What Is Slowing My Child’s Progress In Learning How to Swim?

Swimming programs for kids are a great way to introduce your child to the sport of swimming or to teach them safety in the water. With a proper swimming program, your child will learn how to stay safe in the water and they will learn different swimming techniques to reduce their risk of drowning and allow them to have more fun.  Not to mention there is an added benefit that as a parent, you can now feel less worried when your child is swimming, once they learn to swim successfully. However, swimming programs can be difficult for children as well, and you might feel as though their progress is on a decline. Perhaps they started off building skills very quickly and their skills were very strong, but now you feel as though their progress has tapered off.  There are several reasons why this could occur. It is important to identify the reason your child’s progress is slowing in order to correct the problem and help them continue on to swimming success!

Interest Level
How interested is your child in the swimming lessons? Maybe he/she started out with a strong interest in learning to swim but are now not quite as interested. While pushing for them to continue the swimming lessons as a sport might not be a good idea, you should continue them in the class if they are still lacking the basic skills to stay safe in the water.  For this reason, it is important for your child to find some type of motivation and interest in order to continue the lessons. This can be accomplished by talking with the teacher about different class options they offer, so that you can find a class that might include games or toys in order to keep your child’s interest. Or perhaps the current teacher can incorporate something your child would be interested in into their lessons.

Class Size
We all know that class size can make a significant difference in how much a child is learning in an educational classroom, but class size can also impact swimming programs for kids as well.  For example, if your child is taking a class in which there are more than 5-8 children in the class, chances are the instructor is not able to dedicate as much one on one time that your child needs in order to learn as quickly as you would like for them to.  The typical swimming class should have 2-3 children per instructor, in order for all children to be kept active and learning throughout the entire class.  Consider looking into a smaller class size for your child if you notice his/her progress slowing.

Practice
We’ve all heard the saying “practice makes perfect.” If you’ve seen a decline in your child’s progress in learning how to swim, perhaps he/she isn’t practicing those skills enough at home.  As with any new skill, simply attending a class once a week is not going to do the trick. Your child will need to practice their swimming techniques on a regular basis. A way to combat this is to attend the lessons or speak with the instructor about what the lesson entailed, and then practice with your child at home. The more they practice, the better they will become and their progress should start to increase.

It is good to remember that even though your child may be quite athletic in other areas, that does not always translate over into swimming or in the pool. It is perfectly normal for children to slow down in phases of their learning. Everyone develops at their own pace and they need time to build up their endurance.

Try out one of the swimming programs with Zodiac Kids (Change to Zodiac Swim School) to help your child continue on pace and track with their swimming skills!