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Today we had our Parent/Child Swim Class for Jemma. It has been a few weeks since we’ve been to the class with vacation and the July 4th holiday, but Jemma did great! She loves the water!
When I initially shared the idea of signing our daughter up for a Parent/Child Swim Class, my husband thought it was dumb. I thought it would be a valuable bonding experience for Jemma and I.
The Parent/Child Swim Class is a lot of fun and engages Jemma’s body in a whole new way. We sing songs while moving their arms, legs and entire body through the water. We also practice falling into the water from the wall and then coming back up to the wall. We did this on the first day of class and I was extremely nervous and scared to dunk her in the water. The instructor explained that the parents usually are more fearful than the babies, but babies instinctively know to close their eyes and mouth when going under the water.
During today’s class, Jemma was very comfortable in the water. One of the things we do during class are dips. This consists of holding Jemma to the side of my body, swooping her under the water and bringing her to the top. We place a toy at a distance for her to swim towards. The instructor noticed how relaxed Jemma was while under the water so she did a dip with her. This time, she let go of Jemma just before bringing her to the top to see if she would float up. Float she did!! It was pretty neat to see. I hope Jemma keeps her love of the water as she gets older.
After 8 weeks of participating in this swim class, my husband now sees the value in acclimating Jemma to the water. My husband coaches swimming, but he coaches kids who already know how to swim. Babies in the water is a whole new world for him! My husband was a competitive swimmer as a young boy, swimming through high school and part of college….Jemma’s love of the water must be inherited from her daddy!
