After your little one has been in our Parent Tot lessons for some time, they will be ready to transition into a Private lesson.
Each swimmer progresses differently, depending on multiple factors such as their age, experience, and level of comfort in the water. Some swimmers may need to wait to move into a private lesson until they age out of parent tot (at 2.5 years old) while other swimmers may be ready to move into a private lesson much more quickly.
Your parent tot instructor will let you know when he or she can tell your little one is obviously ready to move into a private. In the meantime, here are some signs to watch for.
Swimmer’s Skills
If your swimmer is able to consistently do these things in the lessons, it’s probably time to move them into a private lesson.
- Ability to do kicks and move arms together consistently
- Can hold onto the wall and count to 10
- Does caterpillars on their own
- Can back float with little assistance
- Is comfortable doing assisted rollovers
- Puts their face in the water constantly
- Is comfortable jumping in and needs little assistance getting back to wall
Social/emotional cues
Along with being able to do the above swimming skills, your little one may be showing signs that he/she may be ready to be in a swim lesson with just them and the instructor.
- Child is beginning to show independent behaviors
- Swimmer doesn’t want to participate in group activities. For example, during a song circle your swimmer may fight with you to stay on the stairs or do jump ins.
- Your little one is becoming more defiant
- They begin to recognize other’s feelings. Your swimmer may be more distracted and upset by crying babies in the class
- Swimmer performs better for teacher than they will for you
- Child is very assertive and comes across as bossy
- They may push you away and say “let go”
Sometimes as parents, we want to stay in the pool with our little one for as long as possible. But they may be ready to transition—and excel—in a private lesson. We know it can be hard sending your little one into the water without you and want to make that transition as smooth as possible for you.
If you think your swimmer may be ready to move into a private lesson, talk with your swim instructor, or talk with us in the office and we will help make the transition a good one so that your little one can continue to learn important safety skills in the water!