Swimming….the urge to let go and let her do it! *no children were harmed in the writing of this post!*
I first swam at the age of 3, I spent one week in Spain in a pool and boom I had got it! Erin has been having swimming lessons since she was two and still can’t swim. She used to love it but not anymore!
Today we went swimming with my friend Hannah and her little boy Farren. Farren is an absolute dare devil in the swimming pool.. jumps in, doesn’t care who is near to catch him and will swim perfectly!
Farren is 10 months younger than Erin and their attitude to swimming is literally at the other end of the spectrum. Prior to today I have taken Erin swimming loads and she has been fine. She is even ok at her swimming lessons most of the time. She has only ever had one major wobble at her lessons but granted she cried the entire way through the lesson and the teacher looked as though she was going to kill her!!!
The theory behind taking Erin swimming today was to get her back into loving it and when we go with her friends she loves it. Perhaps not… as I found out today!
Erin firstly took two steps into the water and freaked.
I mean blood curdling screaming with a hint of the death grip!! I am not kidding at one stage I wanted to let go and see what happened…. (she had a swim vest on) so she wouldn’t have drowned. I was secretly screaming at her in my head whilst trying to hold it together and not say stop being a prick and just swim. This got me thinking.
When is an appropriate age to be able to swim alone? is she behind? why is she scared but never used to be?!
Anyway we got over the massive tantrum by standing my ground and basically forcing her to do it and by the end of it she had managed to swim with her swim vest on and not hold on to me and was much more confident in the water. She also jumped in but did have a freak out about this too!!
I think in the new year my plan is to take her swimming more often. When its not her swimming lessons just to have some fun and get her more confident in the water.
Do you have any words of wisdom for little swimmers and lack of confidence?
Faye you just need to make swimming fun. At the moment she is associating swimming with an unpleasant time – whether she had a fright at a swimming lesson? But if you can make swimming fun when you go yourselves she may be more confident.
It usually just clicks with children- some of the kids I teach are criers and seem to do nothing for a term/or 2 and then all of a sudden they are fine.
I had a fright when I was 3 and wouldn’t go swimming until I was 5/6.
Keep persevering and she will get there!
Ooo Sheri! I didn’t know you taught! That’s fab! She really needs something I even tried to bribe her and failed!! Xx