Swim lessons - private VS group. Your opinion?

Question

I'm deciding whether or not to put my daughter in private or group swim lessons. We've done group lessons before and were not happy because the other children were unruly and the teacher could not handle them and the parents (though they were sitting right there!) did not discipline their children. We're fairly tight with money so I went to city classes and now we're considering going through a local country club instead. They are reputed for having an excellent swim school and for giving great lessons, both group and private. Though both are much more costly than lessons through the city, we just can't do that kind of atmosphere again. Friends of mine have done the group lessons and say that their teachers know how to deal with kids, but I'm just not sure about doing the group thing again. I also really cannot afford it, but I really want my child to be water safe. Do any of you feel strongly that private lessons will offer better instruction or will group lessons be fine?

Yes, and than you for mentioning how many. They have them in sets of 1, 3, 5, 8, and so one but right now I can only afford 5.

I meant "and so on"
The group lessons would have up to 8 kids in them.
She actually passed level 2, but that was 2 years ago and I don't believe she retained some of those skills. She's inbetween.

She is 10 and in my opinion, she struggles when she swims. She barely passed a recent swim test in order to be in the deep end of the pool and I don't think she should have passed in all honesty. We do not have a pool and she does not swim year round because we simply don't have access to it. She can jump in and get herself to the side, but that's about it.

Answer 1

Private every time (not just cos I teach swimming either!) She will actually need less lessons anyhow - and be a much more confident swimmer much quicker. If you can get her one to one lessons for at least 6, she will make major advances and then could go into a small group situation.

Good luck

Answer 2

With the new envoronment that according to resources has better control of kids I'd say you might want to do the group thing again because if there are better swimmers in that group your daughter might be in a positive peer pressure environment. She'll want to do as good as the other kids so that she doesn't look bad in front of them. It'll also give her a way to enjoy the lessons because kids can get very bored with things like that when there's no one else around. I'd say if you were to put her in the group lessons don't go for anything more than 5, over that it starts to become a "Charlie Foxtrot" as military people like to call it.

Private lessons of course are much more personal with the trainer and your daughter will receive a lot more attention that way than with the group lessons. Of course these can also be a little more expensive in some cases but of course you've been through the process before; I've only been through the process as one of the swimmers myself and that was when I barely knew the difference between group and private lessons.

Answer 3

Group lessons and Private lessons have their own benefits and drawbacks. The benefit of price is obviously with the group lessons.
A lot of times group lessons don't get as much credit as they deserve. So long as there aren't too many kids in the group, they can provide a great environment to learn. They allow children to compete between each other to learn the strokes, they allow examples to follow who aren't swimming experts, and the kids can boost each others confidence by cheering each other on.
Private lessons are good when a child is struggling with a particular skill that can't be focused on enough during group lessons. The child will get much more personal attention and learn a bit faster, but I think too many parents turn to private lessons who don't have to. The other time I would recommend private lessons would be if the group lessons don't fit your/her schedule.

I taught both private and group lessons and most of my private lesson swimmers should have been in group lessons, but stayed in private lessons because the children get attached to one instructor and the parent sees so much progress that their comparison is distorted.

If you can find group lessons with a manageable group size for the instructor, that is what I would recommend in your situation.

Answer 4

i really don't feel a parent should have to pay for private swimming lessons with few exceptions:

1. theres more than x kids per instructor
2. other kids hinder your childs learning
3. youre positive your child needs personal attention

good teachers are able to control their kids and teach at the same time. i was never a good teacher and could only handle 10 kids while still effectively teaching

if you are tight on cash dont shell out for private instruction just finnd a class with less kids. the reason private lessons are so much greater is the lower student to teacher ratio. more time is spent on individual children. you can also help your child by going with them to a community pool and asking them to show you what theyve learned.

Most important for water safety is floating which is something simle you can actually teac your child yourself. just dont shell out 40-100 an hr for private lessons. the one time private lessons are worthwhile is for improving speed and even in that case a good coach will not ask to be paid unless theres improvement

Answer 5

Hi, swimming is my LIFE. I took lessons at a local highschool. I took mostly group lessons there, but I was having trouble with my front crawl when I was younger. My parents put me in a private lesson for one summer, and private lessons are GREAT, because the full attention was on me.

That's where I worked on my stengths and weaknesses, and I learned to dive and perfect my front crawl.

I suggest private lessons because they show the most improvement, because your child will get the full experience, and the teacher's undivided attention.

Also, private lessons eliminate any self-conciousness your child might have, because I was self concious that my diving SUCKED...

=] Private lessons are worth it, and if you're worried about money, check out any local schools that offer lessons- you don't need a world class institute to learn.

Hope this helped!

Answer 6

I think it depends on her age and skill level. If she is young, and her skills are weak, I would recommend private lessons. If she is older (8+ or so), has a lot of the basic skills, and is looking to learn more advanced skils, I think group lessons with an experienced teacher would be ok.