Friday, June 16, 2017

Swimming Lessons A Good Thing?

Over the course of the last couple of months, Sam has been taking swimming lessons. If was a "birthday gift" to him from us but really we wanted to make sure we did some sort of lesson because last year he would scream when we brought him to the pool.


 It was a good investment. Ryan and I both learnt how to help Sam to learn to swim with fun activities and Sam is no longer scared of the water, which I'm not too sure is ALWAYS such a good thing. 


You see, last Sunday we hosted the Sunday School picnic at our house. We love to be able to host our church family for a service in the cooled garage and then fun in the pool for the Sunday School kids! In years passed, Sam wasn't always mobile so it was a breeze to keep him away from the pool. And last year, he hated water. This year, he now LOVES the water because of swimming lessons. 


After the service, the kids run out to the pool to get swimming in before lunch is ready and Ryan and I start the process of setting out some food and getting the hot dogs BBQing. Sam was good and kept asking us to go in the pool because we had engraved his in mind he only goes in with Mom and Dad! We kept telling him to wait because we were doing A,B or C. 

As he stood at the side lines watching all the other kids jump in and out of the pool, you could see him testing his boundaries. Eventually sitting on the pool steps with Ryan's permission. 

I was just walking back into the pool area when I saw the tail end of Sam jumping off of the steps and into the pool itself without any floaties on. 

THANKFULLY, there were many other bodies around ready to pounce in to get him but Mommy-mode had kicked in and I sprinted passed people and leaped into the pool to grab him. 

He wasn't submerged for very long! Literally seconds and thankfully with swimming lessons he knows now how to hold his breath. So when I lifted him up from to the surface he had a smile on his face and just thought Mommy was coming in to swim with him. 

Of course, my heart was racing like crazy from fear but I tried to keep the panic to the minimum and stay calm. I reminded him about only going swimming if Mommy or Daddy were with him. I put on his floaties and we went back in the water. 

I actually didn't want to give Sam too much trouble. He was being as patient as you can expect a 3 year old to be. It was Ryan and I who were putting him off of swimming (when EVERY other kid was in the pool) because of our hosting duties. Sam doesn't understand that he actually can't swim yet without floaties and so jumped in with the other kids. 

We are so glad there were so many watchful people around that day and we know he would have been fine but it was an eye opener for us as far as pool safety goes. We have a lock on the pool gate door but have been spoiled for the last 3 years by a child who never even showed interest. Now (especially after Sunday) we are so careful about keeping that gate locked at all times. Even when we are all outside together. Because you can turn your back for 2 minutes and something can happen so fast. 

We are glad Sam isn't scared of the water anymore and we hope we have some fun pool-filled days in the years to come. We attribute Sam holding is breath last Sunday to the lessons he has been taking and even for that we are thankful. While I am NOT happy with Sam falling in the pool, I am thankful for the realization (aka: wake up call) it gave Ryan and I about pool safety and for it happening when there were MANY watchful eyes there to help if needed. 

xo 

6 comments:

  1. I've had to teach Noah the same lesson, I let him sink one time when he went in on vacation on his own, I was right there to pull him up, so it was controlled at least, but he learned his lesson. He wasn't overly scared, so it didn't traumatized him, but I needed him to see what would happen. We have our pool gated, but he knows he needs his puddle jumper on or an adult. We are dong swimming lessons with him as well and will continue, it's a necessity with having a pool and learning water safety.

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  2. 110% a great idea! Anything to see smiles on their little faces and knowing that they are conquering their fears! Good call, Momma!

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  3. I still can't believe how fast you were in that pool... my brain hadn't even processed yet what to do in the moment - I just remember whispering "Sam! Sam!" to myself (because, don't scream, Jillian, you have to stay calm!!!) - and you went flying by me. Momma bear instincts at their finest!!! ;) I do think Sam having those swimming lessons is a good thing - he popped up so happy and not scared at all. Phewf!!

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  4. Oh man, this is my worst nightmare! We haven't been in the pool yet this year, but he is DYING to go. We have a lock on the gate, but he's smart and I just get nervous about him figuring it out. SO glad that he was OK and that your Mama Beast Mode was able to kick in at the right time. We haven't done swim lessons due to my largeness, but I'm signing him up this Fall. Hopefully it helps, kid is fearless!

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  5. Thanking God all was well. Hugs.

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  6. Oh gosh, how scary! Good thing for those lessons. Addison is around water a lot and I'm constantly harping on her. One day I wouldn't let her get in a pool, but she kept trying so in her clothes I put her water wings on her (what I call it) so at least if she fell in... Thank God things worked like they did for you. How scary! Plus they say boys are adventurous... get your hair dye ready momma :)

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