Swimming rant

Watch out I am on a rant!! Just bear with me here and maybe you will find some useful information.

I work at a pool. All day, every day, I watch parents come in with their children and try to teach them how to swim. I am a certified swim instructor. I know that there are many loving parents out there who can teach their children the basics of swimming. But be honest and don't pretend to be an expert. I am not even an expert. Anyways, I got side tracked...

Yesterday, I was sitting in my guard chair minding my own business when a mom walked into with her 3 year old. She felt the need to tell me that this child has never been in a pool before. I tried to hide my face of shock. Then the more I thought about it, the more I realized not everyone has a pool to access. So okay, I thought, maybe this isn't a big deal. She goes on to tell me that they have a pool. WOAH! Wait a minute here. She said that she has not felt that the child was able to be in a pool until this point. In her words, "he wasn't ready." Now, as you can probably figure out, I was dying to unload all of my swimming knowledge on this parent. However, I sat there and let her continue to walk to the pool.

As soon as the child hit the water he demanded freedom from his mom. He wanted to float with a noodle on his own but mother said no. She told him that he was not ready. ( I was shocked that the child even wanted to be on his own!!) Then the child wanted to jump into the pool with his mother's help, but the mother said no because once again he was not ready.

Ugh. I dislike parents like that. Not ready? Are you kidding me? That boy was born to swim. If a child of that age is expressing that they want to be own their own and swim, by all means let them swim! Teach them how to as best as you can. Give them the knowledge. I told this parent about the 3 year old that I have been working with, Jaxon. I shared that I purchased a child's sized goggles and taught him how to go all the way under water in the bathtub. I shared how we have been working on simple things like kicking so that when he gets into the big pool, he can explore.

I never would have told Jaxon that he was not ready to go underwater. If you let that opportunity slip you by, you will not get it again. I remember another 3 year old little girl, Cadi. She loved being in the water and by her 4th birthday she could swim by herself and dive. I never would have told her that she was not ready. If you let that opportunity slip by you, you will not get it again. I am teaching a 13 year old boy who is terrified of the water partly because his mom did not think he was ready to swim until now.

It's sad. Let kids be kids. Let them explore. I know that it is probably a hard things for parents to do this idea of letting go. You mean you actually want me to allow my child to jump into the pool? He isn't ready...no sorry...you aren't ready. Get over it. Okay that was a tad rough... nope get over it. By all means, make sure that the proper supervision is there. Of course, do not let your 3 year old jump into the pool without you being right there. I would never suggest allowing a child to play in a pool without an adult and or a lifeguard. Do not mistake me there. I just want parents to realize that their children want to learn and want to explore. Let them explore in the water, in their bathtub. Please!! I do not want to have to teach your 18 year old how to swim.

Maybe after my vacation, I will share some tips to getting your child to go underwater in their bath. They can start practicing as early as 6 months!!