The Princess and the Swimming Lessons

Since June, 10th, both Scarlett and Christian have been taking swimming lessons every Sunday morning.  

Scarlett's class involves a long of songs and repetition.  We take them to the wall often so the can learn - over time - the wall is the "safe place to be."  

She is remarkably calm during class.  Much of the time, she's just looking around, sucking on her hand.  

For the first couple of classes, I kept Scarlett above-water.  On the third class, it was time to put her under.

Needless to say, it was uncomfortable for me - but I know it is part of the process and a crucial step.  The goal of swimming lessons isn't to create an Olympic swimmer, but rather to get Scarlett comfortable in water and over time, help her to know what she is to do if she finds herself submerged in water (i.e., heaven forbid, falls into a pool).

We learned that when submerging a baby, it is important to put her head completely under water.  Apparently, if she's not completely underwater, when she feels air on her head, she'll take a breath.  So it is important to put her completely under water.   Of course, it is just for a moment and then I quickly bring her back up.

And her dunks are always preceded with "One, two, three ..." and I lift her up, and then put her under.  The second week we did this, she got this wide-eyed look on her face as I started the count to three, and I knew she somehow understood she was about to go under.

Today, her teacher commented that it is impressive Scarlett is okay floating on her back (well, I'm supporting her).  She said many babies get upset at the sensation of water going over their ears.  But Scarlett actually seems to enjoy floating on her back.   I love it when she sticks her legs straight up in the air as I pull her along.

Since we're at an indoor swim school, these classes are year-round ... not just summer classes as are at outdoor pools.   Christian is really enjoying himself in the lane next to us, and since both kiddos are doing so well, I think we'll keeping doing lessons for the foreseeable future.   Child drownings seem to dominate the news in the Phoenix area and so to us, it is extremely important that our kiddos learn to swim as well as possible.