Sean swims (finally)!
In my busy-ness, I forgot to update this: Our dear Sean (5yo) - who has been attending swimming lessons for the past two years - can finally put his head in the water and swim on his own (kinda)!
If you recall my updates about his dismal progress, he had a huge fear of the water and absolutely detested swimming lessons. Just talking about the lessons or seeing his teacher's (who is great by the way) motorbike parked near the pool was enough to drive him to tears.
He liked playing in the water but he hated being in the big pool (he would freak out when his feet could not touch the bottom), putting his head in the water or asked to swim without float or flippers.
I think he just hated being forced to swim when he was not ready. There was just no two ways about it.
We have really tried everything - being with him during lessons, bringing him to the pool earlier so he has some time to warm up to the pool, promises of treats if he doesn't cry, scolding him, bringing him to the pool on weekdays just to play.
In the end, we just left him and let his teacher do his job.
And he pretty much cried through 2 years of lessons! (I really think we deserve a medal for not giving up!)
Then, we had a BIG breakthrough during the June hols!
The kids were staying over at Grandma's for a good part of the hols. My brother, who couldn't believe Sean could hate the water so much, brought the boys to swim every morning.
At first, Sean was his usual cautious self in the water. Leon played with him and slowly coaxed him to try putting his face and head in water and... he eventually did!
I was so amazed when I saw him paddling in the pool face-down! You have no idea what a milestone it was for Sean (and us)!
This was what he looked like he just started (in June):
Once he got over his fear of the water, there was no looking back.
In a matter of weeks, he has grown more confident and has now progressed to swimming short stretches with no swimming aid (board + flippers) in the big pool. He even knows how to kick the bottom of the pool to propel himself to come up for air.
He still needs to work on his swimming form - he can swim very well with the board but once you take it away, he tends to forget everything he has learnt and resorts to doggy-paddling - and build up his stamina so he can swim longer distances.
Bottomline is, he LOVES being in the water now - what took you so long, kid?! Now I like to tease him about making such a huge fuss before ;)
I really want my kids to grow up to be good swimmers because I think it is one of the best sports around (my favourite after yoga). Bravo, Sean!
PS. Now it is my 2yo Ryan who seems to have developed a phobia for water. His turn to cling to our necks for dear life. Sigh.
If you recall my updates about his dismal progress, he had a huge fear of the water and absolutely detested swimming lessons. Just talking about the lessons or seeing his teacher's (who is great by the way) motorbike parked near the pool was enough to drive him to tears.
He liked playing in the water but he hated being in the big pool (he would freak out when his feet could not touch the bottom), putting his head in the water or asked to swim without float or flippers.
I think he just hated being forced to swim when he was not ready. There was just no two ways about it.
We have really tried everything - being with him during lessons, bringing him to the pool earlier so he has some time to warm up to the pool, promises of treats if he doesn't cry, scolding him, bringing him to the pool on weekdays just to play.
In the end, we just left him and let his teacher do his job.
And he pretty much cried through 2 years of lessons! (I really think we deserve a medal for not giving up!)
Then, we had a BIG breakthrough during the June hols!
The kids were staying over at Grandma's for a good part of the hols. My brother, who couldn't believe Sean could hate the water so much, brought the boys to swim every morning.
At first, Sean was his usual cautious self in the water. Leon played with him and slowly coaxed him to try putting his face and head in water and... he eventually did!
I was so amazed when I saw him paddling in the pool face-down! You have no idea what a milestone it was for Sean (and us)!
This was what he looked like he just started (in June):
Click to viewOnce he got over his fear of the water, there was no looking back.
In a matter of weeks, he has grown more confident and has now progressed to swimming short stretches with no swimming aid (board + flippers) in the big pool. He even knows how to kick the bottom of the pool to propel himself to come up for air.
He still needs to work on his swimming form - he can swim very well with the board but once you take it away, he tends to forget everything he has learnt and resorts to doggy-paddling - and build up his stamina so he can swim longer distances.
Bottomline is, he LOVES being in the water now - what took you so long, kid?! Now I like to tease him about making such a huge fuss before ;)
I really want my kids to grow up to be good swimmers because I think it is one of the best sports around (my favourite after yoga). Bravo, Sean!
PS. Now it is my 2yo Ryan who seems to have developed a phobia for water. His turn to cling to our necks for dear life. Sigh.