Anyone else concerned about iSwim methods?

SmallgirlBigcity

My 5 year old son was doing swimming lessons in Northside, Coolock but the roof got damaged last November and it hasn't reopened since. I got him a spot with iSwim in Clontarf CRC but I'm concerned about the way they're teaching the lessons.

My son was swimming independently at Northside and just getting the grips with breaststroke at Northside but at iSwim, all the children use pool noodles, even 9 year old children. My son is out of his depth at iSwim and if he slips out of the pool noodle, he sinks to the bottom. This happened last week and the teacher noticed after about 5 seconds. It happened again this week and I had to call her name to alert her to the fact that he was under the water, for way too long.

It concerns me that older children who are 9 are also using the pool noodles. I wonder at what age they learn to swim without them.

The teachers aren't very friendly and don't have great communication/rapport with the kids. At Northside, they were so good with the kids and had play time at the end with toys, and they did 'fish of the week' to reward kids who did well that week. There's none of that at iSwim.

Unfortunately, there's a huge lack of swim lesson spots in North Dublin so I can't be fussy and feel like I have to just take what I can get. Just wondering if any other parents are feeling the same way about iSwim.

shesty

I don't know iSwim but if you aren't happy, I would consider moving.Speaking from personal experience, I have found that if something doesn't feel good in your gut when it comes to your kids, you are probably right.

I have 3 kids learning to swim in Alsaa, and there is not a pool noodle in sight. :-).Very happy with their teaching methods there, if that is an option for you.If you're uncomfortable, it's ok to want to move him.

baxterooneydoody

"I can't be fussy" yes you can, the very time to be fussy is when you're child slips under the water twice at swimming lessons and the instructor doesn't see it. I wouldn't be going back

witchgirl26

I agree that you can be fussy and start looking at other options for swim lessons if you're unhappy with it.

On a slightly different slant though - surely if he's been attending swimming & able to do so without the pool noodle, he is also able to keep himself above the water? That would be something that I'd look at working on with him yourself or in any new lessons you move to as treading water was one of the first skills my son learnt when starting to swim independently in Water Babies & is covering now in his lessons in a leisure centre too.

volchitsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058408220/anyone-else-concerned-about-iswim-methods

Was your son afraid when he was underwater or was he actually safe and it was just you who was afraid?

If you feel he actually wasn't safe (and if he's out of his depth, it sounds to me that maybe he isn't) then I think you should change.

But if it were my child, I'd also consider how he seemed to feel about it. He's five, not two, and you said he'd been swimming independently before that - so maybe he was just enjoying the freedom of not having the pool noodle?

But if he was a bit panicked and gasping when he came to the surface, I'd change. That's a lack of supervision.

SmallgirlBigcity

Update: I changed him to another company and they are much better. They are much more positive with the kids and have play time at the end. And I'm not watching him like a hawk in fear of him slipping under the water again. In fairness to iSwim they responded to my complaint with an apology and will issue me a refund for the remaining classes he didn't take, and said they'd look into everything I said so it doesn't happen again. Thanks for all the replies.

(in response to the last post, he wasn't safe when he went underwater. The instructor had her back to him and there was no way he could make his way back up to the surface on his own. He wasn't overly panicked but I shouted her name to help him quite quickly so maybe if I hadn't, then it would have gotten to the point where he did panic and become afraid)

volchitsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123440416#Comment_123440416

That's good. IME it's not so much about "learning to swim" when they're small as about making sure they're not afraid in the water. The playtime at the end is as useful as the swimming instruction part - it's about letting them enjoy being in the water and being comfortable there. Swimming itself is natural in that case.