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July 27, 2005
Survival lessons
Karsten started swimming lessons this week. How long do you think he screamed for?
a. the first 5 minutes of the lesson
b. after 18 minutes of crying he wore himself out
c. the whole lesson
The answer: c, the whole lesson. After 18 minutes solid he finally took a little breather. I thought whew, that only lasted 18 minutes. It could have been worse.
It was worse. The teacher put him on the sidelines and said, "let me know when you're ready to come back in." I was watching this all from a corner of the pool deck where I had been looking forward to spending some quality 1:1 time with Britta. I didn't go over there but out of the corner of my eye I saw him bolt. Another mom picked him up by the arms and handed him back to the teacher. More screaming but the teacher didn't seem to be overly concerned.
I went over to the Rescue Mom and she told me her daughter hated the first 3 days of lessons but she got over it. I started thinking about bringing vodka in my water bottle and ear plugs for future lessons.
I figured the Rescue Mom was right. Make him get over it. Life is tough, huh? As my neighbor Margi said, "if someone has a fear of falling off sidewalks, why not give them a push." Easier said than done when you're a mom listening to your kid crying and crying.
Later that day I talked to both sets of Karsten's grandmas. Both had the immediate reaction of "why push him?" and "swimming should be fun." My mom explained that she could swear Karsten is a re-incarnation of my brother and she wishes she hadn't fretted over his learning to swim so much. He eventually learned and it was on his schedule.
Fortunately the problem was sort of solved for me because the next day I had to go to work. My mom tried to take him to swimming lessons and no way was he going to get in the pool. After I heard this I called the pool and said, "are there any spots in Level 1?"
Now Karsten is happily flapping around in the baby pool. Tennis anyone?
Also see Shawna's swimming lesson post.
Posted by jana at July 27, 2005 11:00 PM
Comments
Oh Karsten. He obviously likes the water so that's good. I think I'm with the grandparents...maybe he'll warm up to lessons when he figures out that all the kids his age are not in with the babies.
I was the opposite as a kid...I was really sad when swimming lessons were done.
Posted by: becca at July 28, 2005 10:12 AM
If you want to really torture your kid, do what my mom eventually did to me: put me in swim classes at the YWCA. That's right, yWca. I had to go swim at the girl's pool. Emotionally shattering.
Posted by: dunsany at July 28, 2005 10:23 AM
Ok, so yah, I am not the only one! BTW, we are taking a two week break! While I was determined not to lose this battle, I thought a week of Vacation Bible School would break up the monotony and maybe send him back to the pool with a new lease. One hopes anyway.
Posted by: Shawna at July 28, 2005 10:39 AM