Swimming

I enrolled the boy into swimming lessons after we went to our local public pool due to his sheer joy of being in the water.....this would be our second round of swimming lessons, though the first one was just he and I in the water, with his getting used to it.....but this session.....this session was Sea Turtles 1 where parents go in with the child and slowly get out of the water, leaving the child with the instructor......the first night there, all 5 of the other classmates were crying, clinging to their parent and overall upset, not wanting to try new things, like putting faces in water, going down the water slide and jumping in...but not my kid....my kid was demanding I let go of him....that he swim by himself.... he was the poster child for a water baby.....and then something happened....I don't know what...I can't put my finger on it but as soon as I got out of the water, he would cry.....and call for me....(the first four lessons he was fine when I got out) until the last two lessons where parents weren't expected (but could go) to go in with their child. I chose not to....not because I was being mean but because I wanted him to feel a sense of accomplishment and independence.....we would talk about him going in on his own, how proud he and I would be, how I would clap for him....and he would do well....for about 5 minutes....then he would bawl the remainder of the class....and of I course, I insisted that he follow through, with me there supporting him from the deck....so he would have to listen to his teacher, once he did it, he could sit with me on the edge of the pool....and he did fine like that....Here is the proof that he did swimming classes....and if you look closely of him in the water, you can see the confusion between love and hate of water!

so excited to have his duck towel on telling me that I was going to clap for him.

in the water with his awesome instructor

after his loved shower

eating his snack of peppers

ready to go home.....running up the ramp......