Imagine being in a world where we all learned at the same pace! I say imagine because that is the reality. We don't. Learning to swim is no different to learning how to ride a bike or figuring out how to do trigonometry.
So, in answer to how long does it take to learn to swim? It depends on your swimmer… vague I know… but below are some things worth knowing when learning to swim.
It takes time
As we've already established, everyone learns at a different pace and that's great! The world would be a boring place if we were all the same. But it's crucial, especially with children that we acknowledge and show praise for their little achievements when learning a new skill. With learning to swim being very difficult to some having the added pressure to know how to swim only slows down the process.
How to help swimming progression?
Practice! As the age-old saying goes practice makes perfect, when learning any new skill, it's always good to practice what you've learned outside of a lesson. This not only improves confidence with the techniques and actions but also improves stamina, strength and enhances cognitive function, like a form of exercise.
When do you know when they can swim?
Sounds slightly simple, no? When can they swim?… uhh… when they can swim? Well, that is true to an extent however, we've always said, once a swimmer can perform the relevant skills with confidence, they can swim.
With confidence being the keyword there. As many children learn how to swim, they can swim… in a lesson. But once it comes to jumping into a pool that isn’t known to them, they can often freeze and lose confidence in themselves. They know what to do but they don't have the confidence outside of their familiar environment to perform the skills they've learnt.
Therefore, it’s crucially important that before anyone achieves a certain certificate level, they are able to show that they can perform the skills with confidence before progressing.
Adaptable swimming lessons are key
Why is adaptable learning so important? It’s important as with everyone learning at different paces that we’re able to encourage and motivate swimmers who are perhaps slower at picking techniques up than other or simply have a disability that hinders their swimming ability in some way.
By having an adaptable award scheme, it allows the teacher to not only be flexible in their teaching whilst maintaining standards but also gives scope to adapt to how they reward their swimmers!
To wrap things up, the key to learning to swim is confidence! Giving a swimmer as much encouragement as possible within a comfortable and safe environment! They’ll be swimming in no time!
Looking for a swimming lesson, why not try our lesson finder
