taking baby and the rest of your children swimming

Should you enroll your child in swim lessons or teach them yourself?

Have you thought about teaching your child swimming yourself? Here are Pros & Cons to consider before making this decision.
I am a very strong proponent of structured group swim lessons. I do not have children myself, but have encouraged all my siblings & friends to enroll their children in swim lessons. I have had my own nieces & nephews in my group lessons and have never given any private lessons. With this said I do understand that only parents know what is best for their child, so I will give the pros & cons of both sides of this question & leave it to you to decide what is best.

Structured swim lessons
Pros:
Experienced Instructors
Authoritative figure that the child will listen to
Group setting - child not always center of attention
Good "peer pressure"
Structured Schedule
Proper Equipment
Safe Setting with Trained Guards
Cons:
Unfamiliar People
Unfamiliar Setting
Inconvenient Schedule
Health Issues - Allergic to chlorine/ beach water

Teaching Swim Lesson Yourself
Pros:
Flexible Scheduling
Great Existing Relationship for Teacher/Student
Knowledge of Child's Learning Methods
Individual Attention
Cons:
Child too Comfortable/ May Not Listen
Lacking Water Site & Teaching Tools
Inexperience in Teaching Swimming
I hope the info above helps you weigh your swim lessons options for your child. Though it can be difficult to "unteach" some learned swim skills there is always the option of enrolling your child in lessons if your individual instruction did not produce the desired results. No matter which decision you make, having your child learning to swim is always a Win - Win situation.

Andy Murray is the founder of www.SwimLessonInfo.com , as well as a Red Cross certified swim instructor. He has been teaching swim lessons for 15 years and coaching youth swim team for more then 5 years.

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