Open Swim

Now that’s what I’m talking about.

We took the kids to open swim today (finally), after leaving our ill-fated swim class a few weeks ago.  It was a little crowded but well-managed by the lifeguards.  And it went even better than I thought it would.

I had Daniel, and while they were not letting any additional people into the zero entry pool when we arrived, we could hang out in a section of the big pool while we waited our turn.  Daniel enjoyed sitting on the side and kicking his feet, and went in with me pretty easily.  He would sometimes request to get out, but more because something else caught his attention, not because he was unhappy in the pool.

Rebecca was with M, and was quite reluctant to get in.  The two of them sat on a bench on the deck for a while and watched people swim.  She was doing OK, but it was loud and she seemed a little anxious.  Eventually she agreed to come see me and Daniel, but wasn’t so keen when M took her in.  Instead, he took over on Daniel duty, and Rebecca agreed to sit on my lap on the side of the pool.  Then, she agreed to kick her feet.  Eventually, she went in, clutching a noodle while holding on to M.

After 20 minutes or so, some people left the zero entry (and bathtub temperature!) pool and it was our turn to come off of the waiting list (I told you, the lifeguards were on top of things!  They kept the number of people in each pool to a manageable level.).  Rebecca wasn’t sure, but M sat in the water with her and chatted.  Daniel loved that he could splash his feet in the shallow water, and then spent the next half hour walking up and down the slope of the pool, holding onto the rail.  Except, eventually he realized that the rail ran out and he wanted to go further!  Would you believe he walked in all the way to his chin??  And even better, two or three times he slipped and went face first into the water.  Obviously either M or I were right next to him and immediately picked him up and he was not in danger.  But each time, he’d (naturally) get scared and cry and we’d think “uh oh, guess that’s the end of swimming.”  And within about 15 seconds, he’d be asking to get back down and go “walkin” again.  Way to get back on the horse, Daniel!

Rebecca surprised me just as much as Daniel did.  In Florida, she really never warmed up to the pool, even though we spent a lot of time there.  And while she was hesitant today, even she got into walking up and down the incline.  There she was, my little peanut, holding onto a noodle or two like she was walking a tightrope.  She, too, would walk until the water was nearly to her chin, and then reluctantly turn back around.  She really only got upset when some girls were holding onto the side of the pool and practicing their kicks, and she got splashed in the face.  She’s really not a fan of water in her face (every night in the tub, for the last year or so, she screams about it). But even with the splashing, I had to really convince her that it was time to go home.

This is what I was looking for in a pool experience.  Take it easy, let them do whatever they’re comfortable with.  Encourage them to come in, encourage them to stay in even when they protest a bit.  Push, but don’t push too far, too fast.  Open swim is clearly the way to go.  The only down side is that, unlike a class, it’s hard to see it as a scheduled obligation, so it’s easy for it to fall by the wayside on a weekend afternoon.  But hopefully we’ll make it a habit from here on out.