It really bugged me that the camp counselor asked me about The Little Man and being tested. Not because there is any validity to it, and not because I give a sh*t about what he thinks.
What bothered me was that The Little Man was so uncomfortable at camp with swimming. I want to help him with this, kind of give him the tools to help him get through this.
SO...last Friday, we went to the pool at the club. He was reserved, and he didn't want to go in at first. I got in, and held up my arms...He only hesitated for a moment, and then he jumped into them.
I didn't go for much that day...he clung to me like a little monkey and we just walked all over the pool, splashing our hands and getting used to the water. Day 1 success:)
Saturday morning...we headed to the pool first thing. Little did I know that Sat. mornings are family swim class day. The pool was crawling with kiddos and parents. Little Man stopped dead in his tracks...uh uh Mommy...I'm not going in:/
I went in the pool anyway, turned around and faced him, and held out my arms. I wasn't going to force him...but I really hoped he'd come in...and doggone it...he did! We worked on getting him to let go of me, and that took some doing. I talked him into the noodles under his arms. The trick this day was bringing a little boat for him to follow around. It kind of took his mind off of worrying about the water. He chased that little boat up and down the pool. Day 2 success:)
Sunday morning...up and at 'em. We were the only folks in the pool at 9am. This day, we were gonna work on getting in the pool by ourselves, and hanging onto the side of the wall. Between you and I, it was shocking how fast my Little Man was turning into a duck to water;) He got it! He backed down the ladder, and hung onto the side of the wall while Mommy got the noodles. He did it over, and over, and over again. After paddling up and down the pool a few times, he said "Let go Mommy, I want to do it myself!" Day 3...MAJOR success:)
We took Monday off and went to the beach...so no swim practice...but today, we were right back in the pool. He got in by himself, he hung on the wall, and he went up and back, and up and back, and up and back, having fun every kick of the way.
Tomorrow we are going to a water park with one of his buddies, and I plan to have him in the pool at least three more days this week. Camp starts back up next Tuesday, and hopefully, he'll be comfortable with the whole protocol.
I didn't do this to make the stoopid camp counselor's day any easier. I could care less what he thinks. I did this to make The Little Man feel better about his camp experience. I want him to have a happy and fun summer. I felt like it was my job as a mom to give him the tools to do that. In this instance, the tools was getting him comfortable with the pool.
He may still not want to swim when it comes to camp...and I'm totally cool with that. It just seems, if they can't figure out how to teach a shy little guy how to swim...his mommy sure as heck knows how;)
