School me on being a Dad

[ThePenIsMightier]

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Never too early

This.
Take babies to lessons. Then teach them yourself when they're like 5. The method of modern swimming lessons that you pay for are an abortion wrapped in a travesty. The most useless dollars I have ever spent that brought the most frustration. Holy fuck, swimming lessons are stupid.
I floated in the ocean for about 90 min with the pair of them and they learned to actually swim, float and tread water.
Swimming lessons for toddlers made me want to try and burn the pool down...

[you&me]

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This.
Take babies to lessons. Then teach them yourself when they're like 5. The method of modern swimming lessons that you pay for are an abortion wrapped in a travesty. The most useless dollars I have ever spent that brought the most frustration. Holy fuck, swimming lessons are stupid.
I floated in the ocean for about 90 min with the pair of them and they learned to actually swim, float and tread water.
Swimming lessons for toddlers made me want to try and burn the pool down...

My kids have got excellent results from swimming lessons... What issues did you have? Did they just not learn anything?

[suntan]

Same here. My youngest wanted to go further with them than my oldest, so can even do the dolphin now.

[schurchill39]

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This.
Take babies to lessons. Then teach them yourself when they're like 5. The method of modern swimming lessons that you pay for are an abortion wrapped in a travesty. The most useless dollars I have ever spent that brought the most frustration. Holy fuck, swimming lessons are stupid.
I floated in the ocean for about 90 min with the pair of them and they learned to actually swim, float and tread water.
Swimming lessons for toddlers made me want to try and burn the pool down...

Both my kids learned a ton in swimming lessons. My wife spent years and years teaching lessons before we had kids so she was familiar with the programs and was pretty complimentary of the lessons they took.

Did you take them to an actual pool for lessons or just toss them in the olypmic plaza fountain with all the bums washing themselves? I dont think any of those guys are qualified to teach swimming lessons

[ThePenIsMightier]

It's a flawless, twelve step program. Public pool, money paying swimming lessons summary:
1.) Teacher is a human walrus who won't get in the water but has a grotesque, French-cut bathing suit.
2.) Don't worry! It will be that same teacher for ALL of the lessons, except the day that they are tested and graded.
3.) Every lesson is for all the kids to line up along the 3,000 feet of available linear space on the edge of the isolated pool, but let's stand elbow to fucking elbow and then all theoretically jump into the water at the same time.
4.) Weird. They didn't all jump at the same time, so now they are jumping on top of each other and it's a flurry of knees-to-face with toddlers who can't swim.
5.) Repeat.
6.) Giant, monstrous delay for the kids who got hurt.
7.) Ridiculous delay for the scared kid that doesn't want to jump knees-first into the heap of bobbing skulls.
8.) Repeat.
9.) Repeat.
10.) Test Day and stranger shows up for grading who fails the kid who swims fine and passes the kid who sinks like depleted uranium.
11.) Everyone gets plantar's warts.
12.) Pay to go again.

[ExtraSlow]

I too, found little value in public swimming lessons. Can confirm they pass kids who sink.

A weekend at any small town hotel with a pool, 3-5 hours per day in the water, zero lifejackets, send mom away for the day, and by the end, the kid will have basic "not drowning" kind of skill, and some comfort in the water.
When they are small, this does involve you watching them like a fucking hawk, and saving thier lives 4-9 times per day, but letting them get in trouble IS IMPORTANT, so don't spend all day warning them to "be careful" or "go shallow" or any bullshit like that. your words have no power here, kids need to learn to trust their senses and bodies.

Private swimming lessons (K&K or whatever) are good for getting the kids to learn actual swimming techniques, after they are comfortable in the water.

[suntan]

YMCA or Vecova. Swim teachers were young - barely above 18 years old.

[ExtraSlow]

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YMCA or Vecova. Swim teachers were young - barely above 18 years old.

You are a gross old man, and I'm so proud of you.

[suntan]

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You are a gross old man, and I'm so proud of you.

