Water Baby
August 13th, 2010 | 
Author: by Brook, Contributor, Baby & Sofia (@babyandsofia)
I come from a family of swimmers. My husband comes from a family of swimmers. We have both grown up living on the coast, where swimming at the beach, at the pool, at the lake, and, well, any body of water, really, is the absolute favorite form recreational activity. Our mothers took us swimming before we could walk. So, naturally, I have done the same with our baby boy. And, luckily, Paolo loves the water. Bath time is his favorite; he splashes and giggles and kicks and squeals in the tub. He loves the ocean, the pool, and the lake. Even when the water feels icily cold to me, he loves it.
What he does not love, however, is water on his face. In. Any. Form. When I wash off his face in the morning with a warm washcloth, the baby behaves as if I am actively torturing him. When I wash his hair, any droplets from the rinsing action will send him into a tizzy. Forget the shower. He screams at the shower, even if it is only a foot that is under the running water. As a water-lover, you can imagine my concern.
I decided to nip this little problem in the bud by enrolling us in a Mommy & Me swim class at the local pool. Maybe with the help of a professional, Paolo will learn to “blow motorboats” and quit freaking out over the occasional splash of water in the vicinity of his face. I was super excited for Paolo’s first “swim lessons.” I mean, I didn’t plan to have him submerge his entire noggin, just learn to tolerate water on his face.
So off we went, to our 9:30am swim lesson. There were two other mommy and child pairs, both other children were 2 years old. And they didn’t seem to love the water as much as my little one, who is still only 9 months old. So I was feeling pretty confident that we were off to a great start. The instructor was sweet, and she came armed with a basket of water toys and an arsenal of songs to sing that encouraged water play. Paolo loved it; he splashed and played and laughed. At least on the first day. On the second day, we continued on, singing and playing. I was loving it. (Well, except the freezing pool water. This hot Midwest summer wasn’t doing much to warm up the pool!)
By the third day, Paolo was a little more apprehensive of the water games, as he had figured out that they all involved a little splashing. We tried to “motorboat.” Hah! He hated it. The fourth and fifth days went about the same, with Paolo resisting the play and just wanting to cuddle me. (I know, I didn’t think it was possible, but you can cuddle your baby while holding him with you in the water.)
The swim lesson was fun for me, as I was introduced to a few other moms. Being new to the area, we haven’t really met anyone yet, so it was nice to meet other women in the community. Paolo, however, did not really benefit from the class. He still refuses to let water flow anywhere near his face. I didn’t force the “motorboat-ing,” so he is not afraid of the pool, but he certainly did not gain any new confidence in the water.
While I wish we could have taught him to allow water near his head, I must say that I am okay with a certain amount of fear on his part. Over-confidence can be very dangerous for babies and toddlers when it comes to water play. And let’s face it, Paolo is only 9 months old, with plenty of time to learn to be comfortable in the water. The Mommy & Me class was fun, but, I must say, we would have been just as happy with our regular trips to the pool, splashing around on our own.
Have you taken a Parent/Child swim class? What your experience?
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As a professional who was certified to teach others to teach swimming lessons and lifeguard my advice is to stick with it. Keep taking him on your own and in formal classes – but don’t push him too much, just keep encouraging him to try. You do not want the kid who screams and clings to the side for dear life when he is old enough for swim lessons without you.
I had my child in our hot tub and practicing floating on her back at 5 months – we took lessons twice a year together and she now takes them on her own. At age 4.5 she can now swim unaided 25 yards. Not perfect strokes – but she is awesome!
Thank you so much for the advice, Lisa. I am definitely going to stick with it, as I think learning to swim is so important. Not to mention, swimming is fun and I want my little one to love it as much as me! I am going to enroll him in another lesson this winter, and in the meantime, we will continue to frequent the community pool. (He’s usually happy in the water, until we start “lessons”!)
And, I am happy to have a new blog to follow, thank you for reaching out to me!
This Sunday we will finish up a 6 week swim class. I swear on day one, he was blowing bubbles, and as of last week, freaking at the idea of getting his face wet. So I don’t know what to tell you. I do intend to stick with it, enrolling him again in January and then next summer, and who knows? Maybe all the exposure will finally click when he’s two and he’ll start swimming.
Betsy, that sounds exactly like us! He now hates having his face wet, but we are sticking with it! I hope the swimming thing clicks soon!
There will be setbacks with swimming as with everything else in raising a human being – you all are so right to stick with it!
I have a little one who HATES water. I too, come from a family of swimmers. I always thought kids who hated swimming were products of parents who hated swimming. Wrong! What in the face? No where even near that obstacle yet.