my little fishy

So I really struggled with this whole swimming issue with Tyler. I'd never push my child to play a sport he didn't want to play or do anything that I deemed to be unnecessary. Swim, however, is one of those things that is kinda important. Growing up in Medford Lakes may be a small subculture in and of itself, but all kids swim at a young age. The town, as it's name implies, is covered with lakes. There is really no way to spend a summer here without the water. That being said, I want my child to have safety around water. Ultimately I'd love for him to swim well, but for now I'd gladly settle for an efficient doggy paddle. However the lessons totally freaked him out. There were many a day that involved tears. Many times I dragged him into the water, while I felt his body tremble. I was heartbroken. I ultimately decided to pull him from private lessons (after only 3 of them) but kept him in the group lessons. Meanwhile the instructors pretty much backed off and he spent quite a few days just sitting on the beach covering himself in sand instead of actually learning to swim. I instead took advantage of having my mom and dad around and brought Tyler to the beach often to play in the water and try to work on the areas that he refused to work on during his lessons.

I am happy to report that, for once, my intuition payed off and I feel like perhaps I made the right decision. With a lot of play (and a little bribery) he has come pretty far in just a short time and now ENJOYS going to his lessons. Don't get me wrong, he is not swimming by any means, but he now will jump off the dock into someones arms, put his head under water, practice strokes, etc. I'm so thrilled...and so proud of my little boy!




This new found comfort in the water came none too soon, as my friend Melinda had invited us to her parents house for a little barbeque and pool time on Friday afternoon. Even a week ago Tyler would NEVER had put on swimmies and entered a pool. Instead he would have sat on the side pretending to be content, all the while beating himself up over his fear. Instead he put on swimmies (the first time he'd even consider it) and allowed me to play with him in the pool until he got confident enough to float a bit on his own. He even practiced some of his swimming.