Why Don't We Teach Private Lessons for Children Under the Age of Four?

There are three major reasons why we do not offer private lessons for children under four.

MOTOR SKILLS AND MENTAL CAPACITY FOR LEARNING The tools and techniques we use for teaching private lessons would not be productive for children under four. At this age, a child's mental capacity and motor skills are typically not developed enough for anything beyond rudimentary skills such as kicking and blowing bubbles. Children will usually become physically mature enough and dependent enough for stroke development around the age of four.

Our focus for children under four is water acclimation: getting them comfortable in a pool setting, teaching safe water entry, taking cues from adults, and ensuring they enjoy themselves. The approach is child-centered, going at their pace, and teaching skills only when they are ready.

We aim to keep children engaged without pressure, leading to a more positive learning experience.

PLAY-BASED AND PEER-TO-PEER LEARNING Study after study shows that infants and toddlers learn best in a play-based and peer-to-peer setting. Group classes are preferred for this age group due to peer learning and positive reinforcement from games and songs.

The beauty of a play-based curriculum is that very young children can routinely observe and learn from others' emotions and experiences. Skills-based curricula, on the other hand, are sometimes derisively known as "drill and kill" programs because most teachers understand that young children can't learn meaningfully in the social isolation required for such an approach…Programs centered around constructive, teacher-moderated play are very effective. For instance, one randomized, controlled trial had 4- and 5-year-olds engage in make-believe play with adults and found substantial and durable gains in the ability of children to show self-control …and self-regulation.

~ Erika Christakis, MEd, MPH, early childhood teacher and former preschool director. Nicholas Christakis, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and sociology at Harvard University

There is a growing consensus that meaningful social interactions occur among infant peers in everyday encounters.  Research has shown that infants treat peers as social partners and that young infants react positively to peers and will match a peer’s rhythm of interaction.  Infants have been reported to be more social with unfamiliar peers than with unfamiliar adults and to have higher proportions of mutual social interaction with same-age peers than with older siblings.

~Peer Imitation by Toddlers in Laboratory, Home, and Day-Care Contexts: Implications for Social Learning and Memory, Elizabeth Hanna and Andrew N. Meltzoff

PARENT PARTICIPATION Last, but certainly not least, every major swimming institution and pediatric organization (APA, American Red Cross, etc.) recommends that children under the age of four are never in a water setting where an adult is more than an arm's length away.  Because we take the recommendations of these organizations seriously, we want adults to become accustomed to the idea that they have an immediate responsibility and impact on their child's well being while in the water.  We also want children to get accustomed to the idea of taking all cues in a water setting from a trusted adult (i.e. their entire water experience should be guided by a parent or guardian).

You can learn more here about our Infant/Toddler program and the approach we take to teaching children under four.