For those of us who have kids, do your kids swim?
I had this vision of teaching my kids to swim (I was a WSI instructor) and they would be strong swimmers who love the water.
It didn't turn out that way! :eek:
My son (he's 12) had this aversion to getting water in his face and he developed a fear of the water when he was about 5 when he had some trouble in the water and his friend's parent pulled him out (I was not there at the time). We paid for some private lessons for him to overcome his fear. He will get his face wet now and he can swim well enough to attend a pool party but he's not a strong swimmer and has no desire to learn.
My daughter (age 5) picked up on her older brother's fears of water in the face and she has continued on with her fear of the water in a similar fashion.
My son never allowed me to teach him. He wanted nothing to do with it. My daughter will allow me but my time is very limited. I'm trying to get her into swim class next month to help with this. She wants to do it but is also has some fear. My plan is to be away from the deck while she's in the class so she won't search me out to "rescue her".
I don't care if they want to swim on teams or anything like that. I just want them to be competent in the water.
Almost no kid wants their parent to teach or coach them. I never tried. All 3 of my kids are competent in the water, which was my only goal. I have a former USA swimmer/tri who just runs now, a USA swimmer who swims a fair amount, and a little summer leaguer. I don't care what sport my kids do. It just can't be at 4:30 am every day.
Keep plugging away with the lessons, Mary. Act nonchalant; don't hover or push. It's a life skill they need to learn. They'll eventually come around. Bribes/rewards are good too.
Almost no kid wants their parent to teach or coach them. I never tried. All 3 of my kids are competent in the water, which was my only goal. I have a former USA swimmer/tri who just runs now, a USA swimmer who swims a fair amount, and a little summer leaguer. I don't care what sport my kids do. It just can't be at 4:30 am every day.
Keep plugging away with the lessons, Mary. Act nonchalant; don't hover or push. It's a life skill they need to learn. They'll eventually come around. Bribes/rewards are good too.