Ha ha, just saying that because they were very serious in teaching the children how to swim. I can't even imagine how beatdown someone teaching swim lessons at 40 years old would be.

[you&me]

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It's a flawless, twelve step program. Public pool, money paying swimming lessons summary:
1.) Teacher is a human walrus who won't get in the water but has a grotesque, French-cut bathing suit.
2.) Don't worry! It will be that same teacher for ALL of the lessons, except the day that they are tested and graded.
3.) Every lesson is for all the kids to line up along the 3,000 feet of available linear space on the edge of the isolated pool, but let's stand elbow to fucking elbow and then all theoretically jump into the water at the same time.
4.) Weird. They didn't all jump at the same time, so now they are jumping on top of each other and it's a flurry of knees-to-face with toddlers who can't swim.
5.) Repeat.
6.) Giant, monstrous delay for the kids who got hurt.
7.) Ridiculous delay for the scared kid that doesn't want to jump knees-first into the heap of bobbing skulls.
8.) Repeat.
9.) Repeat.
10.) Test Day and stranger shows up for grading who fails the kid who swims fine and passes the kid who sinks like depleted uranium.
11.) Everyone gets plantar's warts.
12.) Pay to go again.

Sounds like you found or chose the Lada-level of swimming lessons.

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I too, found little value in public swimming lessons. Can confirm they pass kids who sink.

A weekend at any small town hotel with a pool, 3-5 hours per day in the water, zero lifejackets, send mom away for the day, and by the end, the kid will have basic "not drowning" kind of skill, and some comfort in the water.
When they are small, this does involve you watching them like a fucking hawk, and saving thier lives 4-9 times per day, but letting them get in trouble IS IMPORTANT, so don't spend all day warning them to "be careful" or "go shallow" or any bullshit like that. your words have no power here, kids need to learn to trust their senses and bodies.

Private swimming lessons (K&K or whatever) are good for getting the kids to learn actual swimming techniques, after they are comfortable in the water.

TBH, while I still don't agree with your stance on lifejackets, the hotel pool sounds infinitely better than the lowest common denominator group lesson TPIM went through.

Private lessons blow both options out of the water and on a cost per proficiency advancement ratio, a real win.

[ExtraSlow]

My stance on lifejackets is more nuanced than I let on here. But overall, I do believe that you can't learn to swim while wearing one, and that many parents use them instead of adequate supervision.

[killramos]

What I found is that the cost of swimming lessons, which included entry to the pool for mom and dad to supervise, was actually a lot cheaper than the cost of entry to the pool for the same group.

And you can stay as long as you want after said lesson.

Food for thought. We did ours at MNP

[you&me]

Never expected cheapskate life hacks from Killy, but we all gotta do what we can with the noose of child-related expenses around our necks

[killramos]

The struggle is real.

The don’t be poor solution would be have your own pool and hire the above mentioned 18 year olds for private lessons.

[you&me]

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The struggle is real.

The don’t be poor solution would be have your own pool and hire the above mentioned 18 year olds for private lessons.

Indeed, it would be.

[spike98]

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1, gymnastics

Kids need to learn how to be bored

If he wants to do something, grab a soccer ball and kick it against the fence like I did at that age

This is me, totally. And the activity offers some sort of building blocks for later in life. Karate = Self defense and confidence. Swimming = Safety. Sports are good for a limited window IMO, around 8-12. Under 8 and they just fuck around and over 12, unless your name is Conner its going to get you nowhere. But that 8-12 helps teaches them how to win and lose while being part of something bigger.

Ill also never push something on my kid they didn't want to do, just because i couldn't do it well when i was young. Or because i can't or dont want to entertain my kid myself. Not saying thats the case with everyone here but man its very visible at these activities. Its gross.

[killramos]

I plan on going full Asian tiger mom on my kid into golf

[SJW]

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I plan on going full Asian tiger mom on my kid into golf

Be careful. It's a lot of exercise.

[ExtraSlow]

Is it safe for kids to golf? Is that a pathway to steroids?

[88CRX]

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Be careful. It's a lot of exercise.