Cole has always enjoyed the water in his baths. However, unlike with many of his other physical pursuits, swimming in a pool has been more of a challenge for him. He hasn't had a fear of it but more like a definite awareness that he isn't comfortable without an adult near him within arm's reach. I can't blame him, swimming comes naturally for some and for him it simply doesn't.
I started taking him for swim lessons at a very early age with hopes of introducing him early enough that he would feel at ease in the pool but it just hasn't unfolded that way. With steady lessons each season for the past two years, Cole has slowly decreased his hesitancy and embraced the "fun factor" of his lessons each week. His instructors at FOSS truly do a phenomenal job at teaching the kids the fundamentals while making their 30 minutes each week age-appropriate on the silly scale.
However, as Cole has gotten older, he has upped his own competitive factor. He wants to be first across the playground, first across the ice rink, first around the circle on his bike but in the pool, his peers are typically first down the lane. This has caused quite a bit of frustration over the past two series of sessions. I didn't want him to get down on swimming because he couldn't be "first" so I tried to use this as a teaching moment to keep him wanting to come despite him telling me he was "sad" because "he can't do it". We talked about how everyone learns how to do things at different speeds and how he couldn't be first (or best) at everything; but that went over just about as well as trying to get him to eat green veggies, "I know that Mom, but I don't like being last" said with a scowl.
He is determined and focused (like someone else I know) and thus, feels defeated when he can't do something that way he wishes he could. So he began working before class this past series one-on-one with his teacher for several weeks, where she had him repeat and repeat and repeat specific movements without the influence of his peers there to pressure him. Consequently, his confidence began to rise during class and his beaming smile returned when he realized he was making progress.
He will be repeating his current skills level next session to allow him to truly master them and by the time he completes it, hopefully our boat will be in the water! I will make an educated "guess", that by summer's end, he will be jumping freely off its side without a moment's hesitation, splashing around on a hot summer day without a care (or memory of his tears and frustration)
Here are two recent videos of him during a swim lesson learning free-style strokes.
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