With Flopsy and Mopsy’s permission, I really want to post about how they’re learning to swim as it really is such a joy to be involved in.  We used to take Flopsy and Mopsy when I was about 4 months pregnant with Cotton-tail.  There is a shallow (1.5ft) play pool with a slide and a ‘beach’ and a learning pool right next to it with steps and an even-depth floor.  Neither of them would let go of us even in the shallow pool when we used to go.  Mopsy was still a baby really, and Flopsy was just too frightened and wary, although she loved going to the pool.  We really tried to get her to be comfortable in the water and she eventually got to the point where she would walk a few steps in the pool towards us, even without armbands.  We stopped going after a couple of months - I can’t remember why. 

We’ve started going again and have been about five times now and they absolutely love it.  I explained to Flopsy why it was both liberating and (from a safety point of view) important to learn to swim and she agreed she wanted to learn.  I asked her if she’d prefer to do lessons, and expressed my concern that she’d want to do it then get scared and refuse once we got there and had already paid up for them.  She agreed with my concern.  I asked her if she’d like me or Daddy to teach her (there is a 2 adults to 3 children under 4 rule at our pool so we both had to go anyway) and she said she wanted Daddy to.  She already had a float but we bought another one for Mopsy and noodles for them both too. 

We go into the learning pool first as it’s only open for the first hour, then we go and play in the play pool (well, they play in the learning pool too but you can’t really do learning to swim in the play pool)  The first time Daddy showed Flopsy how to hold on to the side of the pool and to kick her legs.  They both wore arm bands and Mopsy wanted to have a go with everything Flopsy was doing.  Flopsy then kicked her way across the pool but neither of them would let go of an adult’s hand.  [Flopsy’s just asked me to watch her doing a jacob’s ladder that she’s just worked out how to do].  Cotton-tail gets cold after half an hour so I take her in and get her dressed and I go and read a book while she falls asleep on me then the older girls and Daddy join us another half-hour later.  Dh told me they really enjoyed playing in their arm bands in the play pool and went down the slide a few times.

The next session I suggested that Flopsy have a go with the noodle and take her arm bands off.  Big mistake.  I really struggle with my desire to be involved the whole time and find it really hard to let go of things to other people.  Flopsy really digged her heels in and said that she definitely wouldn’t take off her armbands and didn’t even want to learn to swim any more anyway.  So I backed off and Dh tried to undo the damage by doing no teaching at all that day.  It worked.  Once I went in with Cotton-tail, they both decided to take their armbands off to play in the play pool which is not particularly easy when the water comes up to your chest and you don’t know how to swim!  They had a great time.

Fast forward to three swimming sessions later and both of them went into the pool today completely refusing to wear armbands.  Mopsy kicked her way across the pool leaning over a noodle with no adult assistance whatsoever.  Flopsy can touch the bottom of the learning pool and the water reaches her chin but, despite the fact she’s not swimming yet, she moves around the pool very confidently without holding on to an adult or anything else that floats.  She’s very bouyant when she does want to do some ‘learning’ so I’m guessing that very soon she’ll just be launching herself into the water and discovering that she’s swimming.  Mopsy’s at the same stage as Flopsy but doesn’t have the advantage of being just in her depth in the pool. 

They’re already enjoying the bouyancy and skills they’ve learnt so far and I can see them yearning to be able to swim properly to give them even more freedom and fun.  And what a blessing to be able to feel safe in water.  And what a privelege for Dh and I to be a part of the process.  No regimented swimming lessons for us!