We live in a country surrounded by water and we live a lifestyle that is water based. It was a must for our children to attend swimming lessons and we saved and paid for private lessons along with our own swimming time with them from a very young age. I was shocked when we attended the first school carnival and the number of children that could not swim. It is such an important life skill to be able to swim and a gift to be able to enjoy water sports and play.

As a swim instructor I see this all the time at school swimming. While I support the idea of school swimming, it is not enough for children to just do this once a year. Swimming is like any skill – it needs to be practiced, and the water environment explored through play on a regular basis to encourage confidence.

I learned to swim with my Mum and Dad they gave us tips in the local swimming pool. We spent a lot of time at the council pools after school and on the weekends. We went early in the mornings and had no trouble with it being too crowded. Then there was the School Annual Swimming program where every year you were graded and moved up the ladder as you passed the course. We had cards that were stamped by the swimming teacher. I feel if money is a problem parents swim with your kids make it fun! Have races and dive for coins. Kids learn whilst they play. Schools have programs that offer kids opportunities that parents can not teach their kids. Mum’s and Dad’s please teach your kids to swim at least teach them to swim across a pool and also to float as this could save their lives.

the elephant in the room here is money. Please dont jump on me for saying it, of course such an important life saving skill is priceless, however not all schools have the funds needed for school swimming week, and with the cost of living crisis, I definitely cant afford swim vac or private swimming lessons. It’s not about priorities, it’s about money for the homeloan and food, versus swimming lessons. I juggle work with raising 3 kids alone with no family in Australia. Im aware but I cant magic money or time out of thin air, especially as a carer to kids with disabiilties.

My parents never put me in swimming lessons as a child and it’s given me a fear of being in there as a result. My children will not go through that and now attend lessons to boost their confidence around water safety. Its definitely important for them to know how to swim

Swimming lessons are so important. I’ve been taking our toddler since he was sold enough to start, which was just a few months old. It’s amazing seeing his skills in the water develope and him become more and more confident. We live on the coast so it’s important to us that he is a competent swimmer

It is actually really scary how few kids are learning to swim adequately. I got lessons for my two from around age 4. They aren’t star athletes, but they are competent and I got them lessons until I was confident they knew the basics. I took my daughter and her friend to a local pool as a play date when they were 11 and her friend couldn’t swim at all, and could only splash around in the shallows!

My daughters school does 2 weeks each year of swimming lessons, however when I went to watch one day, they really didn’t do much swimming at all. My daughter has no interest in doing lessons outside of school however I do continue to try and encourage her to do them and hope that one day soon we will go back to them.

I think every person should know how to swim, but how good they are will depend on the individual. Just like running, not everyone will be a strong runner. Each person should know their limits and take adequate precautions.

Thanks for sharing this article. Swimming lessons and water safety are so important.
All my kids swim well except my youngest who’s 12 years old and has Down Syndrome. Despite the fact she has weekly swimming lessons and had for many years one-on-one lessons, she is a weak swimmer, doesn’t endure and had 0 safety awareness.