Well, we've tried the pool at the YMCA a couple of times. I even found a swimsuit over the weekend that's not insanely huge on me and a maternity suit at that. So when we went tonight I got to wear my new, properly fitting, non-maternity swimsuit. That was nice!
Boo did great. The first time we went swimming, or wimsing as Boo calls it, he clung to me mostly and was a bit leary. Although even then he told me "I like a water!" and "That fun!" after I spun him around in the water.
We went again this afternoon and he's definitely showing signs of wanting to be more independent with it. I'd like to find him one of those vests that's stuffed with flotation devices. Anyone know where I can get one of those in the dead of winter? He told me when we were done tonight "I like a blue water." But he does NOT like the shower. We shower before and after and he's not a fan! Also, he's afraid of the swimsuit dryer thing. AND he HATES getting his hair dried by the dryer in the locker room. It's a bit scary for him.
If he's comfortable enough I may put him in the independent swim lessons at the Y after he turns 3. That means he would be on his own with the swim instructor and mommy would be sidelined. Eek - how is my baby almost old enough for that??!!!
Anyways, my goal is to go swimming, er..I mean wimsing, a couple of times a week so that he really gets used to the water. And, it's just plain old good family fun. It beats sitting on the couch in the evenings!
I taught swimming for 12 years and I would recommend against one of those vests if you can avoid it. They hold the child too upright and hinder the process of learning how to move their bodies in the water. One of the Y's I worked at sold the "backpack" floatie-belts that they use to teach lessons. You might check and see if they sell them at your Y, too. At any rate, if all you can find is a vest, it's better than no independence at all! Have fun swimming!
ReplyDeleteOh, can't wait to hear how it goes as you guys do it more. We really want to get Beanie started in the pool...I think she'd love it! I don't want her to grow up scared of the water like I was!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendation. I actually read somewhere that the vests came more highly recommended because they tip the body forward so that the positioning is closer to swimming that what arm floaties or other such devices would do. Do you know if some brands maybe are better at this than others? I read some promising things about a vest called the Konfidence vest. Do you know anything about it? http://konfidence-usa.com/?page=product&c=1
ReplyDeleteInteresting! The reason I generally object to the vests is because the way I've seen them used is more like a life-jacket (holding the body upright), disallowing enough mobility for learning body control in the water. However, if the vest you're looking at can have just the back floats popped in so the child can learn how to move prone in the water, that's great! I've never actually seen one with just the back floats in (maybe many of the ones available at big box stores are that flexible?) but the one you linked to looks flexible enough. Anyway, if used that way, the vest would provide the same kind of teaching tool as the floatie-belts we used @ the Y. And, honestly, a lot of it is just about building a child's confidence in the water so they can then go on to learn how to swim.
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