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Swim Ideas Anyone?
I ask your advice a lot here, ladies, but that is what this site is at least partially for, right? And, you’ve given me some wonderful guidance already, and hopefully it is of use to others, so I hope you don’t mind if I ask for another tip.
This time, I’m fishing for some suggestions on how to get my 5-year-old son ready to swim.
Guillermo is comfortable in the water with me, and he is just fine if he can touch the floor of a pool or, even when he can’t touch, if he is wearing a life jacket.
But in his swim lessons, he freezes up, sometimes literally, it seems. He won’t jump into the pool unassisted and he refuses to get his face wet. His class is small, only three kids, so he doesn’t spent too much time waiting on the wall for his instructor, but when he does he shoots me desperate looks. Once, he even shouted to me “This is boring” and “I want to get out.” I was horrified.
Today, I took Guillermo and Maya swimming at a new pool that opened near my house and started talking to a swim instructor who had just finished a private lesson. I told her about Guillermo’s fear of getting his face wet. She gave me this tip: Let him wear goggles in the bathtub and then throw coins in. His job is to get the coins, and he gets to keep them if he picks up the coin with his face underwater.
Cha-ching.
I like this idea, and I can even see Guillermo doing it since he is so into money these days.
I plan on taking Guillermo and Maya to the pool at least once a week so we can play (it’s the best way I’ve found to tire out my kids, and it’s fun) and they can get used to the water. But, I feel I need something more.
Can anyone help?
Natalie appears Sundays on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Natalie at her blog A Day at the Park.
Natalie Gott
Natalie is a TriangleMom2Mom featured blogger, appearing every Sunday.
Natalie is a stay-at-home mom in Carrboro to castle- and super hero-loving Guillermo, 5, and puzzle- and big brother-adoring Maya, 2. Natalie was a wire service reporter for nine years, but stopped working after Maya was born in 2006. Most mornings you can now find her at the playgrounds chasing her kids, who frequently are wearing superhero capes. Natalie grew up in Iowa and Peoria, Ill. After college, she lived in St. Louis, Baton Rouge, La.,and Austin, Texas. In 2005, she and her husband moved to North Carolina and she proudly sings every word to the "It's Carrboro" rap. Natalie loves politics, reggae and grocery stores and readily admits she wastes too much time reading celebrity gossip, but just can't stop herself.
Comments
Natalie, I feel for you. I tried for years to get my kids to swim. Part of the problem is that I don't do it myself. Maybe if they'd seen me doing it, they'd be more willing to swim alongside me.
But, in the spirit of do as I say, not as I do, I signed them up for numerous swim lessons. Most notably was a two week, 8 day class when they were younger. Every day at least 75% of my brood would refuse to put their faces in the water. When the class was over, I decided to give up on the torture.
The next week, we went to our neighborhood pool, and my kids were jumping in the shallow end. Who knew?
I think the repetition helped, and maybe they just needed some time to let it sink in. Or maybe they just wanted to torture me back.
I think if you just spend a lot of time at a pool, they get used to it on their own. Learning to swim isn't optional as far as I'm concerned, but on the other hand, trying to force it too soon can backfire. Maybe if you all spend some time playing in a relaxed pool environment, without him feeling forced, he will loosen up on his own. My older two took awhile to learn, but when the younger two were small we joined a neighborhood pool and went everyday. They went from not wanting to put their face in, to jumping off the diving board in days. Exposure is key.
We're going to try swimming lessons this year and I have some of the same concerns.
But to echo Pamela D's comments; they didn't seem too interested in the water last summer until they saw me swimming in the pool. Once they spied me, they seemed agog at seeing me swim. Our foray's into the kiddie pool became more enjoyable after that - they seemed to participate more.