How did you learn how to swim?

[claire]

Wow. I learned at a city pool during the summer. I think I went to swim lessons. While the "throw 'em in" stories make for great conversation, I don't think I'd want to teach my kids that way. It just seems like it'd be too traumatic. And what if it didn't work?

[camp1]

They do something similiar here at the Y for swimming lessons. They take the kid and have them jump in the pool. There is an instructer standing by, but they wait a minute to see what happens!! I was mortified when I watched this!
I think it is much better to learn to swim using swimming techniques.

[Wild Bill]

Originally Posted by claire

Wow. I learned at a city pool during the summer. I think I went to swim lessons. While the "throw 'em in" stories make for great conversation, I don't think I'd want to teach my kids that way. It just seems like it'd be too traumatic. And what if it didn't work?

That's the beauty of the sink or swim method. If the kid makes it to shore you now have a child that can swim. If the child doesn't make it... you have one less mouth to feed.

I AM JOKING!!! In all seriousness, I do think we as parents should allow kids to play and get a feel for the water. A lot of times parent project their own fears about water and swimming onto their children where there were none

[Shanna]

I still don't know how to swim properly. I could save myself if I had to but I doubt I could help anyone else. I've tried but I just can't seem to make myself put my face down in the water in order to swim properly. I dog paddle like a champ though.

[Ruffles]

We had what my dad called the sink or swim system. He would take us out in the middle of the swimming area and would honestly just dump us in there to see what we would do. I hated it. I still don't care much for swimming.

[claire]

Originally Posted by Wild Bill

That's the beauty of the sink or swim method. If the kid makes it to shore you now have a child that can swim. If the child doesn't make it... you have one less mouth to feed.

I AM JOKING!!! In all seriousness, I do think we as parents should allow kids to play and get a feel for the water. A lot of times parent project their own fears about water and swimming onto their children where there were none

HAHAHAHAHA. I agree with you about parents projecting fears on the kids, however, I still think that there's a better way than throwing the kid in cold turkey. I like having kids start in water from the time they're young and easing them into it.

[campclose]

We had a pool where I lived growing up. I was taught the same way, thrown in and had to swim back. Of course my parents were both there and my brother was in the pool. It was not fun at the time, but I did it. I'm an awesome swimmer now.
I took my daughter to swimming lessons when she was 2. That is how she learned how to swim.

[Bumpkin]

Originally Posted by camp1

They do something similiar here at the Y for swimming lessons. They take the kid and have them jump in the pool. There is an instructer standing by, but they wait a minute to see what happens!! I was mortified when I watched this!
I think it is much better to learn to swim using swimming techniques.

I cannot believe that there are professional instructors who still support this idea. I would never in a million years allow someone to do that to my daughter. And when I worked as an instructor, I certainly would not have done that to someone else's kid. I see the logic behind the sink or swim method, but that's the sort of thing that could end up having a reverse effect on a child. I don't think it's worth taking the risk that your kid is going to be traumatized and dislike swimming later in life.

[Christie]

Well, I did the typical summer swim classes at our local park and rec center. I really liked the lessons until they wanted me to jump off the high board. That's when I decided I knew enough.