T_bone65 Posted June 21, 2006 Share Posted June 21, 2006 (edited) Well, last night was Elise's first swimming lesson and we had a blast. She is 11 months old, and this was her first trip into the "big bathtub". My wife decided to leave work early so she could come and watch her first lesson, she usually doesn't get home until 6:00 or so and the lessons are at 5:05. Everything was going great, Elise wasn't too happy at first but within 5 minutes she was her usually happy laughing self. We did tick tock, moving her side to side in the water, and the wheels on the bus and some other songs. Just basically lifting them straight up and down out of the water so they could get used to it. She was kicking in the water like a champ. Then comes the end of the lesson, they tell you to sit them on the outside of the pool and then at the end of some song you are supposed to pull them into the pool with you and take them as far under as you feel comfortable with. So I look at the wife and she gives me the ole' thumbs up to do whatever I want to since I have to deal with Elise if she gets upset. So, I decide I am going to go all out and take her under and I take her all the way under and just lift her right back up again. Well, she cried for about 3 seconds and then just had the biggest laugh right after that. I think she really liked it, so I started taking her under to just around her nose and she was having a great time. Needless to say, the wife is pissed at me for doing that because she cried for 3 seconds totally disregarding her laughing and splashing around right after the crying. All in all it was a great night, I had a great time with my daughter and I got to watch the Heat beat the Mavs in total peace and quiet. Am I wrong for taking Elise under like that, or do you think it will help her not to be afraid of the water? The instructor thought I did a great job and even used her as an example of how she wants all of the kids to be at the end of the 6 weeks. Edited June 21, 2006 by T_bone65 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spain Posted June 21, 2006 Share Posted June 21, 2006 awesome. been there done that with mine since they were about 6 months old. Got to love the pool time with the kids... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh 0ne Posted June 21, 2006 Share Posted June 21, 2006 Yep, did the same thing with my little guy, although he didn't cry. He had a look of shock on his face after I dunked him the first time, but that quickly turned to giggles when he realized he wasn't dying. When I was 16 months old, my Mom was holding me on the side of the pool, while my Dad was in the pool. I kept inching forward, trying to get into the pool. My Dad told my Mom to let me go. She did, I tipped into the pool, and my Dad pulled me up. I cried for a few seconds, then my Dad put me back on the ledge. After a few minutes, I started inching forward again, Mom let me go, I fell in, Dad scooped me up, rinse, repeat, and since then I was never scared of the water and started to learn how to swim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiggieFries Posted June 21, 2006 Share Posted June 21, 2006 Well, last night was Elise's first swimming lesson and we had a blast. She is 11 months old, and this was her first trip into the "big bathtub". My wife decided to leave work early so she could come and watch her first lesson, she usually doesn't get home until 6:00 or so and the lessons are at 5:05. Everything was going great, Elise wasn't too happy at first but within 5 minutes she was her usually happy laughing self. We did tick tock, moving her side to side in the water, and the wheels on the bus and some other songs. Just basically lifting them straight up and down out of the water so they could get used to it. She was kicking in the water like a champ. Then comes the end of the lesson, they tell you to sit them on the outside of the pool and then at the end of some song you are supposed to pull them into the pool with you and take them as far under as you feel comfortable with. So I look at the wife and she gives me the ole' thumbs up to do whatever I want to since I have to deal with Elise if she gets upset. So, I decide I am going to go all out and take her under and I take her all the way under and just lift her right back up again. Well, she cried for about 3 seconds and then just had the biggest laugh right after that. I think she really liked it, so I started taking her under to just around her nose and she was having a great time. Needless to say, the wife is pissed at me for doing that because she cried for 3 seconds totally disregarding her laughing and splashing around right after the crying. All in all it was a great night, I had a great time with my daughter and I got to watch the Heat beat the Mavs in total peace and quiet. Am I wrong for taking Elise under like that, or do you think it will help her not to be afraid of the water? The instructor thought I did a great job and even used her as an example of how she wants all of the kids to be at the end of the 6 weeks. Very nice! My wife does swim lessons over the summer when she's off from work (she's a teacher) and from what she's told me, you did it right. Getting them used to the water early is a very good thing. One thing I see her do with all kids she teaches is to dunk them as early as she can and to learn how to blow bubbles so they know not to breath in whlile their face is under the surface. The wifey says that all kids should be in the water at around 6 months old (not really before though) so they know how to take care of themselves in case anything bad happens. They'll know how to float on their backs (this may actually be a reflex type of thing when they're very young, can't remember what she said) and swin to the edge. If you have any other questions about it PM me and I can ask the wife. Have fun swimming with the youngin'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_bone65 Posted June 21, 2006 Author Share Posted June 21, 2006 Very nice! My wife does swim lessons over the summer when she's off from work (she's a teacher) and from what she's told me, you did it right. Getting them used to the water early is a very good thing. One thing I see her do with all kids she teaches is to dunk them as early as she can and to learn how to blow bubbles so they know not to breath in whlile their face is under the surface. The wifey says that all kids should be in the water at around 6 months old (not really before though) so they know how to take care of themselves in case anything bad happens. They'll know how to float on their backs (this may actually be a reflex type of thing when they're very young, can't remember what she said) and swin to the edge. If you have any other questions about it PM me and I can ask the wife. Have fun swimming with the youngin'! I forgot about the blowing bubbles in the water, we did that as well. Appreciate the advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_bone65 Posted June 21, 2006 Author Share Posted June 21, 2006 Yep, did the same thing with my little guy, although he didn't cry. He had a look of shock on his face after I dunked him the first time, but that quickly turned to giggles when he realized he wasn't dying. When I was 16 months old, my Mom was holding me on the side of the pool, while my Dad was in the pool. I kept inching forward, trying to get into the pool. My Dad told my Mom to let me go. She did, I tipped into the pool, and my Dad pulled me up. I cried for a few seconds, then my Dad put me back on the ledge. After a few minutes, I started inching forward again, Mom let me go, I fell in, Dad scooped me up, rinse, repeat, and since then I was never scared of the water and started to learn how to swim. Well he is a boy, he shouldn't cry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted June 21, 2006 Share Posted June 21, 2006 Bravo to you for starting her out so young in swimming lessons. The earlier they learn, the easier it is, and the better swimmers they become. When I took swimmng lessons, at 18 mos old, they just threw us in the middle of the pool. Parents weren't allowed to watch, but my mother was watching through a hole in the fence, she came unglued and confronted the intructor (the guy happened to coach the local swim team), he just threw me in again, and let my mother watch me naturally dog paddle back to the side of the pool. At least that is the way Mom said it happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted June 21, 2006 Share Posted June 21, 2006 he just threw me in again, and let my mother watch me naturally dog paddle back to the side of the pool. Yeah, kids at that age are natural swimmers. I use to teach all ages during college and the older they got, the more difficult it was to get them over their fear of the water. My hardest class was teaching the adults to swim. Side note: The adult class was at 8:30 am on Saturday mornings. A hungover twiley and 6 adults terrified of the water.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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