YourChildIsontheSwimmingLessonWaitingListforMonths:HowtoMaketheWaitingTimeUseful[2026]

Your child is four and wants nothing more than to get into the water. You call the swim school and hear: "We have a waiting list of one and a half years." In Amsterdam and Utrecht, waiting two years is no longer unusual, according to figures from Radar. Frustrating, and meanwhile the clock is ticking. A child who cannot yet swim is vulnerable—at home in the bath, at friends' houses with a pond, on vacation by the sea. You can't always shorten the waiting time itself, but you can make good use of it. With a few simple exercises at home, you lay the foundation for swimming lessons, and with the right approach, you can sometimes get a spot months earlier.

Why the Waiting List Is a Real Problem

Waiting Lists from Six Months to Two Years

How long you wait depends heavily on where you live. In Amsterdam and Utrecht, two years on the waiting list is more the rule than the exception. In Rotterdam and Eindhoven, you often wait six months to a year. In smaller municipalities, it usually goes faster. Radar compiled the figures at the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025:

Nationally, the A diploma costs about 880 euros, with a child needing approximately 42 clock hours of lessons. These are estimates, not hard promises. The variation between regions is large and says a lot about how unevenly access to swimming lessons is distributed.

Those Waiting Without a Diploma Are More Vulnerable in the Water

A waiting list is not only annoying; it is also a safety issue. The World Health Organization names drowning worldwide as the fourth leading cause of death among children aged 1 to 4 years, and the third among children aged 5 to 14 years. Children under 5 make up almost a quarter of all drownings. Formal swimming education makes a demonstrable difference: a well-known American study from 2009 found an 88 percent lower drowning risk among children aged 1 to 4 who had taken swimming lessons. The estimate is imprecise, but the direction is clear.

The Waiting List Does Not Affect Everyone Equally

The National Council for Swimming Safety reports that in 2024, still 14 percent of children aged 6 to 12 have no swimming diploma at all. That is about four children per class of thirty. Among low-income families, that figure is 33 percent, and among children with a migration background, 40 percent. A long waiting list plus a high bill hits those with little to spend the hardest, and this pattern is seen in many countries, not just the Netherlands.

What the Waiting Time Does to Your Child

Fear of Water Can Build Up Silently

Waiting months or years has a side effect that is rarely talked about. A child who never gets used to water can become more afraid of it. What was once exciting and fun becomes something unknown. The longer the familiarization is delayed, the greater the chance that the first real swimming lesson will be disappointing. The period before the lesson is therefore not a pause; it is preparation.

Building Confidence Through Play

The good news: you don't have to be an instructor to help. The NRZ actually advises parents to use the waiting period to get their child comfortable with water. That does not mean practicing swimming strokes yet. The goal is for your child to feel comfortable and safe in the water, so they pick up what the teacher explains faster during lessons.

How to Make the Waiting Time Useful

Get Your Child Comfortable with Water in the Bath

The bathtub or shower is the easiest practice spot there is. Let your child blow bubbles with their mouth underwater, let water run over their face, and pick up toys from the bottom. Small steps, a little further each week. Those already used to water on their face at home have an advantage in the first lesson.

Go to the Swimming Pool Together

A visit to the recreational pool is one of the best things you can do during the waiting time. It's not about swimming laps but about getting used to the water: walking together through the shallow water, splashing, floating on the back with your hands underneath. Make it fun, not a lesson. Enjoyment is the strongest driver for learning, anywhere in the world.

Practice Floating, Splashing, and Blowing Bubbles

Three simple games you can do anywhere. Float like a starfish on the back, splash with hands and feet, and blow bubbles with the face in the water. Jumping into your arms from the edge is also part of it, provided you are close by. These are exactly the exercises the NRZ mentions as preparation for lessons.

Build Confidence Without Pressure

Not every child progresses at the same speed. Some children need weeks to dare put their face underwater; others dive right in. Don't force anything. A child who feels rushed becomes tense in the water. Follow your child's pace and celebrate every small victory, no matter how small.

How to Shorten the Waiting Time

Register on Multiple Waiting Lists

Calling one swim school and waiting is a waste. Register your child at multiple swim schools nearby, even just outside your own neighborhood or municipality. The chance that a spot opens up earlier at one of the three or four is simply greater. Keep a list of whom you spoke to and when, because managing that is up to you.

Ask About the Substitute List

Many swim schools work with a substitute list for children who can jump in when someone cancels or stops. That requires flexibility and the ability to come on short notice. Those who can do this often jump months ahead in the queue. Ask explicitly, as not every swim school mentions it on their own.

Consider Holiday or Turbo Swimming Lessons

During school holidays, swim schools often offer intensive programs: a lesson every day, sometimes for two weeks in a row. These fill up less quickly than weekly groups, and a child picks up surprisingly much in a short time. Ideal if the regular list still lasts months and your child is already a bit older.

Look for Less Busy Lesson Times and Locations

Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings are peak hours. Those who can attend on a weekday morning or a less popular time often find a spot. The same applies to locations on the outskirts of the city. An extra fifteen minutes' drive can be the difference between waiting a year and starting next month.

Keep Track of Progress, Even Before the First Lesson

Record What Your Child Can Already Do

Everything you practice at home is the start of your child's swimming skills. Write down what already works: face underwater, floating on the back, jumping from the edge. This way, you see the progress yourself and can tell the first instructor exactly where your child stands. That helps at the start of the lesson.

Use Swimmigo to Map the Basics

The Swimmigo levels list 86 skills, from water familiarization to a full diploma. As a parent, you can see before the first lesson which exercises are coming up and where you can already start at home. This way, the waiting time becomes real preparation instead of lost time.

Conclusion

A waiting list for swimming lessons is frustrating, but it is not lost time. Make your child comfortable with water at home and in the recreational pool, laying the foundation that an instructor can later build upon. Register on multiple lists and ask about the substitute list, and sometimes you get a spot months earlier. And keep track of what your child can already do along the way, so the first lesson doesn’t start from zero but from a solid base.

Want to know more? See how Swimmigo for parents works, how the seven levels are structured, or what a student tracking system means for you and the swim school.

Sources

• Radar (AVROTROS): Swimming Lessons for Your Child, a Dive into the Deep and the Wallet, October 20, 2025
• World Health Organization (WHO): Drowning Fact Sheet, May 2026
• National Council for Swimming Safety: More and More Children Obtain Swimming Diplomas A, B, and C, November 10, 2025
• Brenner et al.: Association Between Swimming Lessons and Drowning in Childhood, 2009
• American Academy of Pediatrics: Swim Lessons for Children, accessed August 2026