[meenu]

my son is 4 yrs old now. I would be interested in letting him go for tennis , gymnaswtic and swimming classes. some of my friends are of opinion that the kids at this age will not benefit from threse classes since they are too young to learn. On the contrary, I have always heard that the earlier they start learning the better they will be at that particular activity. I am confused. Since in Hk all these classes means quite a sum of money I am still thinking whether to let him go for them or not. Does anybody with kids of this age have some experinece in this regard?

[Swim Club]

Learning to swim at the age of 4 is about right, 2 or 3 would really just be getting the toddler used to the water.

My friend's 4 year old son is being taught and he has come a long way since not being able to even hold his head under the water. It also really depends if he wants to learn and how good he is at obeying a stranger to begin with. It's best to find an instructor with a lot of experience.

Some clubs will hold sessions with a group of toddlers but these usually don't work well because the attention is shared by multiple children and progress would be slow. 1 on 1 is the best way where all the attention is focused on that child, but of course that would mean the fee would be more.

Hope this helps and I could help you find the instructor if you decide you need one.

[meenu]

Dear member from Swim club,

Thanks for your reply. I think my son is good at obeying instructions provided that I am not around. But I am not sure if he is scared of water. I would be very much interested if you could help me find an instructor but with reasonable fees.Thanks once again.

[scr]

Hi Meenu,

If you are not sure whether your son is scared of water or not then it would be a good idea to find out before you commit to swimming lessons. If he is scared there is a better of chance of him getting over that fear if a known person helps him - ideally you. Once he is comfortable then he can take lessons. I learned to swim when I was 10 but my sister who was 4 was excited and wanted to learn with me. The instructor had told my parents he doesn't accept kids below the age of 5 because they are not ready. On day 1 my sister held on to my parents tight and screamed away..that was the first day she was getting into the water ! So it wasn't really the fact that she was not 5 but she had never entered a pool before and she wasn't about to do it because a mean looking man told her to :) I think 4/5 years of age is a nice time to start, but your has son has to want to. Good luck.

[emilyc]

you may want to visit www.hwiswim.com. they teach toddlers and young kids to swim. my son (10 mth old) started last week. he enjoyed the class very much. there were babies as young as 5 mths old in his swim class.

e

[Swim Club]

> emilyc

To be honest your child isn't actually learning to swim though right? He's just enjoying being in the water but not actually being taught the strokes and about breathing? I wouldn't waste the money on paying for someone to do that but as I said before 4 is a good age to start.

> scr

You're right, you have to know if your child is scared or not but it can be done. Children are more scared of putting their heads under the water than facing a stranger when it comes to swimming.

> Meenu

You shouldn't force children to do things they don't want to like some of the local parents in HK, but swimming is one of the better sports to learn in terms of keeping the heart and lungs healthy in such a populated and polluted place to live in. It makes the child more confident and it attributes to overall fitness. But, it also makes sense to find out how scared of the water he is before you decide to look for an instructor. Let me know when you do.

[New Daddy]

Get the DVD called Water Babies and you will know that it is never too young, only too late. The most important thing is that you need to be there to be safe.

New Daddy

[jools]

Hi,
Young children can learn to swim. At home in the UK my friend started her son swimming at the age of 4 months, by the time he was one he could swim 5 metres unaided, on his own without any floats. I think the younger they start the better.

Jools