Kids these days seem to have better social lives than us poor parents. If they’re not at parties, they’re at football, dancing, taekwondo, coding club, gymnastics to name but a few! I will always support my children in anything they want to have a go at and if they decide that it’s not for them then that’s fine too. However, swimming in our house was always non-negotiable, as far as I’m concerned, learning to swim is a valuable life skill that everyone should have.
As a child I swam competitively, 5 training sessions a week, gala’s every weekend, I loved it. It taught me discipline, competitiveness, confidence, team work and kept me healthy. When my first child was born I first took him swimming at 6 weeks old and he loved it, we attended Water Babies sessions and it was a lovely bonding experience for us both. When my second and third children were born, swimming was an activity I continued however having 3 kids under the age of 3 years I needed some help! Papa (my dad) would always step in and for us it was a lovely family activity to do and best of all the kids were always knackered after swimming!
Sounds idyllic doesn’t it? Well of course this is the Dodd’s I’m talking about so there have been a few memorable and embarrassing moments when it comes to swimming and I always believe it’s good to share. Now my kids are older I take them swimming regularly and every single time without fail I hear myself saying the following phrase, “walk, don’t run”, usually through gritted teeth because of course I can’t be the parent screaming at the kids on the poolside, at least not out loud! Why can children not see that wet slippery tiled floor + running = accident, it’s not rocket science now is it?! I’ve witnessed many a fall and, in my kind, compassionate manner have said “well I told you not to run”, my children then jump up and walk very fast instead, arrgghh, I give up!! Luckily, we’ve only ever suffered a few bruised egos and bottoms.
If you have a baby then you will be very familiar with nappies. My advice if you are going to take your little one swimming is invest in proper swimming nappies and a proper Happy Nappy swimming costume, they’re designed to stop accidents leaking into the pool. I really wish we had got one before we took our eldest to Centre Parcs for the first time at aged 9 months, it would have stopped that embarrassing moment when……well you get the idea, mortified doesn’t cover it.
I love how swimming gives your child so much confidence and enjoyment, it’s a lovely feeling to see them enjoying the water but it’s also important to teach them to respect it and respect the rules of the pool. My eldest used to love lying face down in the water and floating, I guess he found it calming and quiet, what I should have anticipated was how it looked to others. A woman once thought he was drowning and jumped in to pull him out, cue another mortifying experience! The following times we went swimming we made sure to tell Harry, “please don’t float face down in the water”, “but why?” He would ask “because people might think you’re dead!” would be my reply, he quickly caught on.
All 3 of my children can now swim at least 400 meters following the fantastic lessons they had at our local swimming school CJB Swimming. Swimming lessons are not cheap but they are so worth it and money well spent in my opinion. Now when we go to Centre Parcs or Spain, my hubby and I can actually relax, safe in the knowledge that they are all strong, confident swimmers with a respect of the water and the dangers associated with it. So amongst the fighting over floats, lost goggles, changing rooms filled with talc and silently screaming at them to “walk, don’t run”, swimming is by far one of their most enjoyable activities and one which we can enjoy with them.
