Can you teach a 3 year old to swim in a week?

An article by Claire    3 Comments

Our 3 year old is signed up for a Seriously Fun Swim School half term crash course next week. After booking a long overdue family break to Portugal this May, we wanted her to have lessons so she can enjoy the pool but also be safe.

Like many parents, we followed a baby swim class until Little L was 18 months old. After 7 stages of classes, she was doggy paddling by the end. It was something I didn’t know was possible. Unfortunately, there was a lack of follow on courses that ran on the weekends, so regular swimming fell by the wayside. Once I fell pregnant with our second daughter, it was almost impossible to take her (Dad doesn’t like the water). Plus it seemed the older she got the confidence built up in the water was reversing. It was a little heartbreaking after all the money we spent but it is one of the sacrifices you make when both parents work full-time hours.

Fast forward to the day we met Seriously Fun Swim School. I was delighted to learn about their crash courses in half-term at Roedean School, Brighton. I’m currently on maternity leave, so am able to take Little L every day for five days next week to the class. But these classes would fit for working parents too, if they had sufficient leave allowance, they could take a week off for some family time incorporated with some swimming lessons.

The holiday ‘crash’ course runs for five consecutive days and each lesson is 30 minutes, which for a young age group, is the ideal attention span for listening and learning. Parents are only by the poolside on the first and last days of the course. This is for aged 3 and upwards groups, so they focus on the lesson and not distracted. From my experiences with dance lessons, it’s so much better for my daughter if I’m not getting involved in the class, as she will cling to me but all kids are different in that respect.

The main aim of the classes is to teach the kids techniques that will make the water safe but also creating some fun in the water. If they learn to swim in the process, well that’s a bonus. Frieda de Beer from Seriously Fun says, “Holiday Courses offer a great opportunity for progression. Children have an opportunity to practise every day for 5 days, and it has been shown that children learn and retain new skills more easily over short, intensive periods of time.”

We’ll be keeping a diary of Little L’s swim progress all next week here on BrightonMums.com so follow our progress and if she really can learn to swim in a week.

This is a sponsored post in association with Seriously Fun Simmwing School.