Swimming Advice for Kids

[anditoo72]

I am wondering what kinds of things you guys use to help your kids swim? First let me say that I would NEVER let my children be in a pool alone. My children are 6, 4, and 2. We hardly ever go swimming maybe once or twice a year (we only have a little kiddie pool in our back yard) but we plan on using the pool at FW while we are there quite frequently. I have the kids signed up for swimming lessons, but it runs only two weeks. In the past I have used life vests for the kids but they seem to get more in the way of them learning to swim. I have never used the arm floaties what do you guys think of those? I have also seen those swimsuits with the floatie built in, anyone use those? I realize that my kids age are varied so may be the options, any advice I can get on this would be appreciated.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Ds uses the vest that has the flotation built into it -- it really helps him feel comfortable in the water, especially when it's a little deeper than he can stand in.

 

[Hillbeans]

I really encourage using a vest even if the kids feel they are uncomfortable. The pools at the resorts are very crowded and the vests are meant to help them in case one of them gets away from you. My son walks right on the ledge by our pool and frightens me.

We have my son, 3, in an 8 week swimming class. He's gone now 4 weeks and has made great progress. We do let him use swimmies in our pool and he does great with them. I think some people will tell you they hinder swimming, however I feel the opposite and they let your child be in the water and learn how to float and get their face wet.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Originally posted by Hillbeans
I I think some people will tell you they hinder swimming, however I feel the opposite and they let your child be in the water and learn how to float and get their face wet.

I agree. It hasn't hindered DS in his swimming classes, since he knows there's a difference between swimming with and without the vest. The vest has allowed him to feel more comfortable doing some things that he couldn't do without the vest and now he's trying the same things in swimming class on his own.

Here's something like what we have for DS:

The floatation is built right in.

 

[cati]

xx

 

[sk!mom]

I used all of the things mentioned at different times. I never had to keep up with more than one non-swimmer at a time since my children are 11 years apart. Since you will have three, I would definitely recommend life vests as it could be difficult to keep three close to you in a crowded pool.

You may be surprised at how well your 6 year old will be swimming after only two weeks of lessons. Both of my children seemed to learn to swim really well almost overnight at around 5 or 6.

 

[vernon]

Swimming is a great "life skill" , once it's learned it can not only save your life ( and those around you) but it's also a great non stress (injury wise) sport/activity.

If you have a local swim club in your area it is a really good idea to get your kids enrolled to learn how to swim properly. If they take to it well and enjoy it then maybe it will be a sport they choose to follow as they get older, if not then they will have learned an important skill that will stay with them for the rest of their life. If you can find a club that teaches them to swim in a "child pool" then that's even better so they can learn without any floaties but with plenty of confidence. Once kids get past 8 or 9 and can't swim properly they do tend to develop a bit of a mind set about it and it can be really hard to get them to even try. Maybe it's because they're embarrassed about it infront of their contemporaries but often they will try to avoid pools and swim lessons rather than show their inability and so avoid learning at all.

As far as swim aids, which if you have 3 kids of those ages you're going to want to use on at least two of them to save you from a nervous breakdown. IMHO the arm floaties work best for letting the child learn to swim, they are easy for you to see/check to make sure nothing has fallen out or deflated. As the child becomes a stronger swimmer you can reduce the level to which you inflate them (not too much so they fall off) so the child has to work just a little bit harder for them self. But the swim vests ( as supplied by Disney) are very good and quite difficult for the child to escape from on their own or by accident.

For peace of mind I'd probably go for the swim vest on a vacation (the vests also have the added bonus they have tags/tabs and loops that you can grab hold of with one hand (or finger) , you could probably drag all three in if needed with the vests on, not so easy to do when you're trying to grab multiple wriggling slippery bodies). Save the arm floaties for when you're trying to teach the kids how to swim.

 

[KristiKelly]

My kids have practically grown up in a pool, my dad & my MIL both have pools. We always used the "water wings" or arm floaties. Both of my kids used those starting around 18 mo. - 2 years old, of course we were always right there to help them get comfortable using them. We went to AKL in 2002 & forgot the water wings - they DO NOT sell them on WDW property. We tried the life vest on our (then) 2 year 4 mo. old DD, once the vest was on, she went completely forward on her face, she did not like the vest nor did she feel comfortable in it. I would suggest trying both water wings & vest, a small child will need to somewhat learn how to use both. I just didn't feel comfortable with the vest, I turned to see DS come down the slide and there DD was heading face down in the water . Just my .02

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My 7yodd has always worn a life vest. We go to lakes, beaches, pools, & boating. The key to learning to swim is to do it ALOT.
This year dd has taken off the life vest and learned to swim without it (only in a pool). I never pushed her, she did when she was ready.

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

Count me in as another parent who feels strongly about kids learning to be really good swimmers. It is a life skill. After your Disney trip is over and the water wings are put away, if swimming isn't on the regular summer agenda for your family, would you consider encouraging your kids to join the neighborhood summer swim team next year? Our community ran a really good program - everyone cheered the loudest for the smallest and the last! If you can find a program like that, the "8 and unders" can start the summer barely able to make it from one end of the pool to the other, and make tremendous progress by the end of the first summer. If they like it, your kids could end up as teenage lifeguards even if you and your husband never go near the pool. Then as adults they will always have an exercise they can do at any age that they will be good at, they'll be pretty much drown-proof, and they will probably automatically pass the skill on to their kids.

