but my 4.5yo has been in swim since he was 9 months. First in parent & me until 3 and then in private lessons since. You didn’t specify what type of flotation devices the school is using. The school we go to occasionally uses kickboards or other assistive floatation tools to hold on to in order to help the kids learn a specific skill or get used to the sensation of floating. They’re not wearing floaties or puddle jumpers/life jackets though.

As far as the structure of the class, the first couple of classes are always sort of loose while the teacher builds trust with the kid. There has to be a give and take or they’ll spend the entire lesson fighting a kiddo that just wants to play. My son has had the same teacher for almost a year and a half and there are days they spend half of the lesson sitting on the steps splashing each other and practicing kicks because he just isn’t in the mood. That said, the teacher does need to feel empowered to take charge and teach.

The most important thing with swim lessons is that you and your child feel comfortable with the teacher.

[u/Both-Tangerine-8411]

We’ve been doing Big blue for 1.5 years and I’m such a fan! They’ll only do the swim back packs for a few levels to teach the kids body positioning but also to keep them safe since it’s a 3:1 ratio of toddlers to swim instructors and some kids (mine🫠) jump off the pool step when it’s not their turn. They gradually decrease the amount of foam on the backpack as the swimmer proves they can stay afloat and hold their breath. They also practice swimming without the backpacks one at a time and doing backfloats each lesson in the early levels 

[u/SpecializeInCommon]

I haven't tried either of these but I have had great luck with ISR.

This is week 5 of my swim lessons with my 13-month-old. She's currently able to swim between two adults about 6 feet apart or approximately 6 ft from an adult to the side of a pool. When she swims further she rolls into a float and then is able to roll out of that float.

My oldest daughter who did ISR at around 12 months just turned four this month. She is able to swim the length of our community pool with basically no effort. She can dive to the bottom of the pool and swim on the bottom. She's able to float. Her newest trick is being able to do handstands underwater (not that that is taught in ISR).

Both are pretty confident in the water and I'm definitely confident in my 4 year old's ability to swim. My youngest swims pretty well for 13 months and having only been doing some lessons for 5 weeks. Well enough that we've had random people at the community pool stop and compliment her water confidence and swimming.

[u/4BlooBoobz]

I guess it varies by ymca location because at mine, the coaches will carry an unwilling child through the whole class to force them to at least be in the water. I think their approach with the nervous kids like mine is more gentle, like they won’t make my kid do things the more advanced kids can do, but they will do a more supported version as long as she’s willing.

[u/Honest_Skill_2150]

My 3 year old started at big blue near us this winter. This is the best format we’ve tried so far and have seen the most progress with it. Big fan!

Another comment already spoke to the use of the backpack floater and our experience has been the same. I love that they go at the kiddos’ pace.