Hellobee Boards

We've done swim lessons, but we've actually had more success on our own. We got DS this vest: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UA8S4K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

It has removable foam cores that you slowly remove. Whenever he seems to have gotten really good at swimming with the vest as is, we remove two more cores. So he's slowly learning to swim on his own, really. We work a little with him on kicking and his strokes, but really the vest helps him figure it out on his own.

We have a Y membership where we can regularly use the pool and when we travel we generally stay where we can use the pool too.

@ShootingStar: That looks super interesting, I am ordering one of those for my son.

I am really having a tough time with teaching him how to float. He's like my husband, he sinks like a stone in the water.

We did. I did the initial water safety stuff and then my husband took over with strokes and form. If you want some ideas about sequence, there are a lot of videos on YouTube (but, you know, use common sense to evaluate whether you want to take their advice!). The key is repetition.

We did not use floaties or vests, for the most part. I feel like it's good that children understand that they won't float unless they're making an effort. (And a large part of that was for me--I've seen children float pretty far away from their parents in the pool and I didn't want to get complacent.) But there are different approaches that work, so find the one that works for you.

@honeybear: I am curious, did you teach to swim underwater? That's what all the kids that can swim seem to be doing, as opposed to strokes.

@looch: Not really. I know what you mean, but we went from the how-to-not-drown safety-type stuff to strokes. We started strokes at 5, so this approach meant that he had a lot more close supervision in the water than his peers for a few years. During that time he could float on his back, tread water, and get to the edge of the pool by kicking/semi dog-paddling underwater, but he wasn't swimming laps with those moves and we didn't let him get much more than an arm's length away at any point. It made pool party birthdays at age 4 rather wet affairs for me; the other parents mostly weren't getting into the pool at that point. But then, I pulled a kid out of an inflatable that had trapped them upside down in the middle of the pool at one party, so I guess my approach has some benefits...

ETA: Oh, and I agree with @pollywog's point. We've got the swim team experience and lots of regular practice in-house here, otherwise I'd have hired someone at that point.

LO is in stroke development class right now but I took a swim course in college so I'm helping her with her timing/breathing outside of class to refine and reinforce. I find huge progress is made when we do swim tutoring on the side with her throughout the week before the next class.

@honeybear: Goggles don't solve the problem, I wish they did! We've tried it.

I think the key is constant exposure. I am working on wetting his face in the shower. Then we'll work up to blowing bubbles in the pool this summer. Short of that, I my strategy is to research some sensory friendly techniques.

I can barely swim, so we're doing lessons! DH can swim very well, but we just don't have the time to get to the pool with the consistency it would take.

That being said, my youngest is in a parent-baby class and he's one of the oldest. So I'm working with him on a different level from the other kids in the class. Basic stuff like back floats or holding his breath.

We were at a hotel this past weekend and I taught my 6yo son some basics in the pool. He's not doing strokes or anything, but he can doggie paddle his way around with his head above water and he can tread water in place now. He was even doing cannon balls into the pool and coming up on his own. That's the most important to me, that he can keep himself afloat and swim to the side should he ever fall into a pool by accident. If we had more frequent access to a pool, I would start working on more underwater stuff and then add strokes. But all in all I was extremely pleased and he was feeling confident after he swam around the pool unassisted.

@looch: he can but he doesn't like to. He only did it for a few seconds at a time.