Meg is an avid swimmer. She loves the water in any capacity . . . be it 4 or 5 inches of bathwater or the instructional pool at our neighborhood aquatic center. She’s not at all afraid of the water, and I’m hoping that one day soon I won’t have to fear her being near it.
Today was our last day of “Parent Tot” swimming lessons for the winter. Well, I must use the word ‘lessons’ a bit lightly . . . Meg isn’t
learning the butterfly stroke or anything. But, at 20 months, she really is beginning to coordinate moves enough to push herself along in the water and hold herself up along the side of the pool. It’s simply amazing progress since this post
from February of last year.
Swimming safety has always been so important to me . . . even before I actually had a baby. It’s probably because my parents had me in swim classes since as long as I can remember . . . in reality, some of my very first memories include me holding on to the poolside and blowing bubbles in the water.
My dad tells the story of me jumping off the ‘high dive’ at the Hilton in Las Vegas when I was a toddler. I was probably somewhere around 3 years old when I was plenty brave enough to plunge into the water from the resort’s diving board, come back up for air, then swim solo to the pool ladder on the side. A great feat for a little one, no doubt . . . however . . . the picture my dad paints is a bit different. I think he recalls me barely able to walk, climbing some crazy 6, 7, 10 foot diving platform, and cascading gracefully into the pool while on-lookers cover their mouths and gasp in awe. The truth is in there somewhere . . . the truth being that I was a good swimmer at a young age because of my early exposure to the water.
My mom was responsible for me always being able to swim . . . no ‘swimmies’ for this child of the early 1980s (did they even have those then?). My mother (despite her shortcomings at times) knew how important it is for any kid to be able to get into a pool and be safe . . . her insistence in swimming classes allowed her to breathe easy whenever I was at a pool party or swimming at a hotel pool. I want to have that same security with my girls.
So, Meg and I started swimming at 6 months, and I plan to do the same with Kate this time next year. It’s such a fun experience for them . . . and for me, too. I’ve watched Meg go from sitting on my hip and occasionally tooling around the pool on a kickboard to full out JUMPING into the pool, kicking herself around while holding a noodle, floating on her back, and attempting to blow bubbles. It’s amazing how much she’s grown to love the water in this year. I used to be able to return to the locker room after swim relatively dry and with my hair nearly in tact . . . these days I’m constantly spashed and kicked to the point where it’s useless to try and do anything
but take a complete shower after the pool.
Now we are on a bit of a break . . . my only complaint about swim here in Cobb County
is that it’s twice a week, so it does wear on you a bit. A 30 minute class is really much longer than that – it takes forever to dress and undress with a toddler. We swam in January and February, and now we are taking a break in March . . . looking forward to our return to the pool in April and May.
Today was our last day of “Parent Tot” swimming lessons for the winter. Well, I must use the word ‘lessons’ a bit lightly . . . Meg isn’t
learning the butterfly stroke or anything. But, at 20 months, she really is beginning to coordinate moves enough to push herself along in the water and hold herself up along the side of the pool. It’s simply amazing progress since this postfrom February of last year.
Swimming safety has always been so important to me . . . even before I actually had a baby. It’s probably because my parents had me in swim classes since as long as I can remember . . . in reality, some of my very first memories include me holding on to the poolside and blowing bubbles in the water.
My dad tells the story of me jumping off the ‘high dive’ at the Hilton in Las Vegas when I was a toddler. I was probably somewhere around 3 years old when I was plenty brave enough to plunge into the water from the resort’s diving board, come back up for air, then swim solo to the pool ladder on the side. A great feat for a little one, no doubt . . . however . . . the picture my dad paints is a bit different. I think he recalls me barely able to walk, climbing some crazy 6, 7, 10 foot diving platform, and cascading gracefully into the pool while on-lookers cover their mouths and gasp in awe. The truth is in there somewhere . . . the truth being that I was a good swimmer at a young age because of my early exposure to the water.
My mom was responsible for me always being able to swim . . . no ‘swimmies’ for this child of the early 1980s (did they even have those then?). My mother (despite her shortcomings at times) knew how important it is for any kid to be able to get into a pool and be safe . . . her insistence in swimming classes allowed her to breathe easy whenever I was at a pool party or swimming at a hotel pool. I want to have that same security with my girls.
So, Meg and I started swimming at 6 months, and I plan to do the same with Kate this time next year. It’s such a fun experience for them . . . and for me, too. I’ve watched Meg go from sitting on my hip and occasionally tooling around the pool on a kickboard to full out JUMPING into the pool, kicking herself around while holding a noodle, floating on her back, and attempting to blow bubbles. It’s amazing how much she’s grown to love the water in this year. I used to be able to return to the locker room after swim relatively dry and with my hair nearly in tact . . . these days I’m constantly spashed and kicked to the point where it’s useless to try and do anything
but take a complete shower after the pool.Now we are on a bit of a break . . . my only complaint about swim here in Cobb County
is that it’s twice a week, so it does wear on you a bit. A 30 minute class is really much longer than that – it takes forever to dress and undress with a toddler. We swam in January and February, and now we are taking a break in March . . . looking forward to our return to the pool in April and May.
(Please forgive the ridiculously awful photos -- lighting in an aquatic center is, well, less than optimal! And I look awful too -- the water hides the belly, so I just look fat! Oh well -- you all know what I look like in 'real life' don't you?)
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1 comment:
I wish we would have stuck with it for Jackson. We really need to get back at it with him. Swimming has got to be great for you right now too! I'm sure Kate is already paddling her way around with you :)
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