My daughter who is 7 has been learning to swim, she hasnt noticibly improved in 10 mo, am i wasting my money?

Question

My daughter is 8 next week. She has been learning to swim for 2 years after showing signs of being keen, always jumping in the pool etc. Shc can swim 25m no problem but has been trying to master the front crawl for 10 months now. She still breathes to the front. Everyone else in her group went up to the next level months ago. She enjoys going which is good, but I am getting despondant at the lack of progress. If this is as good as she will be then I will just take her swimming for fun. Its expensive to have lessons, do you think this is as good as she will be or at 8 next week should I persevere or have private lessons? The swim school seem to have different teachers each week which also doesn't help, any suggestions most welcome thanks x

Answer 1

no your not wasting you money it took me like 4 years to learn =/

Answer 2

keep giving her the lessons.

Its takes time. Sometimes kids don't learn as fast as you would like them too.

Answer 3

I'd keep her in the classes . It's good for her ; she's getting practice , and with time she'll improve . There's no rush , she's only seven . If she wants you can get private lessons .Since they are all trained the same way i don't think different teachers are having any ill effect - and others are moving up a level . Kids all learn differently some times . I wouldn't worry . She may pass them all up one day as she becomes an expert .

Answer 4

Don't give up. When I started swimming, I was terrible. It took me a few months to learn how to jump into the pool because I was scared. What really changed my reaction towards swimming was swimming with a lifejacket on. My dad didn't give up on me and now I'm close to qualifying for Nationals.

Don't give up on her.

Answer 5

Does she want to get better at it in the same way you want her to?  At 8 or so kids can sometimes unwittingly but  purposely "fail" at something if they feel there is too much pressure to perform.  

If you're sure it's not that, then do you have somewhere else you can get her private lessons with the same instructor each time?  It sounds like she just needs a more focused approach to explain and coach her past her rough spot.  I think getting a different instructor each week is a waste of money, especially if they're not teaching her as well as she needs -- or worse, teaching her too many conflicting things.

Answer 6

swimming is a gradual practice, so no you are not waisting your money. is it possible she doesnt want to swim so is purposley failing?

Answer 7

She is just a bad athlete and need some out of the box boost. Not a swimming instructor. What you need to do is put her in da middle of the pool, drain the water low enough till she cant climb out, then put a piranha in the water. Just one is enough. She'll learn fast

Answer 8

I am a swimmer myself, and I started swimming when I was 4. If your daughter seems like she is at least 90% interested in swimming, I would continue giving her the lessons.

I would ask what swim school you put her in, but I probably have never heard of it before. I would suggest trying a different swim school (with a different teacher who is there EVERY week), or even private lessons. When I was that young, I took private lessons from a coach of the swim team that I was on.

She can ALWAYS improve, so no, this is not as good as I believe she can get. It is usually just the will to improve that gets in the way.

If you don't think she is motivated enough, take her to a competitive swim meet with strong and fast swimmers. Have her watch the fun and cheering of the team and coaches. This could inspire her to become a great swimmer like these other people. Also, If possible, show her online movies (possibly youtube) of Michael Phelps and other Olympic swimmers.

Is she on a swim team? If she is not, I would suggest putting her on one. We have children as young as 4 on our swim team. For most teams, all you have to do is be able to swim 25m without hanging on to a wall or drowning. You stated your daughter can swim a 25 no problem, so I would put her on a team. This way, she has practices with coaches and other swimmers who all can help her... Without paying for lessons.

I hope this helps, and I hope you end up with a strong swimmer one day.