Yes, I'm torturing my son by putting him in swimming lessons at the Y. He asked to take them but now he hates that the water is over his head and he doesn't get to wear "a floating thing." Every Monday morning on the way in to town when I tell him that he has swimming lessons tonight he whines that he doesn't want to go, that he's afraid, that he knows how to swim and doesn't need lessons. Anyone who has any suggestions of how to help with this, I'd love to hear them. And if anyone has ideas about how to manage a precocious 15-month-old toddler and keep her from drowning herself while you try to coax a reluctant 4-year-old into the water, I'd love to hear those ideas too.
Here are some more photos from other random things we're doing to survive January.
6 comments:
I am not sure how to help with the fear...but, keep him going...otherwise he will be 32 and not be able to swim like Robbie. :)
AND...HOLY COW! What time are the lessons? I can watch Eva for you if I don't have a VB game! You could even drop her off at my apt if you wanted!
Just keep encouraging him. Hope the water is really warm because that helps as well. Maybe a treat afterwards for a job well done and no whining. Leave Eva with a friend.:)
I have a friend who has two little boys who were afraid of the water. She found a young instructor that the boys thought was really cool. They really looked up to him and wanted to be like him. Then she hired him to give her boys private lessons so the time he spent in the water was really worthwhile. Now she can't get them out of the water. They LOVE it and can each swim a length of the pool.
My 4 year old hates swim lessons but is not afraid of water. I tried 10 weeks of lessons and he did not progress one bit. Two groups of other kids came and went in the time my son was in the pre-level A class.
I don't know what to tell you but I'll be watching your blog for tips!
Lara, my sister reassured me by telling me about her daughter who HATED swimming lessons and taught herself to swim a few years later and is now on the swim team. I think some kids just don't like the way the classes work, and I know part of it for Sam is that he doesn't know the instructors yet. He's not comfortable because he doesn't know them and he is hanging on the edge of a pool that is way over his head. Too things that cause anxiety. I know there are swim lessons locally that are in shallower pools and the kids seem to love them. But those are outdoors in summer and we started with this.
And your boys would LOVE Great Wolf Lodge. There's enough there that you don't even have to like water parks to enjoy it. Sam wanted to spend all day in Magiquest. It's in The Dells, so if you ever decide to do it, send me an email and we could meet there. :)
It is SOO surviving January. I'm glad it's almost February... a little closer to warmth and the return of all day outdoor adventures. We have a GWL near Seattle too! Is 2.5 years old too young? Keep up the swim lessons! I never learned to swim and now as an adult I'm afraid of the water, but need to figure it out so my little guy likes it and I can do it with him!
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