Last summer, we had Katherine take swimming lessons at our community pool. One of the instructors decided that, as part of the jump-off-the-side-and-into-my-arms that it would be helpful to “push the envelope” and, though saying she wouldn’t, let Katherine’s head go below water after the jump.
It’s taken a year to essentially get Katherine over her jitteriness from that incident. Even early in this summer and with Margie or I there, she was very hinky about jumping in, or doing anything that would get her head wet.
With time and encouragement, that’s changed, and as of the trip to Jim & Ginger’s, she’s turned the corner and turned into a little otter. She jumps in on the shallow end with gay abandon. In the deeper end, she’ll jump in holding a noodle, or jump to a noodle or either of us. She dunks herself under the water so much now that she doesn’t even proudly announce it as a trick. She is learning to dog paddle on her own, swim underwater for a few moments, kick off the side, and float.
During the trip, she spent more time in the pool than anyone else, including Margie and myself combined. Sunday she went in around 9 or so, and was in for most of the time until we had to pack up to go, around 2 or 3.
Good thing we have her enrolled in swimming classes (at the rec center) starting next Saturday. My only worry now is that she’s too advanced for the one we have her in …
I guess it was a good thing that I was in the pool and being taught to not fear water at 6 months old.
We introduced her to the pool very early on, but it still happened.
I had some early pool/ocean water trauma, but I think it was more triggered by my not being able to bloody see the sides of the pool/beach very well.
When I was little (has to be before I was 4, but I’m not sure exactly when it started), Dad and I played a game. We went swimming at the Y quite frequently (swimming was and still is part of his long-term exercise program). He would throw something to the bottom of the pool, and I would dive in to get it. If I got it, I got M&Ms on the way home.
I seem to recall that the item was thrown into progressively deeper and deeper water, and that we progressed from things that were easy to see against the pool bottom to using the money that I would buy the M&Ms with. I seem to recall retrieving a quarter from 12 feet of water toward the end of this process.
Reading about others’ fear of swimming leads me to understand that whether or not it was intentional, Dad’s game was very effective in making me totally unafraid in the water, and in making me a pretty good swimmer.
I know I had swimming lessons at the Y too, but I have no memory of that.
I’ve been seriously meaning to get some dive-in-and-get-it toys, but didn’t manage to do it this summer, dagnabbit. Hmmmm.
Ummm…
Quarters work.
Pretty rocks.
Any toy that won’t be ruined by water that sinks will work.
KAterine has a plethera of bath toys that might do the trick
Good point. Probably something a bit more grabbable than a quarter, but one of her non-floating bath toys would work.