Swim Lessons

I started the kids on swim lessons this week. Jeremy has developed an almost overpowering fear of water when it rises above chest level, and I want him to be able to conquer that and be able to try new things like floating and kicking on his back. When I signed Jeremy up, I was unsure how I was going to handle Kadon at the pool for 30 minutes without letting him get in the water, but I was informed that they have a Mommy and Me class for babies 6 months to 3 years. With Kadon's typical joy and zest for life, he runs happily around on the sidewalk before the lessons start, and today, discovered that he almost fits inside the lockers outside the bathroom. In our class, we spend a lot of time playing a game that requires the children to blow bubbles under the water, stretching to reach a toy, and learning to float on their back. Kadon has been a trooper all the way through, even though the water in the deeper pool is considerably cooler than he would like it to be first thing in the morning!
Jeremy, on the other hand, has had a little bit of trouble with the lessons. The first thing that his teacher wanted him to do on the first day was dunk his head underwater, and this caused him to go into hysterics for the entire 30 minutes session. I left the pool with both my boys, frustrated and angry that I had wasted the money on lessons for both of them. However, once I had a chance to calm down and think rationally, I decided that learning to swim is an extremely important skill for Jeremy, so we had a long talk, set up a reward system for successful swim days, and I went out this morning before lessons and spent a little bit extra money on a nice pair of swim goggles and some silicone ear plugs to keep the water out of his two most vulnerable areas. Apparently most of the fear surrounding getting his head underwater is centered on getting water in his eyes and ears, which doesn't surprise me, as I have a lot of experience with this child in the bathtub. Today was a much more successful day, and Jeremy was much more willing to experiment and to listen to the things his teacher wanted him to do. I'm glad to think that maybe I didn't waste the money after all! Maybe by the end of the two weeks, we can even train Jeremy to let us wash his hair in the bathtub without a screaming fit!