 

[Lewski709]

I teach swimming. Everything mentioned IMO is fine, but the lifevest. Lifevests are for boats and shouldn't be used to teach anything but lifesaving tactics.

I would stop by a local YMCA and pick up some belts with adjustable devices. Our Y sells them and uses them for instructions and the buoyancy can be altered depending on the advancement/skill of the swimmer. They sell for $8.00. That's my advice. These are the ones the Y uses

sell for 8.50/pc

Or cute wings, you can get 2 for each arm

sell for 10.50 each

I don't know where the Y gets them, but I found them here www.thelifeguardstore.com/floats.htm

The body suits and floaties are fine too, but MOST won't adjust for advancement (some body suits can). They have places INSIDE that you can remove some of the flotation. I say inside because I don't like the ones that have an area on the outside that allow them to be removed. The ones on the outside I have seen come out when children jump in and have also seen children trying to take them out themselves or have another kid do it for them.

I can tell you at the AKL, they DO have lifejackets there for kids to use. I wouldn't call them for swimming though. They are so kids can stay a float and play. Playing is all they will really be doing on vacation. Right?

Not to be technical, but really lesson swimming and playing swimming are totally different. You should get what works best for you for what you need it for, that's why I mention that.

Good luck!!!

 

[auntpolly]

My DD teaches swim lessons and taught beginners (these kids were mostly 4 and 5) how to swim in a couple of weeks. Some did better than others, but they all could at least dog paddle around in the deep end. Please consider making sure the kids can swim. Your 2 older ones should learn anyway at this age. My DD learned at 3 1/2 and went on to swim teams, lifeguarding, and teaching others to swim. It's just so important and will make their vacation so much more enjoyable if they can do some stuff on their own.

 

[cynsaun]

Originally posted by Bob Slydell
I agree. It hasn't hindered DS in his swimming classes, since he knows there's a difference between swimming with and without the vest. The vest has allowed him to feel more comfortable doing some things that he couldn't do without the vest and now he's trying the same things in swimming class on his own.

Here's something like what we have for DS:

The floatation is built right in.

I use one myself!

 

[Robinrs]

I've never learned how to swim... I have a horrible fear of drowing after a BAD accident in the fourth grade... but really wanted Michael to learn how to. We have a quiet pool in our community that we mostly have to ourselves. We use it daily to work out in and somehow along the way he taught himself how to float. Two lessons from a neighbor and he's doing the breaststoke, backstroke and doing handstands in the pool! It scares the HECK out of me but I am soooo glad he didn't "inherit" my fear. He has never feared the water which really worried me that he would take too many chances.

I am THRILLED he learned in the same grade I quit....

 

[birdiesunshine]

Our 20 month old DD uses the swim suit with the built in floaty things and the arm floaties. We feel the arm things work best. She has learned how to move her arms and legs and swim from DH to myself (which is only a few feet apart) and she stays afloat. I always get nervous when she is in the pool, but DH says it's good she learns to swim early. She even likes going under the water. She knows to hold her breath!! It scares me to death.

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

I always feel badly when I hear about adults who are afraid of the water. I was a terrible swimmer as a child, and finally taught myself to swim well as an adult.

Here's what I finally figured out:
I couldn't swim because I was afraid of the water. I was afraid of the water because I thought I had to have good technique in order to swim and it was "swimming properly" that was going to keep me alive in the water. Once I became a good swimmer, I realized that all that wasn't true. The water will keep you up if you just trust it and relax. (It floats the Queen Mary, doesn't it? Why not you?)

Swimming strokes are just a technique to efficiently move from one end of the pool to another - they aren't the reason you are safe in the water. The water itself is trustworthy. It will hold you up if you don't panic. It's the flailing around and desperately trying to keep your head above water that exhausts people, and it's exhausted, panicked people who drown.

Little kids who learn to swim by first doggie-paddling between parents aren't afraid. It's tiring to swim that way, but kids have lots of energy and can play around in the water for a long time that way (obviously with constant close supervision, and if necessary, floation helpers). Eventually it makes sense to teach them the easier, more efficient breathing and stroking techniques that come with stretching out full length in the water. If you know how to do this, great. Otherwise, swimming lessons are the way to go. Our kids learned to swim as naturally as they learned to walk. One perfected her technique by joining the swim team, one picked it up on her own, but both turned into beautiful swimmers. It's people who have for some reason been scared by the water or who never learned to swim as children who think of swimming as a big deal skill. It's really not if you're not scared.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Originally posted by cynsaun
I use one myself!

Do you need me to teach you how to swim?

 

[ebaynut31]

The resorts have vests you can use for the time you are there. I think they are the best thing for the kids. They fit well and my DD didn't find it uncomfortable when she needed it. Just ask at check in where to get them.

 

[anditoo72]

Thank you all for your great advice. I do know the best thing for them is to learn how to swim. It is true they will be more playing in the water than learning how to swim in Disney. I will just bring everything I have and decide when I get down there what is best. Swimsuit with floatation inside, water wings, and life vests- good thing we are driving

 

[gina2000]

Truthfully.....when my son was young....I was in the water with him whenever he was in.