Swim Class

Will has been enrolled in Waterbabies infant aquatics program since he was just 4 months old. We took a brief hiatus when school started and are back again this summer for more swimming skills. The difference this time is that instead of parent-baby swim class, now Will is old enough to go in the pool by himself. We just get to sit in a little chair by the pool and observe him doing all kinds of things that we surely could never teach him ourselves. It is amazing to see how your child responds to another adult. Here in swim class he listens and does things in a much more focused way when he is asked by "Teacher Abby".

As a nearly three year old it seems to me that the infant swimming has done him some good. As a baby he was comfortable submerging underwater and "diving" towards me. He could do safety jumps and backfloats but he didn't seem conscious about these things. Now as an older child he is learning these skills again on his own but there is no fear or reluctance. He tells me after class that he had fun and seems to feel proud about the things that he accomplishes for himself with the gentle prompting and guidance of "Teacher Abby".

This warm water pool should be familiar to him. I often point out to him the little playpen that he used to play in while I took a shower after class. I show him the changing table where we put on his swim suit. I point out the babies there who are learning to swim with their parents. Hard to say what he remembers of this on some level.