can your 4 year old swim?

[Mummytoosh]

My 8 yr old can swim, he was mainly taught in primary school though.
My 4 & 3 year old can't swim, my 4 year old is getting more water confident but my 3 year old clings on and hates it!
We'll go swimming with them again in March when our leisure pool reopens for the season.
Swimming lessons are very expensive and with all the dancing & football fees and school trips etc it's not something we'd ever consider.
xx

 

[Eleanor ace]

My DS is 3.5 and can swim a bit, he can just about do a length of the learner pool but only after his swimming lesson- the rest of the time he wants arm bands on or to use a noodle. He's in a class with 5-7 year olds though, the children in his old class (3-5ish) are mostly still in the pre-swimming class though.

 

[embo216]

My 6 year old can swim without aids but her younger brother still needs them, we pay £20 every week for a half an hour lesson so very expensive!

 

[Vickie]

Hannah is over 6 and she really just started to get the hang of swimming. She certainly doesn't swim far. We have to work on her stamina and her breathing techniques.

 

[EcoMama]

My son is 5 and started lessons a week ago, all the kids in his beginner class cant swim and are aged 5 & under. The upper techniques class have no kids under 6 in it x

 

[hazzabeanie]

my son harry is 5 he can swim with armbands but not without we dont do lessons as they dont fit around work school etc but we try to go swimming as often as we can and teach him ourselves xx

 

[Natsku]

Maria is nearly 4. She can't swim, never had lessons as there doesn't seem to be any lessons here.

 

[AP]

Alex just kicks happily away with arm bands, tori wont even let go of me bless her

 

[Cangaroo]

My 3.5 year old can swim beautifully with the noodle, but has no confidence to try without. She is very scared of getting her face wet and won't go under water. She started lessons this term, and hasn't made much progress yet. We had a breakthrough today, though, as she decided to wear her goggles (which she's been refusing to do) and did somewhat better. I think it just takes time!

My goddaughter, however, turned 4 in October and got her 200m badge in November!! Yes, I do mean 200, not 20. She got her 100m badge well before she was 4. It's amazing. She's started high diving lessons already as she swims so well. She has a very good swim teacher, started young and is naturally very confident.

 

[Seity]

I have a 2 yr old and a 5 yr old. Neither can swim. The only way they could learn was we paid money for lessons and since we are never around pools or any deep water, there's been no point in spending money we don't have on lessons they won't use. I'd be happy to teach them myself someday if we have access to a free swimming area. The older boy always hated baths until he was 1 and to this day I still have to bribe him to get his head wet in the bath.

 

[tallybee]

Try not to compare hun theyre all different and will progress in their own time. As long as she's enjoying it that's the main thing and she will be grand x

 

[elsielouise]

My son has just turned six. He has been swimming since he was three with weekly lessons. He can swim a length on his back and about half a length from the deep end in front crawl. At four I think a width was his limit cos he just wasn't strong enough. Worth every penny and he will keep gong til he can jump in the deep end in pyjamas and get to side and out. They not allowed to do this level til they are even at our local pool.

 

[jensonsmummy]

My local pool doesn't start swimming lessons until they are 5 so hoping to start LO after his birthday. They are quite expensive tho

 

[annanouska]

I've been stressing that my 2.5 yo can't swim

He went to water babies and used to do brill swimming small distances underwater etc then his epilepsy kicked in he forgot it all.

I used to swim nationally trained as a swim coach etc so have been obsessed with him just having basic swim skills I honestly thought he was really behind I've tried to teach him myself but as I'm mummy he messes about. Feel a lot more relaxed now and happy just letting him have fun x

 

[Lauraxamy]

My daughter is four, she goes swimming regularly with me or her Dad and has done since she was around four months old. She loves swimming but can't swim without arm bands. It's not something I'm worried about really, she's very confident in the water so I'm sure when she's ready it'll just happen.
She'll start swimming lessons with her school once a week when she's a little bit older.

 

[Bingo]

It seems very much to depend on where you live. Here most babies start between 6 months and a year and have year round lessons once a week so learn to swim (freestyle aka front crawl) by the time they're 4-5 years old. My eldest started lessons at around 2 years old and is still slightly behind her friends. They are now all learning arms whilst she is still on legs. I think she'll catch up pretty quickly though. She went through the lower levels very quickly.

My 2 year old started lessons at about a year old and is doing really well. She can't dog paddle unaided yet but is probably not far off. She can grab submerged items from the bottom of the pool and uses her arms and legs really well.

I wouldn't sweat it. They will all learn in their own time with lessons. OP it sounds like she's doing really well and she will eventually catch up to her peers given time. My four year old still won't open her eyes under water (they use goggles in lessons). She is very confident in the water now which is a direct result of the lessons. I will say she came on leaps and bounds when we started taking her to a public pool once a week for play. She can't touch the bottom there so she has to 'swim' to get from one platform to the next. She also taught herself how to swim under the submerged platforms which still gives me a heart attack every time she does it. So my advice is to get them in the pool for free play weekly if possible. It builds their confidence and they don't have to take instruction.