Sometimes I feel like we missed the window when it came to teaching my daughter how to swim. However when I think back my oldest son was probably in 1st grade before he learned how to swim. Part of the problem is we are not around the water enough to keep the things she has learned fresh in her mind.
I mentioned in a post a while back that I signed on as a SwimSteps Ambassador from SwimWays, determined to help my little girl learn how to swim this summer. The problem is I have NO IDEA how to do it.
It seems like each summer she actually takes a step back instead of a step forward. She use to swim with her water wings. Then she ditched her water wings for a noodle. I thought this was a step in the right direction. However we felt like the noodle was hindering her forward progress and tried to go back to wings and it was like asking her to walk into a lions cage. She was scared beyond belief.
Honey is afraid of drowning. To be fair though her definition of drowning is getting water in her mouth or nose. She absolutely HATES getting her face under the water which makes learning how to swim not so easy. At our 4th of July Barbeque Sunday she was excited to bring her SwimWays Power Swimr with her. I think she is looking for that magical tool that is just going to teach her how to swim.
We put the Power Swimr on and immediately she freaked out, said it was too tight and wanted it off. I told her I could loosen it but she was having nothing of it she wanted nothing to do with it. I SIGH desperate for something to help her get over this fear of needing 15 different floating devices to keep her above the water.
Surprisingly by the end of the afternoon she had finally made it off the steps and though using a noodle she was finally swimming across the pool. She found she loved the goggles her nephew had (I’ll be picking up a cute pink pair for her tomorrow) and she would swim to her uncle and then back to the steps over and over again.
Then my mother’s husband as a last attempt told her he would give her $2 if she showed him how the Power Swimr worked. Being the woman in a girls body she said let me think about that some and I’ll get back to you. After 10 minutes she decided to put it on.
She let me take this photo but requested that I take NO VIDEOS! She put on the Power Swimr but played around on the steps she was afraid to lift her feet off of them at all. However her $2 bride was increased to $5 if she could swim from one side of the pool to the other (the width of the shallow end not the length). It appears that my daughter is easily bribed with money. I got in on the steps and held her hand so she could get started then she realized she needed her hand to swim and let go and sure enough she kicked her feet and paddled her arms and made it to the other side.
I think she was more amazed and proud of herself then the rest of us. She had to show off to everyone including her brothers what she could do. All of this took placed right when we were getting ready to leave, however we had to hang out for another 15 minutes so she could practice some more. She is so excited and ready to get right back into the pool again.
I’m excited and hoping that next time she will venture out a little further out into the pool so she can see that the device will really keep her a float. This is an awesome first step! Now if we can just get her to get that face in the water we will be on our way to swimming!
Disclaimer: I am a SwimSteps Ambassador. I received the above product(s) at no cost to me by the company or representing PR agency. Opinions are my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. You may read more of my disclosure here.
Brenda Keefer says
My son does; my daughter doesn’t. They are 33 and are twins. He was a water baby from the time I started taking him to the pool at a year old. She will get in as long as it isn’t over 3 feet deep. I am a mix between the two. At 54, I can swim above water and under water…..as long as I KNOW my feet can touch bottom if I need to rest. I’m sure if I HAD to, I could swim to save my life, but I don’t think I could swim strong enough to save somebody else so I don’t venture out past 3-4 feet either.While my daughter does get in a pool, she is absolutely scared to death of rivers and oceans, but she loves sitting on the beach. Go figure.
Colleen Shibley says
I don’t remember a time that I didn’t know how to swim. We loved the pool as children. I’m really trying to get my daughter use to the water so she will have more confidence. In fact she is going to a water park at Summer Camp today.
carol says
Good for Honey! What a big step that is! With all the water around our state it is so important for kids to know how to swim. Camdyn just did it…she wanted to be a mermaid and she would pretend to swim like Ariel and would swim under water before she could swim on top of the water. Chloe loves her puddlejumper (water wing thing) and she jumps in when she has it on and is already developing a love for the water. I think the key thing is exposure..the more they are in it, the more quickly they learn to paddle through it.
Janice Mitchell says
All 3 of my children(26,22,17) were taught to swim at an early age.My younger two had no problem,they took to the water like fish.My oldest didn’t get good at it until he joined the Army and was placed in the position of swim well or die! The older two have children(5,5,3)and have taught them to swim.
Colleen Shibley says
I’m really hoping she will continue to be comfortable with the water and we can get her swimming before it is cold (which gives me a few months since we live in FL)