At What Age Should My Child Learn How to Swim?

If you’re waiting to start teaching your little one how to swim, there’s no reason to wait! Almost ANY age is the right time to enroll your child in swim lessons at Goldfish Swim School. Here are reasons why your child can have a GOLDEN experience learning how to swim at each childhood stage:

  • Babies ages 4 months and older: You're always with your infant and you don't live near the beach, so why would your not-even-1-year-old need to learn how to swim? There are plenty of good reasons, but swimming is a lifelong, lifesaving skill everyone should learn – that you can start now!
  • Toddler time: They're learning how to navigate their world, and they can also learn how to swim! In our Mini classes at Goldfish Swim School, instructors use integrity, compassion and trust to teach toddlers how to kick productively, paddle, dip underwater, roll over and do back floats.
  • Preschool and kindergarten: They're starting to get into a routine of school, so it's a great time to add in swim lessons! In our Glider classes, we celebrate kids working on learning how to swim without assistance – freestyle and underwater.
  • Early elementary age: Wherever your child is in his or her swimming journey – from "hasn't been underwater yet" to "knows the doggie paddle" to "wants to beat his brother in a race across the pool" –they'll fit right in at Goldfish Swim School. Our Glider and Pro classes, with a teacher-to-student ratio of 4:1, groups swimmers with similar skill levels together.
  • Upper elementary age: If you think your 9- to 12-year-old already "knows" how to swim, you'll still see some extraordinary results from our Pro classes. Swimmers swim farther and longer, above and underwater -- plus learn strokes like freestyle, butterfly, breaststroke (in preparation for our Swim Force and competitive swimming).

Why NOW is the Best Time to Learn How to Swim

But really, the best age to have your child begin swim lessons is right now! Here are ways learning how to swim at Goldfish Swim School benefits your child, at every age:

  • Water safety: Even if you don't foresee your child ever going into the water without you or a responsible adult, every child should know water safety skills like the ones we teach during every lesson at Goldfish Swim School. Because drowning can happen even when you're not swimming; read Levi's story to see why we do what we do.
  • Improvement in school: Swimming requires concentration and confidence, which lends itself to splashing over into other areas of life, too – like at school! Even if your little one is too young for school, the building blocks learned now will carry on when it's time to hit the books.

Sign up for swim lessons Today

Find a Goldfish Swim School location near you (we're located all across the country!) and enroll your child in swim lessons today! You'll love our WOW! customer service, our vibrant atmosphere, and our 90-degree pool water (and so much more!).

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